CLOSED: Please help identify this terrifying spider!!

Hello! We live in Northeastern Oklahoma (Tulsa area to be exact) in a suburban neighborhood. No acres of wilderness around us, all city streets. We came home this evening to find a TERRIFYING spider in our laundry room of all places, feasting on a cricket. Neither my roommate nor myself felt comfortable letting it roam our home, so we killed it, but we need to know WHAT IT IS!!! I had surmised it was a wolf spider, but it lacks the thickness & fuzziness associated with the species. Any help would be greatly appreciated & I can answer all questions the picture/descriptions leave unanswered.

Description:
- LARGE brown/tan spider (approx. 3"+)
- Long, thin brown legs (not hairy/fuzzy)
- Black/dark brown front legs
- CLEARLY MARKED abdomen; dark brown stripes on front section, single intricate stripe on rear
- Glowing blue eyes (when flash used)
- Yellowish underbelly

Characteristics:
- FAST runner
- Hyper aware of surroundings
- Confident (ie: approached roommate & myself versus hiding)
- Hunter? There was NO cricket in the laundry room earlier in the evening, so we assume the spider hunted & killed the bug. Not a simple task!

We have lots of those in Michigan. Last summer I was sitting on my back porch step and one came running right towards me. They are fast. I have noticed varied colors in them. Some light brown, others darker brown. We have always called them wolf spiders but I would like to know also if that is correct.

yes, i would say wolf spider but suunto will hopefully provide you with more facts. in any case, it's NOT a widow or a recluse, so you can rest easy.

This is indeed a wolf spider (family Lycosidae); likely in the genus Rabidosa - see http://tinyurl.com/25sq9nd for an example. They have excellent (for spiders) eyesight and actively hunt down their prey. They are not dangerous to humans; large specimens can deliver a painful bite, but they are not aggressive, and bites usually occur only if you mishandle a specimen. Basically, they are beneficial creatures to have around.

These spiders come in our house all the time (and no one in our family has ever been bitten by a spider.) I keep a specially marked plastic cup handy that I scoop them up in and take them out to my garden for release. These are "good guys" who hunt/kill the "bad guys" that eat my vegetable plants. Except for the brown recluse and black widow, spiders are very beneficial to have around. Here in Texas we have a huge variety of them. I saw a jumping spider the other day that had black and white stripes as if she was dressed in an inmate uniform. So cute!

i love the jumping spiders! one lives on my kitchen windowsill (the only insect allowed to stay indoors) lol

Thank you all for your help! I guess I just wasn't looking at the right photos of wolf spiders! Whether they're "beneficial" or not, any insect this large will NEVER have a place in my home... Sorry :)