Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Big 12 Championships (M&W)
Injury Depleted Cowgirls Finish 11th in Big 12
February 23, 2002 | Track I
Feb. 23, 2002
LINCOLN, Neb. - Oklahoma State's women's indoor track and field team were without the services of a few of their top individuals for the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Bob Devaney Track Center in Lincoln, Neb.
The Cowgirls had two freshmen competing in the triple jump in the second and final day of competition. Paula Ogunbanjo and Maria Berggren both qualified for the finals with jumps of 39 feet, 4 inches and 40-0.50, respectively. Neither athlete could improve their performance in the finals, but Berggren's jump in the prelims still gave her fourth place. Ogunbanjo just missed scoring and finished ninth overall.
"This was my first time to compete in Big 12 competition and I was afraid I was not going to make any of my jumps. When I landed the second jump it took a lot of pressure off and I was able to relax," Berggren said.
"I knew that if we could get those girls on the board than they would be a force to be reckoned with. Not bad for a couple of freshmen," assistant coach Clint Whitaker said.
Valentina Medina and Alexandra Lindquist competed in the finals of the mile run with Medina taking third and Lindquist claiming fifth-place. Medina's time of 4 minutes, 42.24 seconds was an NCAA automatic qualifying time and broke the old Big 12 meet record, which now belongs to Sara Gorton of Colorado who won the event. Lindquist ran a time of 4:53.28.
"I knew the pace was going to be pretty fast so I had to run pretty hard. I am pretty excited about my performance and what I accomplished in that race. Alex (Lindquist) did well too. She has been injured and still finished fifth, she is amazing," sophomore Medina said.
Siri Alfheim, the runner-up in the 5,000-meter run on the first day of competition, finished third with an NCAA provisional qualifying time of 9:27.22 in the 3,000-meter run. Medina ran a time of 9:45.48 and finished eighth after her third-place finish in the mile.
The Cowgirls finished 11th in the team standings without a few of their key athletes. Senior long jumper Stephani Duff suffered a strained hamstring last weekend in the Sooner Indoor Meet. The Cowgirls also had to do without senior Paula Gowing, sophomore Marie Nilsson and freshman Janine Brown. Gowing, Nilsson and Brown were all key contributors to the Cowgirls national finish in cross country. Senior Charlotte Coffey and sophomore Sara Kofoed also stayed home with injuries.
"After watching the women's long jump, I have no doubt Duff could have won that event. It is very unfortunate that she has suffered from chronic hamstring problems. She has been able to dodge bullets all indoor season, but unfortunately the bullet hit its target at the Oklahoma meet. In the 5,000-meter run there was a big gap after third-place and I am confident we could have filled that gap," Whitaker said.
The Cowgirls 11th place finish was their best finish since the 2000 meet. Their 30 points is their highest point total since they scored 49 and finished sixth in the conference in 1999. The Cowgirls edged Oklahoma for eleventh by one point. Oklahoma was twelfth with 29 points. Nebraska failed to repeat as champions. They finished second with 103 points to Texas who was crowned as the 2002 Women's Big 12 Track and Field Champion.
"Points were more equitably distributed this year. Teams are getting better, while other teams are not as good. We did better than we did last year, which is very good given the circumstances," head coach Catrina Acosta said.
