DES MOINES, Iowa – Oklahoma State's men's track team saw a pair of sophomores compete well on the first day of the 2007 NCAA Midwest Regional Meet on Friday.
Ryan Vail, a native of Gresham, Ore., and Daniel Watts, a native of March Cambridgeshire, England, each captured top-10 finishes in the 5,000-meter run, giving each of them a chance at a bid to the 2007 NCAA Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Vail finished with a time of 14:05.81. That is Vail's third-fastest finish in the 5,000-meter run and earned him sixth-place honors in the race.
“Vail came in here and ran a great race today,” said Cowboy assistant track coach Dave Smith. “He was very competitive and he did exactly what he needed to do to set himself up for a spot at Nationals.”
Watts captured a tenth-place finish with a final time of 14:23.17. That is Watts' fourth-fastest finish in the 5,000-meter run and gives him a shot at receiving an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships.
“Watts knew he needed a twelfth-place finish today to have a chance of making it to Nationals,” said Smith. “It was very competitive, but he ran a very strong race and gave himself a chance for an NCAA bid.”
Colorado junior Brent Vaughn finished first in the race. Texas Tech's Kevin Chelimo and New Mexico's Jeremy Johnson rounded out the top three. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Shadrack Songok and Tulsa's Edwin Henshaw finished fourth and fifth, respectively.
OSU will be back in action tomorrow as Cowboy seniors Joe Gray, Michael Breshears, and Ryan Ripley will compete for a shot at advancing to the NCAA Championships. Ripley will compete in the 1,500-meter run at 3:20 p.m. and Gray and Breshears will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 5:15 p.m.
