Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowgirls Have Big Day at Big 12 Championships
May 16, 2009 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
May 16, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas – The Oklahoma State women's track and field team finished its second day of competition at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday with significant success, marked by several team-scoring, personal-best and school-record performances.
Tihana Sarac competed first for the Cowgirls as she finished her final three heptathlon events in cold and rainy conditions. She started the day in fifth place in the overall standings with 3,000 points. After posting a long jump mark of 5.49 meters, winning the javelin throw with a season-best toss of 34.92 meters and finishing the 800-meter run in 2:27.40, Sarac moved up to fourth in the final standings and missed the NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 5,000 points by only seven points.
Sarac's fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships is the highest of her career. It also gave the Cowgirls five team points in the event.
Oklahoma State's next event was the discus throw, where Merritt Dietz finished in second place with a season-best toss of 54.09 meters, marking the fourth time she has eclipsed 53 meters and the seventh time she has passed the NCAA regional qualifying mark this year. Her second-place finish marked the highest Big 12 Championships finish of her career and added eight points to the Cowgirls' team score.
Baiba Blumbaha and Clarissa Andrews then competed in the long jump, where both athletes, who had previously never surpassed the 6.00 meter mark, notched significant personal records. Blumbaha went first for Oklahoma State, recording a school record mark of 6.17 meters. Andrews followed that performance with a school-record leap herself, recording a jump of 6.21 meters. Both marks scored team points and easily passed the regional qualifying mark of 6.00 meters, but will not count as regional qualifying marks due to the high wind speed.
“Baiba and Clarissa both had great jumps,” coach Rene Sepulveda said. “It was a great way for Baiba, who is a senior, to go out and it was just the boost of confidence Clarissa needed. They didn't qualify for regionals because of the wind, but they are both still really excited and confident heading into the triple jump tomorrow.”
The rest Oklahoma State's events on day two were held on the track, as five Cowgirls ran in preliminary running events.
Natalia Kovtun qualified for 1,500 meters final after finishing in fifth place in the preliminary heat with a time of 4:35.58. Teran Mixon also ran in the preliminary, finishing in 4:41.08.
Kristen Gillespie and Brandi Andrews ran the 800-meter run preliminary, both finishing in just over 2:13, while Kendra Woodson finished ninth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.90, only half a second from qualifying for the final heat.
“All the girls ran really well,” Sepulveda said. “Natalia had a great day qualifying for the 1,500-meter final tomorrow and Teran had a really good day today. The freshmen also did outstanding. We have some really good freshmen on this team. We have brought freshmen to Big 12s before and they have struggled a little bit, but all these freshmen belong here and have competed well, and there's even more to compete tomorrow. It bodes really well for the future of our program.”
The Cowgirls, at seventh in the team standings with 17 points after day two, return to action Sunday for the final day of the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships (Day 2)
Discus Throw
2 Merritt Dietz 54.09m – 8 team pts.
13 Courtney Gougler 45.14m
18 Katie Hamilton 42.67m
19 Julie Rader 37.59m
Long Jump
6 Clarissa Andrews 6.21m – 3 team pts.
8 Baiba Blumbaha 6.17m – 1 team pt.
1,500-Meter Run Prelim
5 Natalia Kovtun 4:35.58Q
12 Teran Mixon 4:41.08
800-Meter Run Prelim
16 Kristen Gillespie 2:13.81
17 Brandi Andrews 2:13.91
400-Meter Hurdles Prelim
9 Kendra Woodson 1:02.90
Heptathlon
(Day 1)
100-Meter Hurdles
7 14.84 – 863 pts.
High Jump
9 1.54m – 666 pts.
Shot Put
2 11.95m – 658 pts.
200-Meter Dash
5 25.82 – 813 pts.
Day 1 Total
5 Tihana Sarac – 3,000 pts.
(Day 2)
Long Jump
5 5.49m – 697 pts.
Javelin Throw
1 34.92m – 570 pts.
800-Meter Run
6 2:27.40 – 726 pts.
Heptathlon Total
4 Tihana Sarac – 4,993 pts. – 5 team pts.
Team Standings (5 of 21 events scored)
1 Nebraska – 35 pts.
2 Iowa State – 25 pts.
Missouri – 25 pts.
4 Kansas State – 21 pts.
5 Texas Tech – 20 pts.
6 Oklahoma – 18 pts.
7 Oklahoma State – 17 pts.
8 Texas A&M – 15 pts.
9 Baylor – 10 pts.
10 Kansas – 5 pts.
11 Texas – 4 pts.
