Oklahoma State University Athletics
Pokes Set For Regional Track Meet
May 27, 2009 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Complete Release in PDF Format 
May 27, 2009
The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's and women's track and field squads send their top performers to compete at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Norman, Okla., May 29-30.
OSU Competitors
Men
Matt Barnes-Smith (5,000m)
David Chirchir (3,000m steeplechase)
German Fernandez (1,500m)
Sean Fleming (5,000m)
John Kosgei (5,000m)
Colby Lowe (5,000m)
Alejandro Ruiz (5,000m)
Ryan Vail (5,000m)
Women
Clarissa Andrews (Triple jump)
Baiba Blumbaha (Triple jump)
Merritt Dietz (Discus throw and shot put)
Courtney Gougler (Discus throw)
Tone Hjalmarsen (5,000m)
Natalia Kovtun (5,000m)
Mihaela Susa (1,500m and 5,000m)
On The Sidelines
Though John Kosgei, Tone Hjalmarsen and Mihaela Susa qualified for and are declared to compete at the regional meet, none of the three are expected to compete due to injury.
By missing the regionals, Kosgei and Susa will not be able to compete at the NCAA Championships. As for Hjalmarsen, she may be back to compete at the national meet as she has a provisional time in the 10,000 meters, an event that qualifies directly for nationals without going through regionals.
OSU's Schedule and Declared Athletes
Friday
W: 1500m prelims - 4:00 pm (Susa)
M: 1500m prelims - 4:20 pm (Fernandez)
W: Discus finals - 5:30 pm (Dietz, Gougler)
W: 5000m finals - 8:40 pm (Hjalmarsen, Kovtun)
M: 5000m finals - 9:00 pm (Barnes-Smith, Fleming, Kosgei, Lowe, Ruiz, Vail)
Saturday
W: Shot Put: 12:15 pm (Dietz)
W: Triple Jump: 1:00 pm (Andrews, Blumbaha)
W: 1500m finals: 5:20 pm (Susa)
M: 1500m finals - 5:30 pm (Fernandez)
M: 3000m steeplechase finals - 7:40 pm (Chirchir)
German Fernandez Is The Big 12's Best
Oklahoma State's German Fernandez added to his list of accomplishments as he was named the 2009 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Outstanding Performer of the Year and Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Outstanding Freshman of the Year in a vote of conference coaches.
The award gives the true freshman a clean sweep of all the Big 12's major honors this year, as Fernandez was the Big 12 Individual Cross Country Champion and was honored as the Big 12 Outstanding Performer of the Year and the Outstanding Freshman of the Year during the indoor season as well. Additionally, he was honored as the NCAA Midwest Region Indoor Athlete of the Year.
School Record-Holders On Display
A number of Cowboys and Cowgirls who qualified for the NCAA Regionals are OSU record-holders. The list:
Men
German Fernandez: Mile (3:55.02)
German Fernandez: 3,000m (7:47.97)
German Fernandez: 5,000m (13:31.78)
Women
Clarissa Andrews: Long jump (6.21m)
Merritt Dietz: Discus throw (56.18m)
Mihaela Susa: 1,500m (4:18.57)
NCAA Championships Experience
Of Oklahoma State's 2009 NCAA regional qualifiers, only Ryan Vail, Tone Hjalmarsen and Mihaela Susa have competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Vail placed 17th in the 5,000 meters at the 2007 national meet and earned All-America honors with a fifth-place finish in the 5,000 meters last year.
Both Hjalmarsen and Susa competed in the 5,000 meters at the 2008 NCAA Championships, with Hjalmarsen taking 17th and Susa 27th.
Last Time Out: 2009 Big 12 Championships
The OSU men placed eighth at the 2009 Big 12 Championships and the women were 11th. Leading the way for OSU was German Fernandez, who won twin titles in the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters. Ryan Vail and Alejandro Ruiz went 1-2 in the 10,000 meters.
Merritt Dietz was the runner-up in the women's discus throw.
