Oklahoma State University Athletics
Oklahoma State University
Big 12 Championships
OSU Wins Big 12 Championship
February 26, 2011 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Feb. 26, 2011
LINCOLN, Neb. – The Oklahoma State track and field program claimed its first-ever Big 12 Championship in the women's distance medley relay Saturday, as the Cowgirls finished the event with a Big 12 meet-record time of 11:09.67 at Nebraska's Bob Devaney Center.
“I knew we could be top three or so, but to win it was outstanding,” coach Dave Smith said. “The girls all pretty much ran their best times in each leg and did exactly what they needed to do. Mihaela started the last leg about two seconds behind the girl in first and was able to come back and win the race. It was definitely the highlight of the day.”
Even though the Cowgirls shattered the school-record by more than 10 seconds with their time and won by nearly a full second over second-place Texas Tech, there was plenty of drama after the event.
After celebrating their historic win, the OSU DMR team of Natalja Piliusina, Mihaela Bobos, Caileigh Glenn and Mihaela Susa learned that they had been disqualified for an exchange zone violation entering the final leg of the race. Coach Smith protested the ruling, however, and the Cowgirls were crowned DMR Big 12 champions after the call was overruled.
“It was actually awesome,” Glenn said. “It was kind of like winning it twice because of the first disqualification. We got to celebrate after we won the race and then we got to celebrate again after the ruling was overturned.”
Cowgirl senior Mihaela Susa, running in her last Big 12 Indoor Championships, was happy to part of the team and finish the last leg in heroic fashion.
“It definitely was really exciting,” Susa said. “The other girls put me in a really good position for the last leg and it felt great to win.”
In addition giving them several records, the Cowgirls' time is the sixth-best in the country this season and potentially gives them an opportunity to go to the NCAA championships.
“I am happy we ran the sixth-best time,” Piliusina said. “Hopefully we can make it to nationals and do well there.”
As big as OSU's first-ever women's DMR Big 12 championship was, there were several other OSU highlights on the first day of the Big 12 Indoor Championships.
Continuing on the women's side, Susa ran the top preliminary mile time at 4:48.25 while Piliusina ran the top preliminary 800 meters time at 2:08.94. Both athletes will compete in the final heats of their respective events Saturday.
For the men's squad, Colby Lowe placed fourth in the 5,000 meters with his time of 13:52.28, while German Fernandez, Shane Moskowitz and Kirubel Erassa all qualified for the finals of the mile run. Fernandez' time of 4:06.55 was the best preliminary time of the day.
The men's DMR team also had an impressive showing as Taylor Monaghan, Tyler Payton, Raul Botezan and Tom Farrell finished in fifth place with a time of 9:52.59.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls return to action Saturday for the final day of the 2011 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships.
2011 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships (Day 1) – OSU Results
Women Distance Medley Relay Final
1 Oklahoma State 'A' - 11:09.67 (10 pts)
(Piliusina, Natalja; Bobos, Mihaela; Glenn, Caileigh; Susa, Mihaela)
Women Mile Prelim
1 Mihaela Susa - 4:48.25Q
Women 800m Prelim
1 Natalja Piliusina - 2:08.94Q
10 Caileigh Glenn - 2:11.40
11 Mihaela Bobos - 2:11.56
Women 1000m Prelim
10 Brandi Andrews - 2:52.86
13 Teran Mixon - 2:56.10
Women 5000m Final
14 Felicity Milton - 16:50.55
-- Tone Hjalmarsen - DNF
Women Long Jump Final
13 Clarissa Andrews - 5.66m
18 Jessica Murphy - 5.34m
Women Weight Throw Final
22 Caitlin Way - 15.56m
Men Distance Medley Relay Final
5 Oklahoma State - 9:52.59 (4 pts)
(Monaghan, Taylor; Payton, Tyler; Botezan, Raul; Farrell, Tom)
Men 1000m Final
14 Nick Thorp - 2:32.82
Men 5000m Final
4 Colby Lowe - 13:52.28 (5 pts)
13 Ryan Prentice - 14:22.25
-- Joseph Manilafasha - DNF
Men Mile Run Prelim
1 German Fernandez - 4:06.55Q
4 Shane Moskowitz - 4:07.63Q
5 Kirubel Erassa - 4:08.16Q
10 Taylor Monaghan - 4:11.98
12 Jacob Benn - 4:13.80
16 Johnathan Stublaski - 4:26.45
Women's Team Rankings - 5 Events Scored
1) Nebraska – 37
2) Texas Tech – 34
3) Iowa State – 32
4) Kansas State – 19
5) Texas – 17
6) Oklahoma – 12
7) Oklahoma State – 10
7) Missouri – 10
9) Colorado – 9
10) Kansas – 8
11) Texas A&M – 7
Men's Team Rankings - 5 Events Scored
1) Oklahoma – 40
2) Nebraska – 25
3) Texas A&M - 23.50
4) Texas – 22
5) Missouri – 16
6) Texas Tech – 15
7) Iowa State – 11
8) Baylor – 10
8) Colorado – 10
10) Oklahoma State – 9
10) Kansas State – 9
12) Kansas - 4.50
