Cowboys Claim First Indoor Conference Championship

March 01, 2014 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

March 1, 2014

AMES, Iowa - For the first time in school history, Oklahoma State men's track and field won an indoor track and field team conference championship, claiming the title at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships, in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday.

The Cowboys used clutch performance after clutch performance to compile 112.5 team points, which was a school record. The previous best was 79 at the 1982 Big 8 Championships. OSU was four points clear of second-place Texas.

The Cowboys add this championship to the Big 12 Cross Country title they won in November, becoming the first team in Big 12 history to win both in the same season.

"It's a dream come true," OSU coach Dave Smith said. "We've always wanted to win the Big 12 title, but we haven't had the athletes to do it. However, when you get help from another sport like the guys we got from football, it helps so much. Tyreek Hill, in his third meet as an OSU Cowboy, scored 18 points at the Big 12 Championships. That's unbelievable. We couldn't have done it without every single point we got. This championship was a team effort in every sense of the word."

Kirubel Erassa completed an amazing weekend, claiming Big 12 titles in the mile (4:15.94) and the 3,000 meters (7:53.53), in which he set a meet record. Erassa knew he could clinch the team title with a win in the 3,000 meters, went way out in front at the start and never looked back. He won the 5,000 meter championship on Friday. Erassa's 30 points scored was the high total of the meet. Erassa is the first athlete in school history to win three individual conference titles at the same meet.

"Kirubel did such an incredible job," Smith said. "He totally sold out for this team. He risked qualifying for nationals for this team. He went out and ran solo to try to win it for us, and in doing so, he came up half a second short of qualifying. Such a heroic effort from him. It was such a close meet. Every point counted. It was such an amazing effort."

Tyreek Hill continued his breakout month in the sprinting events, winning the 200 meters in 20.81, breaking his own school record he set yesterday. He also took second in the 60 meters, with a time of 6.64, breaking his own school record in that event as well. John Teeters took fifth in the 60 meters to join Hill in the scoring.

In the mile, Erassa was joined by Shane Moskowitz and Luis Martinez, who took second and sixth, respectively.

In the 600 yard run, Tyler Payton ran another personal best, with a 1:10.61, finishing fifth. He one-upped the personal best he ran in the prelims.

In the 1,000 meters, Chad Noelle (2:22.55) and Justin Vilhauer (2:23.70) took second and third place, contributing 14 more team points to the cause. Noelle's time was a new school record in the 1,000 meters.

OSU picked up eighth-place finishes from Ryan Finnie in the triple jump and Itamar Levi in the shot put.

On the women's side, the Cowgirls scored a school record 60 team points, good enough for seventh place.

The Cowgirls claimed two individual Big 12 titles, with Savannah Camacho running a personal best 2:49.97 in the 1,000 meters and Viktoriia Sadokhina jumping 12.73 meters in the triple jump to win the events.

The OSU women's squad totaled seven All-Big 12 performers, as Camacho and Viktoriia Sadokhina were joined by Kaela Edwards who finished second in the 800 meters (2:06.12), Clara Nichols who finished third in the 800 meters (2:07.83), Adela Hofmannova who finished third in the 1,000 meters (2:54.46), Caileigh Glenn who finished sixth in the mile run (4:47.79) and Chase Ealey who placed fourth in the shot put (15.86m).

Oklahoma State returns to action for the NCAA Championships March 14-15 in Albuquerque, N.M.

Big 12 Indoor Championships

Feb. 28-March 1, 2014/ Lied Recreational Center/ Ames, Iowa

March 1, 2014

Men's Team Standings

1. Oklahoma State - 112.5

2. Texas - 108.5

3. Kansas State- 93

4. Texas Tech - 92

5. Oklahoma - 91

6. Iowa State - 71

7. Baylor - 67