Oklahoma State University Athletics
Miller Takes Second In Day One Of NCAA Indoors
March 14, 2014 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
March 14, 2014
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -
Oklahoma State's Nick Miller threw a massive personal best to take second place in the weight throw, in day one of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, in Albuquerque, N.M., on Friday.
The Cowboys wrapped up day one of competition tied for fifth place in the team standings, with 12 team points. OSU still has one event in which they can score tomorrow. The Cowboys took eighth place at the 2013 championships with 20 team points.
Miller entered the event with the No. 6 mark in the nation, but exploded out of the gates in the prelims with a personal-best and school-record launch of 23.07m/75-8.25, more than a meter clear of his previous personal best. That mark held for Miller all the way through the finals, and he finished in second, by 18 centimeters, picking up eight team points for the Cowboys.
“Nick Miller was Nick Miller,” OSU coach Dave Smith said. “He comes up huge at the end of the season. This was the second year in a row he's thrown a huge personal record to move up the field. He and his coach, John Baumann, have been amazing. They are always prepared and ready to go. Just another incredible postseason performance from Nick.”
This is the second-straight year Miller has earned First Team All-American honors. He took fourth in this event in 2013. He is also a two-time All-American in the outdoor hammer throw.
In the 200 meter dash, Tyreek Hill broke his own school record twice. He ran a 20.68 in the semifinals, which was the third-best qualifying time, and in the final, he took fifth, running a 20.57 to break it again. The top three times in the event were the fastest marks in the NCAA this season, and the top two marks are now the top two indoor marks in the world.
“Tyreek is such a competitor,” Smith said. “Even with how much he accomplished today, and in the last month, he's not happy with his performance—he thinks he could have been more aggressive early. It's amazing that he's only been running with us for a month. He and [Coach] Diego Flaquer have been absolutely great. Tyreek is a big-time competitor and doesn't make excuses. He just wants to beat everyone he races against. He is going to be a force in track and field.”
Hill, the Big 12 Indoor Freshman of the Year, has turned in a First Team All-American performance, broken the OSU 60 meter record three times, and broken the 200 meter school record four times in his first month of competition. Hill is the first OSU sprinter in history to earn indoor All-American honors, and the first sprinter indoor or outdoor to do so, since James Butler won the 1982 NCAA Outdoor 200 meter title.
In the women's 800 meter prelims, both Savannah Camacho (2:06.17) and Kaela Edwards (2:07.77) qualified for tomorrow's final. Camacho's time was the top qualifying time in the event.
This is the first time two OSU women have qualified for the NCAA Indoor final in the same event since 1997, when Jenny Framme and Veronica Haberl qualified in the 3,000 meters. This is the third-consecutive indoor season in which the OSU women have had at least one First Team All-American in the indoor 800 meters (Natalja Piliusina, 2012, 2013).
In the men's distance medley relay, OSU fell behind on the first leg and was unable to recover. The Cowboys finished 12th in the event, with a time of 10:01.56.
OSU track & field resumes action tomorrow in Albuquerque, as Edwards and Camacho run in the women's 800 meter final at 8:30 p.m. CT, and Big 12 Indoor Performer of the Year Kirubel Erassa competes in the men's 3,000 meter final, at 8:40 p.m.
NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships
March 14-15, 2014/ Albuquerque, N.M.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Men's Team Standings (Through Day One)
1. Oregon - 24.0
2. Arizona - 16.0
3. Stanford - 14.0
4. Florida - 13.0
5. Oklahoma State - 12.0
5. Arkansas - 12.0
5. Alabama - 12.0
8. Wisconsin - 11.0
9. Florida State - 10.0
10. Rutgers - 8.0
Men's Individual Results
200 Meter Dash Prelims
3. Tyreek Hill – 20.68^(Q)
200 Meter Dash Final
5. Tyreek Hill – 20.57^+
Weight Throw
2. Nick Miller – 23.07m/75-8.25*+^
Distance Medley Relay
12. Oklahoma State – 10:01.56
Women's Individual Results
800 Meter Prelims
1. Savannah Camacho – 2:06.17(Q)
8. Kaela Edwards – 2:07.77(Q)
* - Denotes Personal Best
^ - Denotes School Record
+ - Denotes All-American Performance
(Q) – Denotes Automatic Qualification
