Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Opens Outdoor Slate In Tulsa
March 20, 2014 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
March 20, 2014
STILLWATER -
Oklahoma State track and field will travel to Tulsa, Okla. this Saturday, March 22, for the Tulsa Duels.
How to Follow the Meets
Online, fans can follow the action live on Twitter by following @run4okstate for updates. Final results will be published on www.okstate.com.
Meet Schedule
Throwing events will take place on Friday, with the Javelin taking place in Tulsa, and the hammer taking place at the New OSU Track & Field Facility, at 1 p.m. Because it is the first event at the new facility, a facility record will be established.
Quoting Coach Dave Smith
On expectations for the young athletes competing:
“All of the runners have been off for three weeks, since the Big 12 Championships, so this is an opportunity for them to get back into it and hopefully set the tone early for the outdoor season. We won't focus too much on times or distances, but how competitive they are when the lights come on.”
On carrying the momentum over from the indoor season:
“We want to continue doing the same things we did in the indoor season, in the outdoor season. A top-10 finish at the NCAA championships is attainable. That's what we're focused on. We haven't finished in the top 10 in outdoors in a long time. We weren't able to last year, but hopefully this time we have the ship righted and know what to expect.”
On starting a new season one week after another ends:
“Building momentum is fun. That's what we're trying to do with those competing this weekend. Right now what's tough is for the group who just competed to try to build momentum again after doing so well. We're going to give them time to come down a bit and reboot, so to speak. For those competing this weekend, they're going to go out and compete, trying to build momentum for the season. That's what's fun--when they start improving and get caught up in the success and momentum.”
Writing History
Oklahoma State men's track and field has a chance to make even more history in 2014.
With a top-10 finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, it would be the first time in OSU history to achieve top-10 finishes in cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field within the same academic year.
The Cowboys could become the first team in Big 12 history to sweep the cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field conference titles in the same academic year.
OSU is already the first team in Big 12 history with titles in both cross country and indoor track & field, accomplishing the feat in the same academic year.
Making A Mark In The Midwest
Oklahoma State's Dave Smith has been named the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Region Indoor Coach of the Year, and Kirubel Erassa has been named the USTFCCCA Midwest Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year.
Erassa has already been named the Big 12 Indoor Performer of the Year, and the USTFCCCA Co-National Athlete of the Week for the week of Feb. 24-March 1.
This is Smith's first Indoor Midwest Region Coach of the Year award. He adds it to his first Big 12 Indoor Coach of the Year award.
Smith is also the first coach in OSU history to win this award, and one of three coaches this year to be named Midwest Coach of the Year in both cross country and indoor track & field.
Erassa is the second Cowboy to be named Midwest Track Athlete of the Year, joining German Fernandez, who won it in 2009 in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.
At The Top of the Hill
Tyreek Hill has been named the male Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Freshman of the Year.
Hill's honor comes after he broke OSU's 25 year-old 200 meter record twice in Ames, Iowa, on his way to winning the Big 12 200 meter title and qualifying for the NCAA meet in the event. He also broke his own school record in the 60 meter dash, taking second. He scored 18 team points.
Hill also joins German Fernandez as the second Cowboy to win Freshman of the Year. Fernandez took home that award in 2009, as well.
Started From The Bottom, Now They're Here
OSU's Big 12 indoor track & field championship was the first men's indoor conference title in school history. Before this, the Cowboys never finished higher than third, which they did at the 1982 Big 8 Championships.
Before this title, the OSU men finished 10th, 11th or 12th at the conference meet 12 times since the inception of the Big 12, in 1997.
The Cowboys are the first team in Big 12 history to win a Big 12 team title in both cross country and indoor track & field, doing it in the same academic year.
World Rankings
Two Cowboys finished the indoor season ranked in the top 10 in the world in their respective events after incredible performances at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
In the 200 meters, Tyreek Hill ran a school-record 20.57 to finish fifth in the vent. It is also the No. 9 200 meter time in the world. Hill accomplished this after one month of training and NCAA competition. It was only the second meet this season in which he ran the 200 meters.
In the weight throw, Nick Miller launched a mark of 23.07m/75-8.25, which was a personal record by more than a meter. His mark ranks No. 5 in the world in the weight.
Power Shift
Oklahoma State is an established cross country power, but after its second-consecutive top-10 NCAA Indoors finish, it seems another national power is growing.
Here is a list of some schools OSU has tied or beaten in team scoring at the last two NCAA Indoor Championships:
- Alabama
- Auburn (Twice)
- Clemson (Twice)
- Florida State
- Georgia (Twice)
- LSU (Twice)
- Mississippi State (Twice)
- Nebraska (Twice)
- Penn State (Twice)
- Stanford
- Texas (Twice)
- Texas A&M
- USC (Twice)
- Virginia Tech (Twice)
Full Speed Ahead
The sprint events have not been a major factor for OSU track and field in recent years, but newly-hired sprints coach Diego Flaquer is changing that.
Under Flaquer, both the men's indoor 60 meter dash school record and the 200 meter dash record have been broken four times, and Tyreek Hill became the first Indoor All-America sprinter in OSU history, taking fifth in the 200 meters. Hill is the first OSU sprinter to qualify for NCAA Indoors since Rafael Denson in 1994.
At this rate, the outdoor records seem to be in jeopardy as well.
Last Year At the Tulsa Duals
Nick Miller's school record in the hammer throw, and Taylor Stolt and Chase Ealey both hitting marks that rank in the top-10 in school history highlighted Oklahoma State's showing at the Tulsa Duels this weekend.
Oklahoma State secured event wins at the meet from Clara Nichols in the women's 800 meters, Caitlin Way in the women's hammer throw, Tyler Payton in the men's 400 meters, Taylor Monaghan in the men's 2,000 meter steeplechase and Miller in the men's hammer throw.
Nine OSU athletes hit personal bests as part of the weekend's action, highlighted by Stolt's 6.01m/19-8.5 in the long jump, which represented a significant improvement from her previous best mark of 5.75m/10-18.5. Stolt's jump Saturday was the best for a Cowgirl since 2009 and the ninth-best in school history.
Ealey was strong as well, recording a 15.03m/49-3.75 in the shot put for the fourth-best mark in school history and the best performance for a Cowgirl since 2008.
On the men's side, Cody Kenny enjoyed the best all-around day of his career by hitting personal bests in the 100 meters, the 200 meters and the long jump.
Payton won Saturday's 400 meters in 48.16 to carry over the positive momentum he started by earning All-America and All-Big 12 honors during the indoor season in the 800 meters and as part of the OSU distance medley relay squad.
Last Time Out
Natalja Piliusina made an incredible charge on the home stretch to win the women's 1,500 meter national title at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, in Eugene, Ore.
Piliusina became the second women's individual outdoor NCAA champion in school history, joining Jackie Goodman, who won the 10,000 meters in 1989. She was the 10th OSU athlete to win an outdoor NCAA title, overall.
Piliusina (4:13.25) stayed in the middle of the pack for the majority of the race and was boxed in on the inside of the track heading into the final turn, but with a huge kick, she was able to fight to the front and win her first NCAA title.
Kirubel Erassa finished ninth in the men's 5,000 meters on the final day of the championships.
Erassa stayed in the coveted top eight for the majority of the race, but finished just out of the scoring positions, taking ninth, with a time of 14:00.31. He earned second-team All-America honors to go with his two first-team All-American awards he won in the indoor season.
In the men's team race, OSU finished in a tie for 65th, with the two points Girma Mecheso earned in the 10,000 meters.
In the men's hammer throw, Nick Miller just missed out on first-team All-American status, finishing ninth, with a throw of 64.83m/212-8.
A New Home
OSU track and field now has a new state-of-the-art facility to call home. The new complex was finished in the summer of 2013, and the teams have already started using it for practice. The complex is home to new locker rooms, a large team room and a large training room, among other brand new features for the teams to enjoy.
