Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Splits Squad For Stanford, Arkansas Meets
April 03, 2014 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
April 3, 2014
STILLWATER -
Oklahoma State track and field will be split between the Stanford Invitational, in Stanford, Calif., and the Arkansas Spring Invitational, in Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend, April 4-5.
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 okstate.com. The Stanford Invitational will be broadcast via live stream at flotrack.org.
Meet Schedule
In Fayetteville, the hammer will take place on Friday Afternoon, at 5:30 p.m., with all other events going on Saturday, starting at 9:30 a.m. In Stanford, events begin at 9 a.m. on both Friday and Saturday.
Quoting Coach Dave Smith
On Kirubel Erassa returning to action:
“He's ready to go. He was able to get some good rest after the end of the indoor season, which is really important. This part of the season, and this Stanford meet in particular, is a great time to jump back into competition. He's looked great in practice. We have him in a heat where he may not have to exert himself as much and still be able to get a qualifying mark.”
On the distance events at the Stanford Invite:
“This is a great meet, especially for distance runners. In the 10,000 meter race alone, there are 11 cross country All-Americans competing. Just because of that, you can count on it being a quick race with some NCAA-qualifying times. That's exactly what we're after.”
On competition at the Arkansas Spring Invite:
“As it is most of the time with Arkansas meets, this is a great chance for our field athletes and middle distance runners to put up great marks and be exposed to some great competition. This is the first time this outdoor season for us to send large groups to high-level meets, so I'm excited to see how they perform.”
A Top-10 Trifecta
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)
In the Rankings
Oklahoma State has six athletes ranked in the NCAA's top 50 in their respective events.
On the men's side, Nick Miller leads the way at No. 3 in the hammer, after winning the event at the Tulsa Duels. Itamar Levi ranks No. 37 in the shot put after winning in Tulsa as well. John Teeters' 10.54 he ran in the 100 meters at the Texas Relays ranks No. 43.
For the Cowgirls, a trio of throwers is ranked. Ieva Zarankaite ranks No. 17 in the discus after taking third at the Texas Relays. Chase Ealey sits at No. 22 in the shot put and Caitlin Way occupies the No. 27 spot in the hammer.
Last Time Out
The Oklahoma State track & field program wrapped up its competition at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on Saturday in Austin, Texas.
Ieva Zarankaite, who already entered the weekend with the No. 11 women's discus throw in the nation, took third in the event, with a launch of 52.69m/172-10, which moved her into the No. 2 spot on OSU's all-time list.
In the men's 100 meter dash, John Teeters took 13th place, finishing in 10:54. Entering the weekend, Teeters' time would be No. 20 in the NCAA, and the best mark in the Big 12.
In the men's shot put, Itamar Levi finished in 11th place with a mark of 16.66m/54-8.
In the women's shot put, Chase Ealey had a toss of 14.95m/49-0¾ to finish in ninth.
Last Year At The Stanford And Arkansas Invitationals
Four top-10 finishes in field events and two runners setting new personal bests were the highlights for the Oklahoma State men's and women's track and field teams at the Arkansas Spring Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
On the women's side, four field athletes recorded top-10 finishes in their respective events. Chase Ealey led the way, finishing second in the shot put, with a heave of 15.29m/50-2.00. In the long jump, Jordan Highsmith grabbed ninth place, jumping 5.34m/17-6.25. Madison Allen also snagged a ninth place finish, throwing the javelin 26.30m/86-03. Clara Telford finished 10th in the long jump, with a mark of 10.99m/36-00.75.
In the women's running events, Jasmine Adams set a new personal best, running the 200 meters in 26.33. She finished fourth in her heat.
On the men's side, Terrance West ran the 400 meters in a personal-best 50.82, which was good enough for 18th place.
Clara Nichols ran the fifth-fastest outdoor 800 meters in school history to lead the OSU men's and women's track and field teams at the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, Calif.
Nichols' time of 2:07.31 smashed her previous personal best by six seconds and was the fifth-fastest time in OSU history. She finished third in her heat and ninth overall.
On the men's side, Tyler Payton (1:52.85) and Lance Gray (1:54.68) finished 13th and 21st, respectively, in the 800 meters.
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.
