Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Prepares For NCAA West Region Preliminaries
May 28, 2014 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track
May 28, 2014
STILLWATER -
No. 8 Oklahoma State men's track and field and OSU women's track and field will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend, May 29-31, for the NCAA West Preliminary Round.
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. Live results and live broadcasts of running events can be found at www.arkansasrazorbacks.com.
Meet Schedule
On Thursday, events will start at noon, and both Friday's and Saturday's events will begin at 10 a.m. The whole meet schedule can be found here: http://www.arkansasrazorbacks.com/pdf9/2731486.pdf
Quoting Head Coach Dave Smith
On the men's No. 8 ranking:
“It's a nice indication of where we are as a program. However, like always, it doesn't mean anything until you earn it. We will know a lot more after this weekend, when we see who makes it through the regional and into nationals. Everyone will focus on their events and compete as well as they can. We're taking it one step at a time.”
On the head-to-head, survive and advance nature of regionals:
“I like head-to-head competition. You have to go race and beat people at regionals to move on. It's the same thing at nationals. I like that. I'm excited for it and I think our kids will compete very well. Most of our kids are very experienced with this type of environment. I like this format and I'm excited for the meet.”
On the familiarity of competing in Arkansas:
“We'll stay at the same hotel we always stay at and eat at the same restaurants as always. It's a very familiar routine. It's easy travel, too. We don't have to leave days in advance. We'll get there the day before we compete. Having the kids being in their own beds for that extra time is good. I like that aspect of it.”
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.
Historical Highs
Shadrack Kipchirchir and Nick Miller have made conference and national history with their performances this season.
Kipchirchir broke the OSU and Big 12 all-time records in the 10,000 meters, running a 27:36.79 at the Payton Jordan Invitational. It's the No. 1 time in the NCAA this season, and the No. 9 mark in NCAA history.
Miller threw the hammer a monstrous 74.37m/244-0 at the KSU Wildcat open, crushing the OSU and Big 12 records by more than two meters. His mark is also No. 1 in the NCAA. Miller bested that mark the next weekend at the Big 12 Championships, with a 74.38m/244-0.
Last Time Out
Oklahoma State men's track and field finished third at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
The third-place finish was the Cowboys' best outdoor finish since the inception of the Big 12, and the 96 team points were also an OSU record in the Big 12 era.
Chad Noelle (3:55.00), Kirubel Erassa (3:55.01), Justin Vilhauer (3:55.70), Matthew Fayers (3:57.75) and Luis Martinez (3:58.89) took first, second, third, fifth and sixth, respectively, dominating the 1,500 meters to the tune of 31 team points.
Oklahoma State's Nick Miller won his third consecutive Big 12 hammer throw title. His best throw was a mark of 74.38m/244-0 was an OSU record, a Big 12 meet and overall conference record, a Fuller Track stadium record and the new No. 1 throw in the NCAA.
Viktoriia Sadokhina completed the indoor-outdoor conference sweep in the triple jump, taking the Big 12 title with a school-record jump of 13.35m/43-9.75.
Nationally Known
The Oklahoma State men's track and field team moved to No. 8 in this week's edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) outdoor rankings.
The four-week stretch in which the Cowboys have been ranked in the outdoor top 10 expands on what was already the longest such streak in school history.
The four weeks the Cowboys have spent in the top 10 marks the most top-10 appearances they have had in any indoor or outdoor season.
On the men's side, there are five Cowboys claiming top-10 NCAA rankings. Shadrack Kipchirchir (27:36.79) holds the No. 1 spot in the 10,000 meters, Kirubel Erassa (13:27.55) ranks No. 2 in the 5,000 meters, Chad Noelle (3:40.06) sits at No. 6 in the 1,500 meters, Nick Miller (74.38m/244-0) claims the No. 1 spot in the hammer throw and John Teeters (10.14) is No. 8 in the 100 meter dash.
Kipchirchir, Erassa and Noelle are all ranked in two events. Kipchirchir (13:37.68) also has the No. 9 spot in the 5,000 meters, Erassa (29:02.77) is No. 25 in the 10,000 meters and Noelle (1:48.62) sits at No. 31 in the 800 meters.
Rounding out the ranked Cowboys are Tyler Payton (1:49.17) at No. 47 in the 800 meters, and Itamar Levi at No. 50 in the shot put, with a mark of 18.21m/59-9.
For the Cowgirls, Savannah Camacho leads the way at No. 4 in the 800 meters. Her mark of 2:02.84 ranks second in OSU history.
Big 12 triple jump champion Viktoriia Sadokhina remained at No. 7, with her personal-best mark of 13.35m/43-9.75
In the discus, Ieva Zarankaite (54.44m/178-7) checks in at No. 20, and Monika Juodeskaite (16:00.32) ranks No. 34 in the 5,000 meters and No. 39 in the 1,500 meters, with a mark of 4:19.58.
Last Year At The NCAA West Preliminary Round
At the 2013 NCAA West Preliminary Round, Oklahoma State's Nick Miller broke his own school record and regained the NCAA's No. 1 spot in the hammer throw, and Natalja Piliusina won the women's 1,500 meter prelims, in Austin, Texas.
Miller, a native of Carlisle, United Kingdom, landed a 66-meter throw to ensure qualification, then just let loose. He launched the hammer 71.60m/234-11 through the rain, which was just one of his three throws that eclipsed 70 meters—all three throws would have won the meet by four meters.
On the track, Natalja Piliusina backed up her national No. 1 ranking in the 1,500 meters by running a 4:13.73, which made her the top qualifier in the West Region, and gave her an automatic berth into the NCAA Championships.
In the men's 5,000 meters, Kirubel Erassa, took second in his heat with a 14:11.95, meaning he automatically qualified for the NCAA final. Girma Mecheso, just two days after qualifying in the 10,000 meters, took fourth in his heat of the 5,000 meters to qualify as well.
Somebody's Watching Me
The USTFCCCA announced its Post-Conference Championships Men's Watch List for The Bowerman Trophy, with Oklahoma State thrower Nick Miller receiving votes on the list for collegiate track and field's highest individual honor.
The Bowerman Trophy, which was first awarded in 2009, is presented annually by the USTFCCCA to the most outstanding male and female collegiate track & field athletes in the nation.
Miller is fresh off a record-setting performance in winning his third consecutive Big 12 hammer throw title. His toss of 74.38m/244-0 at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships was an OSU record, a Big 12 meet and overall conference record and the No. 1 throw in the NCAA this season.
That distance also ranks among the top-25 hammer throw marks in the world this year.
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.
