Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Third, Cowgirls Fourth at Big 12 Championships
February 28, 2015 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Photo Gallery AMES, Iowa- The Oklahoma State track and field program wrapped up competition at the 2015 Big 12 Indoor Championships Saturday with the women's team claiming its highest finish in Big 12 history and three athletes winning individual championships.
The Cowgirls, who finished fourth in the team standings, scored in all six events they competed in and picked up titles from Kaela Edwards' record-breaking performance in the 1,000 meters and Clara Nichols in the 800 meters. The men's team finished in third place and added a title from Chad Noelle in the mile. In total, the OSU track and field program took home seven titles this weekend.
Noelle, who also won a championship Friday night as the anchor of the distance medley relay team, finished the mile in 4:08.46 to claim his third career Big 12 title. He also ran the 3,000-meter run just hours after his championship mile performance and finished sixth.
"Chad picked up right where Kirubel (Erassa) left off last year and ran three events for us," coach Dave Smithsaid. "He won two of them and set a conference record in one of them. He's a real team player and wanted to help us the best that he could."
Edwards, who anchored the women's DMR team title Friday, also won her second title of the meet, breaking a 24-year old Big 12 record with a time of 2:43.11 in the women's 1,000 meters. That time also set a new school record and a Lied Recreation Center record. Caileigh Glenn and Abbie Hetherington joined Edwards in the race and finished third and fourth, respectively. Glenn's 2:48.53 and Hetherington's 2:49.19 were both personal bests.
"Kaela was absolutely phenomenal," Smith said. "She broke the conference record, broke the facility record and broke a school record and the first thing she said to me was, `That was fun.' I'm really proud of her and she did a fantastic job."
Edwards' performance was one of the most memorable of the weekend, as she ran in second for the majority of the race and closed a large gap in the final lap before overtaking Baylor's Mariah Kelly.
"I didn't know what to expect going into it," Edwards said. "Mariah Kelly is so strong and a good competitor, so I had to stay on her and ready to go because she was hauling."
Nichols' title was also her second of the weekend, as she ran with Edwards on the DMR team Friday. She ran a 2:06.95 in the 800 meters and claimed the Cowgirls' third title of the meet.
"My race strategy was to find the Baylor girl, stick with her and stay out of trouble and the pack," Nichols said. "It happened to work out beautifully that way, so I couldn't be happier."
Freshman Kaylee Dodd and All-American Savannah Camacho, who also ran in the 800 meters, finished third and fourth to add 11 points for the Cowgirls.
Overall, the men's team finished with 94 points for their third-place finish and the women's team scored 77 points on their way to fourth.
Not only was the Cowgirl's team finish their best in Big 12 history, but it was also their highest finish ever in an indoor conference meet, and their highest finish in any conference track and field meet since the 1986 Big Eight Outdoor Conference Championship, when they placed third.
"We are such a young program and we have such strength and depth in our program," Nichols said. "It's fun to come here and be able to display that to the Big 12."
Several other athletes scored for both the men and women Saturday.
For the men, John Teeters ran both the 60- and 200-meter dash Saturday and picked up his second and third All-Big 12 honors as a result. He ran a 6.62 and finished fourth in the 60, and finished second in the 200 with a 20.86. Teeters holds the fastest 60 meters time in the NCAA this season and ranks fifth in the world this year in the event.
Fabian Clarkson, who won the 5,000-meter run Friday, returned to the track and finished as the runner-up in the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:04.46.
Three Cowboys placed in the top-five of 1,000-meter final with each recording a personal best. Vegard Oelstad finished second in 2:26.90, Timauntay Jones finished third in 2:27.67 and Brigham Hedges finished fifth in 2:27.86.
Itamar Leviscored for the second-straight year in the shot put, finishing seventh.
On the women's side, Viktoriia Sadokhina scored in the triple jump for the third-straight time at a Big 12 meet, finishing seventh with a season-best 12.44m/40-9.75.
The women's mile featured Anna Boyert, Jennifer Celis and eight-time conference champion Natalja Piliusina, who finished 3-4-5, respectively.
The Cowgirls got five more points when Ingeborg Loevnes placed fifth in the women's 3,000-meter final. She finished the race in a career best 9:27.36, which is also good for sixth all-time in school history.
Chase Ealey scored in the women's shot put, placing sixth, and the women's 4X400 meter relay team made up of Ambra Wesley, Danielle Coleman, Sarah Robinson and Stephanie Ferrante placed eighth.
The OSU track and field program wraps up the indoor season March 13-14 at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
Big 12 Championships | Feb. 28, 2015 | Ames, Iowa
Men's Results
60 Meter Final
4.John Teeters- 6.62
200 Meter Final
2.John Teeters- 20.86
Triple Jump
9.Richard Smith- 13.73m/45-0.50
1000 Meter Final
2.Vegard Oelstad- 2:26.90*
3.Timauntay Jones- 2:27.67*
5.Brigham Hedges- 2:27.86*
3000 Meter Final
2.Fabian Clarkson- 8:04.46
6.Chad Noelle- 8:11.49
12.Cerake Geberkidane- 8:18.13
15.Brian Gohlke- 8:25.83
25.Anthoney Armstrong- 8:44.94
26.Luis Martinez- 8:47.63
-- Craig Nowak- DNF
9. Oklahoma State Team A - 3:17.48
(T. Jackson, B. Singleton, L. Gray, T. Jones)
One Mile Run Final
1.Chad Noelle- 4:08.64
Shot Put
7.Itamar Levi- 17.26m/56-7.50
Heptathlon
11.Cole Verble- 4143 pts
12. 60 Meter Dash - 7.70
11. Long Jump - 5.98m/19-7.50
10. Shot Put - 10.69m/35-1.00
9. High Jump - 1.71m/5-7.25
10. 60 Meter Hurdles - 9.48
7. Pole Vault - 4.08m/13-4.50
11. 1000 Meter Run - 3:12.42
Women's Results
Shot Put
6.Chase Ealey- 15.38m/50-5.50
11.Ieva Zarankaite- 13.88m/45-6.50
7.Viktoriia Sadokhina- 12.44m/40-9.75
1.Kaela Edwards- 2:43.11!*^
3.Caileigh Glenn- 2:48.53*
4.Abbie Hetherington- 2:49.19*
3.Jennifer Celis- 4:43.77
4.Anna Boyert- 4:44.96
5.Natalja Piliusina- 4:49.90
1.Clara Nichols- 2:06.95
3.Kaylee Dodd- 2:07.67
4.Savannah Camacho- 2:08.29
3000 Meter Final
5.Ingeborg Loevnes- 9:27.36*^
11.Aurora Dybedokken- 9:48.66
23.Emily Helms- 9:54.50
28.Janelle Martinez- 10:01.06
4X400 Meter Final
8. Oklahoma State Team A - 3:47.58
(A. Wesley, D. Coleman, S. Robinson, S. Ferrante)
Men
1. Texas - 140 points
2. Texas Tech - 95.5
3. Oklahoma State - 94
4. Oklahoma - 89
5. Iowa State - 81
6. Kansas - 80.5
7. Baylor - 69
8. TCU - 49
9. Kansas State - 43
Women
1. Texas - 139 points
2. Kansas State - 132.5
3. Baylor - 105
4. Oklahoma State - 77
5. Texas Tech - 75.5
6. Kansas - 71
7. Iowa State - 68
8. Oklahoma - 52
9. West Virginia - 16
10. TCU - 5
^ - School record
* - Personal best
