OSU Wins Four Titles on Day Three in Ames

May 18, 2015 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

OSU Sweeps 1,500m, Erassa wins 5K

AMES, Iowa -- Chad Noelle defended his 1,500-meter title, Kirubel Erassa won his second title of the meet and Natalja Piliusina became the most
decorated Cowgirl in OSU track and field history at the 2015 Big 12 Outdoor Championships Sunday.

The Cowboys ended the championships in sixth, with 69 points and three wins, and the Cowgirls' 62 points and two titles was good enough for a
seventh place.

"We had four conference champions today, so you can't really argue with that," coach Dave Smith said. "We were looking to finish a little higher
than we did, but we're trending up and getting better year-by-year, so the program is headed in the right direction."

In the final individual race of the day, Erassa outran Texas' Craig Lutz for the second time at the Cyclone Sports Complex, taking the 5,000-meter
title in 14:24.98. It was Erassa's seventh career Big 12 title and second 5K title at an outdoor conference meet.

Piliusina claimed her school record-tying ninth Big 12 title in the women's 1,500-meter run. The Cowgirl senior and 2013 national champion in the
event stormed past the leader on the home stretch to win the event in 4:26.70, earning the Cowgirls 10 points in her first 1,500-meter conference
final.

"It just fills me with joy to see her out there doing what she loves to do," Smith said. "She was out for so long that a lot of athletes really wouldn't
think to come back, but she's such a competitor, she loves being out here and she loves OSU, so I don't think it was ever a question in her mind
that she would be back and it looks like she's in really good form heading into regionals."

Joining Piliusina in the race was senior, two-time Big 12 champion Caileigh Glenn, who earned All-Big 12 honors in the 1,500 for the second time.
Glenn finished fifth in 4:31.55 and scored four points where she finished in 2012.

The men's 1,500 was just as successful as Chad Noelle continued his domination in the race, winning his second straight title in the event and his
third Big 12 title of the year. The near mile-long race started slow, but the pace picked up significantly in the second lap.

"It was so windy and hot that no one wanted lead," Noelle said. "All the guys in the race were all speed oriented guys and we were in the front, so I
was completely fine with going as slow as possible for as long as possible. Some one took it and then we started rolling, but it was real slow in the
first 300."

Noelle took the lead just before the bell and didn't look back, cruising to a 4:05.93 finish and scoring 10 more points for the Cowboys. Sophomore
middle-distance runner Matthew Fayers finished sixth in 4:08.54, scoring in an outdoor conference meet for the second time.

For the first time in Big 12 history, the 100-meter dash featured three times under 9.99 seconds. The race featured Cowboy junior John Teeters
who finished second and scored eight points for his team by running a blistering 9.98.

Teeters was running against a stacked field, which featured five of the top-18 sprinters in the NCAA West Region. He has now scored three times
this year and has six All-Big 12 honors with the addition of the 4X100 honor.

"I'm feeling good after that run," Teeters said. "My last 20 meters was a little rough but it's just technique and I'll just have to fix it before nationals. I
ran a sub-10, so I can't really complain."

OSU had the runners-up in the two 3000-meter steeplechases as school record-holder Ingeborg Loevnes and All-American Fabian Clarkson
scored eight points each for the Cowgirls and Cowboys.

In one of the most grueling races of the day, running into a strong headwind into the water jump, Loevnes ran a time of 10:24.99 and earned her
first outdoor All-conference honor. Clarkson's 9:02.19 earned the Cowboy senior his sixth All-Big 12 honor, and Anthoney Armstrong joined him in
the race, finishing sixth in 9:22.48.

All-American Savannah Camacho ran in her first 800-meter final and won it in 2:10.18.

"The first lap was pretty slow, but in this field I knew they could go," Camacho said. "I just had to be mentally ready because I was running with
Kaela who is one of the best kickers in the country and that wind just carried me through that last 100."

Kaela Edwards, Kaylee Dodd and Abbie Hetherington joined Camacho in the race, each finishing third, sixth and eighth, respectively.

"It was a good feeling knowing that I had three OSU girls beside me," Camacho said. "It was definitely the best part of the day having the other
girls up there on the podium with me."

Ieva Zarankaite started the scoring for the Cowgirls on the final day of the meet in the women's discus throw. Her throw of 48.67m was good
enough for eighth place and a point, earning the Cowgirl sophomore All-Big 12 honors for the second consecutive year in the event.

The men's 4X100-meter relay finished sixth in 40.68 seconds. Sharod Selph, Arlando Brewer-Johnson, Tyler Jackson and John Teeters ran in the
faster heat of the race, as the three finishers above them ran sub-40 with a strong swirling wind.

"We did OK, today," sprints coach Diego Flaquer said. "We knew we were going to be a little bit behind today because Tyler had a hamstring injury,
but I thought they ran well considering the wind and other issues."

The women's 4X100-and 4X400 meter relays also scored a point each for the Cowgirls. Britney Presley, Stephanie Ferrante, Summor Fields and
Ambra Wesley ran the 4X100, and Presley was replaced in the 4X400 by Danielle Coleman.

Bailey Johnson took fifth in the 400-meter hurdles final in 1:00.57, and freshman Sarah Robinson scored two points when she finished seventh in
1:03.38.

"For both of them to make the final and score is huge for the program," Flaquer said. "I'm proud of how they competed and Bailey ran a season
best, which is what you want at a big meet like this."

OSU earned points from the men's and women's triple jump when defending women's champion Viktoriia Sadokhina finished eighth and jumped a
season's 12.43m, and Richard Smith scored for the second time in his career and the first time as a Cowboy with a jump of 14.75m. Smith's jump
was also a season best and the No. 6 mark in OSU history.

"We've got some really talented athletes," Smith said. "Winning a title in certain events in the Big 12 is on par winning them at a national
championship because it's almost as difficult to win. It's a tough conference, but in a way it prepares you so that you know you have to have your
best stuff in order to score well."

The OSU track and field team's next big test will be May 28-30 at the NCAA West Regional meet in Austin, Texas, where the top-qualifiers in the
region will compete for a spot in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Oregon.

Big 12 Outdoor Championships :: May 17, 2015 :: Ames, Iowa

Men's

1,500 Meter Run Final
1. Chad Noelle -- 4:05.93
6. Matthew Fayers -- 4:08.54

100 Meter Dash Final
2. John Teeters -- 9.98*

4X100 Meter Relay
6. Oklahoma State Team A -- 40.68
(S. Selph, T. Jackson,
A. Brewer-Johnson, J. Teeters)

5000 Meter Final
1. Kirubel Erassa -- 14:24.98
5. Brian Gohlke -- 14:38.63
12. Vegard Oelstad -- 14:57.54
15. Brigham Hedges -- 15:06.30
16. Craig Nowak -- 15:12.64
17. David Osborn -- 15:16.83
22. Anthoney Armstrong -- 15:37.01

3000 Meter Steeplechase
2. Fabian Clarkson -- 9:02.19
6. Anthoney Armstrong -- 9:22.48
12. Nick Thorp -- 9:54.55

Triple Jump
7. Richard Smith -- 14.75m

Women's

1,500 Meter Run Final
1. Natalja Piliusina -- 4:26.70
5. Caileigh Glenn -- 4:31.55

800 Meter Run Final
1. Savannah Camacho -- 2:10.18
3. Kaela Edwards -- 2:10.48
6. Kaylee Dodd -- 2:11.92
8. Abbie Hetherington -- 2:12.76

400M Hurdles Final
4. Bailey Johnson -- 1:00.57
7. Sarah Robinson -- 1:03.38

Discus Throw
8. Ieva Zarankaite -- 48.67m

Triple Jump
8. Viktoriia Sadokhina -- 12.43m

4X100 Meter Final
8. Oklahoma State Team A -- 47.74
(B. Presley, S. Ferrante,
S. Fields, A. Wesley)

4X400 Meter Final
8. Oklahoma State A -- 3:46.88
(A. Wesley, D. Coleman,
S. Ferrante, S. Fields)

3000 Meter Steeplechase
2. Ingeborg Loevnes -- 10:24.99

5000 Meter Run
6. Aurora Dybeokken -- 17:03.06
9. Anna Boyert -- 17:07.34
13. Natalie Baker -- 17:19.21
26. Janelle Martinez -- 17:59.58

Final Team Standings

Men's
1. Texas -- 151 pts
2. Texas Tech -- 126.75
3. Oklahoma -- 107
4. Baylor -- 93
5. Kansas -- 85.25
6. Oklahoma State -- 69
7. TCU -- 67
8. Kansas State -- 62
9. Iowa State -- 58

Women's
1. Texas -- 141.5
2. Kansas State -- 129.5
3. Texas Tech -- 103
4. Kansas -- 101
5. Baylor -- 96
6. Oklahoma -- 76
7. Oklahoma State -- 62
8. Iowa State -- 59
9. West Virgina -- 32
10. TCU -- 15