OSU Wraps Up Exciting Weekend at Four Meets

February 13, 2016 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

Thompson, Fayers crack four-minute mile mark, Edwards qualifies for fourth event

STILLWATER – The Oklahoma State middle distance runners stole the spotlight Saturday at the Husky Classic, Iowa State Classic and Tyson Invitational. Two cowboys ran sub-four minute miles and Kaela Edwards continued to dazzle, qualifying for nationals in another event.

Big 12 Cross Country Newcomer of the Year Josh Thompson topped his personal best by more than 12 seconds in Seattle, Saturday night. Although he finished fourth overall in a competitive final, Thompson's 3:58.33 from the race is the fastest mile in the Big 12 this season. Having transferred from Central Arizona, Thompson's impressive mark has vaulted him into the OSU all-time list at No. 5 in just his first season as a Cowboy.

"Josh just had a monster PR coming from his 4:10 a few weeks ago to today," coach Dave Smith said. "Last time out he ran a 4:15, so he dropped 17 seconds in two weeks, which is kind of unheard of."

Despite already qualifying for the Indoor Championships in the mile, 800-meter run and as a member of the distance medley relay team, the two-time Indoor All-American Edwards was at it again Saturday, this time in the 3,000-meter run at the Husky Classic. Edwards finished fourth among collegiate athletes in 9:06.27. With her time, the Cowgirl All-American owns the Big 12 lead in three events this season with only two weeks to go until the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

"She's now qualified in four events, so we have to figure out what she's going to do at Nationals," Smith said. "If you're going to win anything at the NCAA level you need a lot of skill. You have to have the speed to run a race at a lower distance and the endurance to run a longer race to make yourself a formidable competitor, and Kaela can do really anything."

Edwards was joined by several other Cowgirls in the event, including Cross Country All-American Ingeborg Loevnes who finished 32nd in 9:18.11, and Aurora Dybedokken who finished 36th in 9:19.71.

"Overall I thought we did really well in the women's 3,000 today," Smith said. "Those women did a great job. It's a presence at the conference level that we haven't had in a long time. We have a lot of women that can run great 3K's, so it's a nice complement to the middle distance girls we typically have. I think now we can cover anything from the 800 up and do a pretty good job."

Big 12 Cross Country Champion Vegard Oelstad was the highest finishing Cowboy in the men's 3,000-meter run, taking seventh and finishing the race in a personal best 7:54.14. NCAA Champion Chad Noelle bounced back after dropping out of his 3,000-meter race two weeks ago by taking 11th place in Seattle in 7:56.06, a personal best that moves him into ninth in OSU history.

"The men did a good job, but we haven't gotten Chad Noelle qualified for anything yet," Smith said. "He's a national champion so we definitely want to get him back there. We'll look at things and decide if he'll run the open mile next weekend or on the DMR, but we'll find a way to get him qualified."

Luis Martinez won section two of the event in 8:12.82, besting the second place finisher from Portland by two seconds, but finishing 35th overall, just behind Craig Nowak who ran in section five. Sophomore Cerake Geberkidane finished in 26th place with an 8:05.97 and Brian Gohlke was the sixth Cowboy to finish in the top-40, running an 8:13.64 and taking 38th.

Molly Sughroue opened the Iowa State Classic in Ames for the Cowgirls in the mile. She competed in the fastest section of the day and finished fourth overall in 4:42.17. She managed to make it into the OSU top-10 list with the sixth fastest time in history and the third fastest in the Big 12 this season. OSU is the only school in conference with two top-five marks in the women's mile.

The top-five finishers in the men's mile finished within a second of each other with OSU's Matthew Fayers leading the way. He outran the second-place finisher by four tenths-of-a-second, winning in 3:59.25, setting a new personal best and jumping him to No. 2 in the Big 12 only trailing his teammate Thompson. Fayers ran a sub-four minute mile at last year's Iowa State Classic that gave him the 10th fastest mile in Cowboy history. With his time Saturday, he jumps to eighth all-time.

"Fayers ran at Iowa State and just ran to win," Smith said. "The race wasn't as fast as some of the other races we've been a part of, so he did a good job and won, but we were kind of hoping for something a little bit faster."

After launching a personal best in the weight throw Friday in Arkansas, Chase Ealey threw another best in the shot put, breaking her own school record by two feet. Ealey's throw of 17.63m/57-10.25 is the best in the conference this season and the third best in the NCAA.

"This has been a seven-month process and Chase is beginning to believe," throws coach Lucais Mackay said. "The results are beginning to show and the next four weeks will definitely be exciting."

The women's 4X400-meter relay team of Stephanie Ferrante, Summor Fields, Danielle Coleman and Amira Coleman ran well at the Tyson Invitational, putting up a time of 3:46.93.

"I was truly impressed with the women's group," sprints coach Diego Flaquer said. "The time that they ran was the best we've had over the last three or four years. I'm extremely proud of their efforts.

With just two weeks until the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Ames, Iowa, the OSU squads have just two meets left on their schedule before challenging defending champion Texas for the Indoor crown. At last season's Big 12 Championships, the Cowboys took third and the Cowgirls finished fourth.

Husky Classic | Dempsey Indoor | Feb. 13, 2016

Women's

800 Meter Run

14. Kaytlyn Larson – 2:10.80

3000 Meter Run

8. Kaela Edwards – 9:06.27

32. Ingeborg Loevnes – 9:18.11

36. Aurora Dybedokken – 9:19.71

42. Natalie Baker – 9:29.18

56. Monika Juodeskaite – 9:35.52

65. Katie Spencer – 9:45.66

Mile