Oklahoma State University Athletics
Saturday, December 9
MANHATTAN, KS
ALL DAY
Oklahoma State University
at
Kansas State Winter Invitational
Indoor Track and Field Heads to Kansas for Season Opener
December 06, 2017 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Meet Notes
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State track and field teams kick off their indoor season at the Kansas State Winter Invitational in the Sunflower State. The dual meet will take place in Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas.
The Cowboys will compete against Kansas State and a few athletes from Fort Hays State and Washburn University. On the women's side, the Cowgirls will go up against K-State and Nebraska-Omaha, along with some athletes from Fort Hays, Washburn and Kennesaw State.
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Follow The Meet
To follow the competition, live results can be found at www.heartlandtiming.com.
OSU's complete meet results and a full recap of the event for the Pokes will be available on okstate.com following the completion of the meet.
Broadcast
This weekend's meet will not be televised or streamed online.
Meet Format/Schedule – All Times CT
The 2017 K-State Winter Invitational begins Friday with the men's and women's indoor pentathlon.
On Saturday morning, the weight throw and pole vault are the first field events, scheduled to begin at 9:30 and 10 a.m., respectively.
Following those will be the long jump, then the men's and women's high jump. To conclude the field events is the shot put and triple jump.
Track events are set to begin approximately an hour after the triple jumps, beginning with the men's and women's 1,000m.
Following those will be the 60m dash and hurdles, then the men's and women's 600-yard run.
After the 600-yard run concludes, the 300m dash followed by the men's and women's mile. Afterward will be the Chris Vanatta women's 3,000m and the Jon Jonsson men's 3,000m.
To conclude the 2017 K-State Winter Invitational, the relay teams will get a chance to show their prowess in the 4x400-meter relay.
Head Coach Dave Smith On The Meet
On what an early meet does for the team
"Well for a lot of the track athletes, it's their first time out. It's been since May since they've competed last, so a chance to see where they are after a lot of hard work in the fall. Getting ready for the season — a jumping off point. I think a lot of them are excited to get away from practice and put the uniform on and test themselves a little bit."
On the expectations for the weekend
"Well we're not looking for lifetime bests at this time. But we definitely want to see that kind of effort and attitude. The most important thing is to get out and be competitive. We always talk about as long as we can get done with the day and say we ran as hard as we could, as best we could and as far as we could, then we're OK. So we're looking for effort and competitiveness. The fitness and race-readiness will come later."
On who he expects to stand out in indoor season
"We have a really big crew of middle-distance women. We've got a growing sprints crew and they could do some big things. I'm excited to see Emily Rogers in the high jump — a graduate transfer from Ireland. It's hard to pick any one or two people. We've got a couple freshmen in sprints that I'm excited to see. On the men's side, Hassan Abdi is looking to go to his fth-straight national championship. I think we've got a crew of young middle-distance runners in their rst or second year I'm excited about. Kevin Mulcaire was a redshirt-freshman who was injured most of last year, but is finally back to running. We've got a really big group of true freshmen, especially Kyler True, who can do big things. Over on the sprints side, I think our 400-meter crew on the men's group looks really good. We've got some upper-classmen who have been here awhile who can be better than they've ever been and some young guys who are rolling along pretty well, too. I don't know, it's hard to pick any one group because we've got a lot of growth in those areas, so I'm excited to see where they are."
A Look Back – Week One, 2016
OSU opened the 2016-17 indoor season at the K-State Winter Invitational on Dec. 10, competing with Kansas State, Missouri – Kansas City, Nebraska – Omaha, and a few athletes from Ft. Hays State and Texas-Wesleyan.
A conference runner-up a season ago, Jacob Fincham-Dukes opened his sophomore campaign with a win the long jump. The British international leapt 7.41m/24-3.75 feet to take the invitational title.
Fincham-Dukes was the first of the five event winners for OSU at the meet.
Bradley Johnson out-kicked the competition to win the 600-yard run in 1:12.73, with Tyler Jackson and Brandon Singleton taking second and third, respectively.
OSU swept the 600-yard titles with Ambra Wesley winning the women's race as well. She finished in 1:26.66 and was followed by Danielle Coleman in third and Amira Coleman in fth.
The Cowgirls went one-two in the women's shot put. Senior Katie Kehl won the event launching the shot 14.11m/46-3.50, and true freshman Jocelen Ruth's throw of 13.42m/44-0.50 got her second place. Ruth opened the day by putting herself into the Cowgirl record book in the weight throw with a mark of 15.80m/51-10.00, the eighth-best mark in school history.
The freshmen performed well in their OSU debuts led by Ruth, Fenja Krohn and Kira White.
Krohn impressed in the high jump when she finished tied for second with the third-best mark in the event in Cowgirl history. She cleared 1.68m/5-6.00 feet to give OSU its best high jump mark indoors since 2014.
In the 60 meters, White dashed her way to a runner-up finish and the fourth-best time in school history with a 7.75. Later in the day, White tested her range in the 300 and won her heat, finishing eighth overall.
OSU's 4X400-meter relay teams had successful season debuts. The Cowboys won and the Cowgirls took second in the final events of the meet. The men's quartet of Brandon Singleton, Tanner Green, Anthony Grogan Jr., and Malik Givens ran a 3:21.85 to push past the Wildcats.
2017 Indoor Highlights
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Men
The Cowboys saw production in the indoor season from seniors Josh Thompson, Craig Nowak and the DMR team. Thompson was the Big 12 champion in the mile and 1,000m, Nowak earned a conference title in the 3,000m and the DMR team brought home the conference gold for the Cowboys.
The men earned first team All-America honors in Thompson (mile) and the DMR team of Nowak, Brandon Singleton, Bradley Johnson and Hassan Abdi. Jacob Fincham-Dukes was awarded second team All-America honors for the long jump, as well as Matthew Fayers earning honorable mention in the mile.
Two school records were set in last year's indoor season. Thompson ran a 2:22.07 in the 1,000m at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Ames, Iowa. Fincham-Dukes set an OSU record at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the long jump, leaping his way to a 7.86m/25-9.5 mark.
After taking fourth at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, the Cowboys took 30th place at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas. Thompson finished sixth in the nation in the mile with a time of 4:06.96, while the DMR team also finished sixth in the country.
Women
The Cowgirls' season was shaped similarly, as they succeeded in large part to senior Kaela Edwards and juniors Abbie Hetherington and Molly Sughroue. Like the men, the Cowgirls won four events in the Big 12 Indoor Championships - 800m, 1,000m, mile and DMR.
After taking third at Big 12s, the second-highest women's finish under head coach Dave Smith, the Cowgirls went on to earn two All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Edwards earned rst team All-America in the mile, while Kaylee Dodd earned second team in the 800m.
Along with having a stellar career at Oklahoma State, Edwards left her legacy on the NCAA, setting the collegiate record in the mile in 2:40.79 at the 2017 Holiday Inn Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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The Basics
The Oklahoma State track and field teams kick off their indoor season at the Kansas State Winter Invitational in the Sunflower State. The dual meet will take place in Ahearn Field House in Manhattan, Kansas.
The Cowboys will compete against Kansas State and a few athletes from Fort Hays State and Washburn University. On the women's side, the Cowgirls will go up against K-State and Nebraska-Omaha, along with some athletes from Fort Hays, Washburn and Kennesaw State.
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Follow The Meet
To follow the competition, live results can be found at www.heartlandtiming.com.
OSU's complete meet results and a full recap of the event for the Pokes will be available on okstate.com following the completion of the meet.
Broadcast
This weekend's meet will not be televised or streamed online.
Meet Format/Schedule – All Times CT
The 2017 K-State Winter Invitational begins Friday with the men's and women's indoor pentathlon.
On Saturday morning, the weight throw and pole vault are the first field events, scheduled to begin at 9:30 and 10 a.m., respectively.
Following those will be the long jump, then the men's and women's high jump. To conclude the field events is the shot put and triple jump.
Track events are set to begin approximately an hour after the triple jumps, beginning with the men's and women's 1,000m.
Following those will be the 60m dash and hurdles, then the men's and women's 600-yard run.
After the 600-yard run concludes, the 300m dash followed by the men's and women's mile. Afterward will be the Chris Vanatta women's 3,000m and the Jon Jonsson men's 3,000m.
To conclude the 2017 K-State Winter Invitational, the relay teams will get a chance to show their prowess in the 4x400-meter relay.
Head Coach Dave Smith On The Meet
On what an early meet does for the team
"Well for a lot of the track athletes, it's their first time out. It's been since May since they've competed last, so a chance to see where they are after a lot of hard work in the fall. Getting ready for the season — a jumping off point. I think a lot of them are excited to get away from practice and put the uniform on and test themselves a little bit."
On the expectations for the weekend
"Well we're not looking for lifetime bests at this time. But we definitely want to see that kind of effort and attitude. The most important thing is to get out and be competitive. We always talk about as long as we can get done with the day and say we ran as hard as we could, as best we could and as far as we could, then we're OK. So we're looking for effort and competitiveness. The fitness and race-readiness will come later."
On who he expects to stand out in indoor season
"We have a really big crew of middle-distance women. We've got a growing sprints crew and they could do some big things. I'm excited to see Emily Rogers in the high jump — a graduate transfer from Ireland. It's hard to pick any one or two people. We've got a couple freshmen in sprints that I'm excited to see. On the men's side, Hassan Abdi is looking to go to his fth-straight national championship. I think we've got a crew of young middle-distance runners in their rst or second year I'm excited about. Kevin Mulcaire was a redshirt-freshman who was injured most of last year, but is finally back to running. We've got a really big group of true freshmen, especially Kyler True, who can do big things. Over on the sprints side, I think our 400-meter crew on the men's group looks really good. We've got some upper-classmen who have been here awhile who can be better than they've ever been and some young guys who are rolling along pretty well, too. I don't know, it's hard to pick any one group because we've got a lot of growth in those areas, so I'm excited to see where they are."
A Look Back – Week One, 2016
OSU opened the 2016-17 indoor season at the K-State Winter Invitational on Dec. 10, competing with Kansas State, Missouri – Kansas City, Nebraska – Omaha, and a few athletes from Ft. Hays State and Texas-Wesleyan.
A conference runner-up a season ago, Jacob Fincham-Dukes opened his sophomore campaign with a win the long jump. The British international leapt 7.41m/24-3.75 feet to take the invitational title.
Fincham-Dukes was the first of the five event winners for OSU at the meet.
Bradley Johnson out-kicked the competition to win the 600-yard run in 1:12.73, with Tyler Jackson and Brandon Singleton taking second and third, respectively.
OSU swept the 600-yard titles with Ambra Wesley winning the women's race as well. She finished in 1:26.66 and was followed by Danielle Coleman in third and Amira Coleman in fth.
The Cowgirls went one-two in the women's shot put. Senior Katie Kehl won the event launching the shot 14.11m/46-3.50, and true freshman Jocelen Ruth's throw of 13.42m/44-0.50 got her second place. Ruth opened the day by putting herself into the Cowgirl record book in the weight throw with a mark of 15.80m/51-10.00, the eighth-best mark in school history.
The freshmen performed well in their OSU debuts led by Ruth, Fenja Krohn and Kira White.
Krohn impressed in the high jump when she finished tied for second with the third-best mark in the event in Cowgirl history. She cleared 1.68m/5-6.00 feet to give OSU its best high jump mark indoors since 2014.
In the 60 meters, White dashed her way to a runner-up finish and the fourth-best time in school history with a 7.75. Later in the day, White tested her range in the 300 and won her heat, finishing eighth overall.
OSU's 4X400-meter relay teams had successful season debuts. The Cowboys won and the Cowgirls took second in the final events of the meet. The men's quartet of Brandon Singleton, Tanner Green, Anthony Grogan Jr., and Malik Givens ran a 3:21.85 to push past the Wildcats.
2017 Indoor Highlights
Â
Men
The Cowboys saw production in the indoor season from seniors Josh Thompson, Craig Nowak and the DMR team. Thompson was the Big 12 champion in the mile and 1,000m, Nowak earned a conference title in the 3,000m and the DMR team brought home the conference gold for the Cowboys.
The men earned first team All-America honors in Thompson (mile) and the DMR team of Nowak, Brandon Singleton, Bradley Johnson and Hassan Abdi. Jacob Fincham-Dukes was awarded second team All-America honors for the long jump, as well as Matthew Fayers earning honorable mention in the mile.
Two school records were set in last year's indoor season. Thompson ran a 2:22.07 in the 1,000m at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Ames, Iowa. Fincham-Dukes set an OSU record at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the long jump, leaping his way to a 7.86m/25-9.5 mark.
After taking fourth at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, the Cowboys took 30th place at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas. Thompson finished sixth in the nation in the mile with a time of 4:06.96, while the DMR team also finished sixth in the country.
Women
The Cowgirls' season was shaped similarly, as they succeeded in large part to senior Kaela Edwards and juniors Abbie Hetherington and Molly Sughroue. Like the men, the Cowgirls won four events in the Big 12 Indoor Championships - 800m, 1,000m, mile and DMR.
After taking third at Big 12s, the second-highest women's finish under head coach Dave Smith, the Cowgirls went on to earn two All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Edwards earned rst team All-America in the mile, while Kaylee Dodd earned second team in the 800m.
Along with having a stellar career at Oklahoma State, Edwards left her legacy on the NCAA, setting the collegiate record in the mile in 2:40.79 at the 2017 Holiday Inn Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska.
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Players Mentioned
/ Cowboy Cross Country & Track
/ Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29
Wednesday, May 27
Monday, May 18
