Fincham-Dukes Lands Top-Three NCAA Mark in New Mexico

February 10, 2017 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

STILLWATER – Jacob Fincham-Dukes set a lifetime-best and improved his school-record with a mark of 7.86m/25-9.5 feet in the long jump at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational Friday in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Cowboy sophomore landed the mark with his third attempt of the day and went on to finish second in the competition by just over an inch.

The 25-foot leap put Fincham-Dukes at the top of the Big 12 with two weeks to go until the conference championship meet in Ames, Iowa, where last year he finished runner-up as a freshman.

With his new personal best, Fincham-Dukes now holds the No. 3 mark in the NCAA this season and sits at 10th in the world in 2017.

True freshman Fenja Krohn jumped to second on the school's all-time high jump marks list with her 1.70m/5-7.0 foot jump in New Mexico. She's now tied for 11th in the conference.

In Fayetteville, Arkansas, true freshman Jocelen Ruth topped her lifetime-best coming into the day in the women's weight throw three times and hit 17.14m/56-2.75 feet with her third and final throw to move to sixth on the Cowgirl all-time list. She finished 10th in the competition, missing out on the final by two inches.

"We've seen this daily from Jocelen in practice, so it was great to see her put it together in the last meet before Big 12s," throws and multis coach Josh Langley said. "Ieva [Zarankaite] and Baylor [Nelson] also each had very consistent series. Ieva put up a season best and Baylor improved her PR by a foot."

Malik Givens and Logan Daily carried the Cowboy sprints group Friday evening at the Tyson Invitational. The duo advanced to the preliminary rounds with Givens winning his qualifying heat and Daily scoring a personal-best.

Daily's 6.89 sent him through to the prelim and kept him at seventh all-time, but inched the Cowboy newcomer closer to All-American Arlando Brewer-Johnson's sixth-place time of 6.87 seconds.

Despite running a 6.74 in the preliminary round, Givens was nudged out of the last qualifying spot for the final by three-hundredths of a second.

Emily Hart's 8.88 in the 60-meter hurdles qualifying round moved the Cowgirl up to third on the school record list, topping her previous personal-best, and previous fifth-fastest 60-meter hurdles time in OSU history, of 8.94 from her season debut back in December.

Several athletes set PRs in the 400-meter dash, including Ambra Wesley who ran 56.50 in her first open 400-meter race of the year.

"The group is really starting to figure it out," sprints coach Giles McDonnell said. "They are still making little mistakes in execution, but as a whole, the group is starting to piece everything together. The best thing I saw today was the willingness to compete. They're learning from their miscues, so I think they'll make the right adjustments and have some strong performances tomorrow."

OSU's action-packed weekend continues tomorrow as the Tyson Invitational resumes in Fayetteville, a group of Cowboys and Cowgirls take to the track in Seattle and Kaela Edwards runs in the Wanamaker Mile at the Millrose Games on NBC.

Tyson Invitational | Feb. 10, 2017 | Fayetteville, Ark.

Women's

400 Meters
37. Ambra Wesley – 56.50
41. Amira Coleman – 56.78
42. Danielle Coleman – 56.92
43. Stephanie Ferrante – 57.37

60 Meter Hurdles Qualifying
37. Emily Hart – 8.88
39. Sarah Robinson – 9.33
41. Kennedy Turner – 9.37
42. Devre Newby – 9.38

60 Meters Qualifying
34. Kira White – 7.64
43. Lexie Lewis – 7.76

Weight Throw
10. Jocelen Ruth – 17.14m/56-2.75
13. Ieva Zarankaite – 15.76m/51-8.5
14. Baylor Nelson – 15.75m/51-8.25

Men's

400 Meters
14. Tyler Jackson – 48.08
17. Brandon Singleton – 48.14
39. Tanner Green – 49.58

60 Meter Hurdles Qualifying
32. Donovan Nunley – 8.53

60 Meter Qualifying
11. Malik Givens – 6.80Q
22. Logan Daily – 6.89q
35. Anthony Grogan Jr. – 7.07
36. Ty Smith – 7.08

60 Meter Prelim
10. Malik Givens – 6.74
28. Logan Daily – 6.95

Don Kirby Elite | Feb. 10, 2017 | Albuquerque, N.M.

Women's

High Jump
14. Fenja Krohn - 1.70m/5-7.0

Men's

Long Jump
2. Jacob Fincham-Dukes – 7.86m/25-9.5