Oklahoma State University Athletics
Friday, January 26
FAYETTEVILLE, AR
Oklahoma State University
at
Razorback Invitational
OSU Heads to Fayetteville for Razorback Invitational
January 24, 2018 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
MEET NOTES
The Basics
After a meet full of tough competition at the Texas Tech Corky Classic, Dave Smith's track and field squads return to action at the 2018 Razorback Invitational, the same meet where last year, two school records were broken at the hands of Jacob Fincham-Dukes and Kira White.
Follow the Meet
To follow the competition, live results will be available on flashresults.com, as well as arkansasrazorbacks.com at the conclusion of the meet.
OSU's results and a full recap of the event for the Pokes will be available on okstate.com following the completion of both days of competition.
Broadcast
The 2018 Razorback Invitational will be livestreamed on SEC Network. The broadcast will only showcase Saturday's events, beginning with the 400-meter invitational and ending with the 4x400-relay invitational.
Meet Format/Schedule - All Times CT
The 2018 Razorback Invitational is a two-day meet beginning Friday, Jan. 26 at 11:30 with the multi-events, and concluding Saturday, Jan. 27 after the final heat of the women's 4x400-meter relay.
In the multi-events, the women will be competing in the pentathlon, while male competitors will take part in the heptathlon.
Nearly all field events will take place Friday, minus the men's and women's shot put, which will take place on Saturday.
The first individual running event will conclude Friday's action with the 200-meter dash set to take place at 6:35 p.m. and 7:20 p.m.
Saturday will open with the men's and women's 3,000 meters. Live broadcast of the meet won't take place until the 400-meter invitational at 1 p.m., and will end with the 4x400-meter relay invitational.
As customary, the meet will close with the running of the 4x400-meter relay, set to run at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.
A full tentative schedule of events can be found on arkansasrazorbacks.com.
HC Dave Smith on the Meet
On his expectations heading into the meet
"It's always a good meet. A lot of the top programs in the country will be there. It's a great facility and the meet's always run well. We seem to always have big performances there, so I'm really excited for it. I think we had a rust buster at Texas Tech, which is also a great facility and meet. But we were coming back off Christmas break and we were only in town for a day or two, so we didn't know what we were going to get. Now we've had some time to work out and practice and have that meet under our belt now. So, I'm looking for some big improvements and some big time marks this weekend."
On what he tells the team before going up against top competition
"It's the same as always. You have to do what you do every day and you can only control a couple of things by the time you get to competition day. That's your effort and your attitude. We want to go out and be competitive and fight for every inch or second or tenth of a second. Just really practice being competitive for the time when we get into the meets that really matter. By then, you've already kind of seasoned and hardened yourself to being in that competitive mindset."
On the fitness of the team
"I think for most of us, we're still gaining fitness and we're still working our way into shape. Indoor season comes and goes so quickly, you almost have to compete your way into shape a little bit. Some of these meets are that way. Even though we're trying to do big things, there are stepping stones toward the next meet. This is definitely one of those competitions. We'll have some people who will qualify for nationals probably coming out of this weekend. We'll also have some that don't. But, all of them, including the ones who qualify, will hopefully get better as we go through the year."
A Look Back – Texas Tech Corky Classic
In Oklahoma State's first indoor track & field meet of the new year, two seniors made their presences felt, taking first in the men's 1,000m and women's mile among a talented field of teams.
Running against five teams ranked in the USTFCCCA top 25, OSU seniors Matthew Fayers and Gintare Zenkeviciute took the crown in their respective events.
Fayers ran against some of the nation's top middle-distance athletes from LSU and Baylor and edged out LSU's Cameron Cooper by more than a full second. His time of 2:26.10 is just three seconds off his personal best.
Zenkeviciute crushed her personal best mile time of 5:16:74 en route to her crown. Today's time of 4:55.97 blew out the field by nearly 15 full seconds as the Cowgirl turned in the only sub five-minute mile.
Also for the women, middle-distance runners Kaylee Dodd and Amira Coleman went 5-6 in the 600-yard run. Dodd continues to improve as she looks to surpass her ninth-place finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships a season ago.
Tanner Green and Brandon Singleton went 4-5 in the men's 600-yard run, with Green setting a new personal best of 1:12.90 in the process.
In the men's mile, Cowboy newcomer Isai Rodriguez showed promise, finishing in 4:16.87 and taking second place overall. Also improving, sprinter Malik Givens took third in the men's 60 meters behind Texas Tech's Divine Oduduru and Nike's Mike Rodgers.
Return to the Razorback
At this same meet a year ago, the OSU track record book saw itself rewritten two times at the hands of jumper Jacob Fincham-Dukes and true freshman Kira White.
Many track enthusiasts proclaim Arkansas to be "the fastest track in the world," and the Pokes took full advantage.
White put her name on the OSU 200-meter dash top 10 list, with a time of 25.02. Her time put the Cowgirl freshman at ninth on the all-time list.
Fincham-Dukes set a school record in the long jump with his leap of 7.60m/24-11.25 feet for his fifth attempt in the final. Later in the season though, the No. 1 spot on the all-time list would be rewritten again by Fincham-Dukes. He leaped a distance of 7.86m/25-9.5 feet at the Don Kirby Invitational, where the OSU indoor record still stands.
Middle Distance Magic
For nearly a decade, a staple of the OSU track and field has been the middle distance section. Last year, senior Josh Thompson won the Big 12 title in the 1,000m, setting the school record in the process.
Thus far this season, that trend hasn't wavered. Brandon Singleton and Tanner Green are top 10 in the 600-yard run in the conference, and true freshman Isai Rodriguez is fourth in the Big 12 in the mile.
Cowboy senior Matthew Fayers is coming off a win in the 1,000 meters at the Texas Tech Corky Classic, and finds himself third in the conference in the event.
The women's side is no different. Eight of the top 20 spot in the Big 12 women's 600 yards belong to the Cowgirls, with Kaylee Dodd and Amira Coleman leading the way in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Also in the 1,000 meters, Ariane Ballner stands alone at the top of the conference with a time of 2:48.02@, also set at the Corky Classic. Molly Sughroue finished fifth in the 1,000m at the Cowgirls' last meet, also putting her at fifth in the Big 12.
With middle distance expectations higher than ever, the Pokes are off to a good start in filling those shoes.
Making a Way Through the Crowd
In a year that has already seen world record's broken, it's difficult to push through the crowd and make waves in the NCAA.
The Pokes are doing just that, starting with sprinter Malik Givens. After earning All-Big 12 honors last season in the 60 meters, Givens if off to a hot start in 2018. He's currently ranked 32 in the country and second in the Big 12 after running a 6.72@ at the Corky Classic.
Continuing his dominant junior season, Jacob Fincham-Dukes is making waves again in his senior campaign, currently ranked 19th in the country in his main event, the long jump. Fincham-Dukes set the school record in the indoor and outdoor long jump a season ago.
On the women's side, Gintare Zenkeviciute is also in the top 40 in her event, the 1,000m. She ran an impressive 4:52.43@ personal best en route to first place at the Corky Classic, putting her at 39th in the NCAA in the 1,000m.
In the women's long jump, newcomer Schuyler Wood-Hilderbrandt is looking to break through, currently ranked 41st in the country.
The Basics
After a meet full of tough competition at the Texas Tech Corky Classic, Dave Smith's track and field squads return to action at the 2018 Razorback Invitational, the same meet where last year, two school records were broken at the hands of Jacob Fincham-Dukes and Kira White.
Follow the Meet
To follow the competition, live results will be available on flashresults.com, as well as arkansasrazorbacks.com at the conclusion of the meet.
OSU's results and a full recap of the event for the Pokes will be available on okstate.com following the completion of both days of competition.
Broadcast
The 2018 Razorback Invitational will be livestreamed on SEC Network. The broadcast will only showcase Saturday's events, beginning with the 400-meter invitational and ending with the 4x400-relay invitational.
Meet Format/Schedule - All Times CT
The 2018 Razorback Invitational is a two-day meet beginning Friday, Jan. 26 at 11:30 with the multi-events, and concluding Saturday, Jan. 27 after the final heat of the women's 4x400-meter relay.
In the multi-events, the women will be competing in the pentathlon, while male competitors will take part in the heptathlon.
Nearly all field events will take place Friday, minus the men's and women's shot put, which will take place on Saturday.
The first individual running event will conclude Friday's action with the 200-meter dash set to take place at 6:35 p.m. and 7:20 p.m.
Saturday will open with the men's and women's 3,000 meters. Live broadcast of the meet won't take place until the 400-meter invitational at 1 p.m., and will end with the 4x400-meter relay invitational.
As customary, the meet will close with the running of the 4x400-meter relay, set to run at 4:45 p.m. on Saturday.
A full tentative schedule of events can be found on arkansasrazorbacks.com.
HC Dave Smith on the Meet
On his expectations heading into the meet
"It's always a good meet. A lot of the top programs in the country will be there. It's a great facility and the meet's always run well. We seem to always have big performances there, so I'm really excited for it. I think we had a rust buster at Texas Tech, which is also a great facility and meet. But we were coming back off Christmas break and we were only in town for a day or two, so we didn't know what we were going to get. Now we've had some time to work out and practice and have that meet under our belt now. So, I'm looking for some big improvements and some big time marks this weekend."
On what he tells the team before going up against top competition
"It's the same as always. You have to do what you do every day and you can only control a couple of things by the time you get to competition day. That's your effort and your attitude. We want to go out and be competitive and fight for every inch or second or tenth of a second. Just really practice being competitive for the time when we get into the meets that really matter. By then, you've already kind of seasoned and hardened yourself to being in that competitive mindset."
On the fitness of the team
"I think for most of us, we're still gaining fitness and we're still working our way into shape. Indoor season comes and goes so quickly, you almost have to compete your way into shape a little bit. Some of these meets are that way. Even though we're trying to do big things, there are stepping stones toward the next meet. This is definitely one of those competitions. We'll have some people who will qualify for nationals probably coming out of this weekend. We'll also have some that don't. But, all of them, including the ones who qualify, will hopefully get better as we go through the year."
A Look Back – Texas Tech Corky Classic
In Oklahoma State's first indoor track & field meet of the new year, two seniors made their presences felt, taking first in the men's 1,000m and women's mile among a talented field of teams.
Running against five teams ranked in the USTFCCCA top 25, OSU seniors Matthew Fayers and Gintare Zenkeviciute took the crown in their respective events.
Fayers ran against some of the nation's top middle-distance athletes from LSU and Baylor and edged out LSU's Cameron Cooper by more than a full second. His time of 2:26.10 is just three seconds off his personal best.
Zenkeviciute crushed her personal best mile time of 5:16:74 en route to her crown. Today's time of 4:55.97 blew out the field by nearly 15 full seconds as the Cowgirl turned in the only sub five-minute mile.
Also for the women, middle-distance runners Kaylee Dodd and Amira Coleman went 5-6 in the 600-yard run. Dodd continues to improve as she looks to surpass her ninth-place finish in the 800 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships a season ago.
Tanner Green and Brandon Singleton went 4-5 in the men's 600-yard run, with Green setting a new personal best of 1:12.90 in the process.
In the men's mile, Cowboy newcomer Isai Rodriguez showed promise, finishing in 4:16.87 and taking second place overall. Also improving, sprinter Malik Givens took third in the men's 60 meters behind Texas Tech's Divine Oduduru and Nike's Mike Rodgers.
Return to the Razorback
At this same meet a year ago, the OSU track record book saw itself rewritten two times at the hands of jumper Jacob Fincham-Dukes and true freshman Kira White.
Many track enthusiasts proclaim Arkansas to be "the fastest track in the world," and the Pokes took full advantage.
White put her name on the OSU 200-meter dash top 10 list, with a time of 25.02. Her time put the Cowgirl freshman at ninth on the all-time list.
Fincham-Dukes set a school record in the long jump with his leap of 7.60m/24-11.25 feet for his fifth attempt in the final. Later in the season though, the No. 1 spot on the all-time list would be rewritten again by Fincham-Dukes. He leaped a distance of 7.86m/25-9.5 feet at the Don Kirby Invitational, where the OSU indoor record still stands.
Middle Distance Magic
For nearly a decade, a staple of the OSU track and field has been the middle distance section. Last year, senior Josh Thompson won the Big 12 title in the 1,000m, setting the school record in the process.
Thus far this season, that trend hasn't wavered. Brandon Singleton and Tanner Green are top 10 in the 600-yard run in the conference, and true freshman Isai Rodriguez is fourth in the Big 12 in the mile.
Cowboy senior Matthew Fayers is coming off a win in the 1,000 meters at the Texas Tech Corky Classic, and finds himself third in the conference in the event.
The women's side is no different. Eight of the top 20 spot in the Big 12 women's 600 yards belong to the Cowgirls, with Kaylee Dodd and Amira Coleman leading the way in sixth and seventh, respectively.
Also in the 1,000 meters, Ariane Ballner stands alone at the top of the conference with a time of 2:48.02@, also set at the Corky Classic. Molly Sughroue finished fifth in the 1,000m at the Cowgirls' last meet, also putting her at fifth in the Big 12.
With middle distance expectations higher than ever, the Pokes are off to a good start in filling those shoes.
Making a Way Through the Crowd
In a year that has already seen world record's broken, it's difficult to push through the crowd and make waves in the NCAA.
The Pokes are doing just that, starting with sprinter Malik Givens. After earning All-Big 12 honors last season in the 60 meters, Givens if off to a hot start in 2018. He's currently ranked 32 in the country and second in the Big 12 after running a 6.72@ at the Corky Classic.
Continuing his dominant junior season, Jacob Fincham-Dukes is making waves again in his senior campaign, currently ranked 19th in the country in his main event, the long jump. Fincham-Dukes set the school record in the indoor and outdoor long jump a season ago.
On the women's side, Gintare Zenkeviciute is also in the top 40 in her event, the 1,000m. She ran an impressive 4:52.43@ personal best en route to first place at the Corky Classic, putting her at 39th in the NCAA in the 1,000m.
In the women's long jump, newcomer Schuyler Wood-Hilderbrandt is looking to break through, currently ranked 41st in the country.
Players Mentioned
/ Cowboy Cross Country & Track
Tuesday, July 07
Tuesday, July 07
Friday, June 05
Friday, May 29
