Track and Field Splits for Final Regular Season Weekend

Friday, February 16

FAYETTEVILLE, AR

ALL DAY

Oklahoma State University

Arkansas Qualifier

February 15, 2018 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

The Basics
The OSU track and field squad heads back to the Natural State to tackle the Arkansas Qualifier. This is the last regular season meet, as next weekend is the Big 12 Championships in Ames, Iowa.
The Cowgirls are also sending the DMR group to the Alex Wilson Invitational in Notre Dame, Indiana to prepare for the postseason.

Follow the Meet
To follow the competition, live results will be available on flashresults.com and arkansasrazorbacks.com.
A full recap of Oklahoma State's day in Fayetteville, Arkansas will be available on okstate.com following the conclusion of the day of competition.

Broadcast
The Arkansas Qualifier can be seen on SECNetwork+ beginning at 6:00 p.m. CT, extending until the conclusion of the meet.
The Alex Wilson Invitational will not be broadcast or livestreamed.

Meet Format/Schedule - All Times CT
The Arkansas Qualifier is a one-day meet, with this being the team's last regular-season chance to qualify for nationals before the Big 12 Championships next weekend.
The field events are set to kick off at 2 p.m. with the shot put. The women's high jump will come after, followed by the long jumps. The final field event of the meet will be the men's high jump, set to begin at 7 p.m.
The track portion of the meet is scheduled to begin at 4:45 p.m. with the women's DMR. Shortly after will be the 60 meter prelims and the 400 meters. At 6 p.m. is the 60 meter finals, which is the first event of the live broadcast.
As customary, the 4x400-meter relay is set to be the final event of the one-day meet, set to run at 7:45 p.m. and 7:50 p.m.
The women are set to run the DMR at the Alex Wilson Invitational on Saturday at 10:45 a.m.

HC Dave Smith on This Weekend

On this weekend's meets
"For the most part, it's for the athletes we feel need one more go before they get to Big 12's. A little tune up. Maybe if they haven't done so well already, they want to get that taste out of their mouth and get one more chance at momentum heading into the conference meet. We're going to send a group up to Notre Dame to try to get a qualifier in the DMR, which we think is pretty good. We'll have some good competition in the distance medley and see if we can qualify."

On the shift in mindset in the postseason
"Now, it's all about place and who you can beat. All year long, it's been about how fast you can run, how high you can jump, how far you can throw, etc. Now, that doesn't matter. It's who you can beat and the mindset has to shift from being a time trial to beating the person in front of you. If you're in a race to qualify, it doesn't really matter who beats who, as long as you run fast. Now, that doesn't really matter. It's who can you beat that matters. So, it's a very different approach and a different mindset and we have to switch gears and get into that competitive mode where every place counts."

On who he's seen improve in the indoor season
"I've been really impressed with a bunch of new guys this past weekend. Ashe Hatte, who is a junior-college transfer, had a huge PR up in Seattle and ran really, really well. Kevin Mulcaire, who is a redshirt-freshman, same thing. He had a big PR in Seattle and ran well. A group of freshman guys: Bryce Quigley in Arkansas, Owen Krewson in Seattle. Those two guys in particular have done a really good job."

On Kaylee Dodd
"She still has a lot of work to do. She's also one of the key legs in our DMR. So, she'll travel this coming weekend to Notre Dame to try to help the DMR team qualify ... The bulk of her work this season is still in front of her. A lot of athletes can't handle that, but she's a superstar."

My, Oh Mile
Last weekend was the biggest weekend of Dave Smith's track and field squads so far this season, with special attention paid to the mile.
The Cowgirls now own three of the top-20 mile times in the Big 12, highlighted by Molly Sughroue. Sughroue ran it in 4:37.74 at the Husky Classic, taking the top spot in the conference. She owns the No. 18 spot in the NCAA among a talented field of mile runners.
Along with being top five in the conference in the 1,000m, Ariane Ballner also posseses the No. 4 spot in the mile in the conference, running it in 4:46.12.
Matthew Fayers ran the Cowboys' first sub-four minute mile of the season this past weekend at the Husky Classic.
Despite running a sub-four, Fayers was running in a loaded field and took eighth overall.
Nine runners ran sub-four miles in the race.
Fayers also finds himself in the top-20 milers in the NCAA. Sitting at No. 20, Fayers is a mere four seconds behind the top spot in the country.

Abdi Does It Again
Over the weekend, Hassan Abdi ran in the 5,000 meters at the Husky Classic in Seattle.
He ran the nation's ninth-best mark with a time of 13:41.91.
Abdi put himself in prime position to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas, on March 9-10.
Abdi is coming off a stellar cross country season. He was the Big 12 individual champion.
In his most recent track season, Abdi qualified for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, in the 10,000 meters.
With his performance in Seattle, Abdi has put himself in prime position to compete again at the national stage.

Middle Distance Magic
As always, Oklahoma State middle distance has shined in the 2017-18 season.
Through five weekends of competition, Oklahoma State owns 26 marks that are good for top 20 in the Big 12 in middle distance events (800 meters, 1,000 meters and the mile).
The brightest star for the Cowgirls is All-American Kaylee Dodd. Her time of 2:04.52 in the 800 meters is second-best in the Big 12 and is the No. 10 time in the nation.
Dodd is coming off a stellar junior campaign.
In her 2017 indoor season, Dodd finished ninth at the NCAA Championships in the 800 meters and won her first Big 12 title as a member of the DMR team.
In the outdoor season, she improved to fifth in the country in the 800 meters and ran a personal best of 2:03.38.
For the men, Matthew Fayers has been a standout runner once again.
He currently has the fourth-best 1,000 meters time in the confernece and the seventh-best mark in the 800 meters.
His season's best of 1:50.93 in the 800 meters is also the No. 80 time nationally in the event.
This past weekend, he threw down a huge performance, running another sub-four minute mile. He ran a 3:58.44 at the Husky Classic and he is now No. 20 in the country in the mile.
The two-time Big 12 champion is in his final season as a Cowboy.

Making a Way Through the Crowd
So far this season, Oklahoma State track and field has put up times that rank among the nation and conference's best.
If the season ended today, Oklahoma State would send two competitors to College Station, Texas, for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Hassan Abdi and Kaylee Dodd both earned qualifying times over the past weekend.
The Cowboys own four top-five marks in the Big 12 and 13 top-10 marks in the conference.
Big 12 cross country champion Hassan Abdi owns the best time in the conference in the 5,000 meters. His mark of 13:41.91 not only leads the conference, but he also in No. 9 in the nation in the event.
The Cowgirls have nine top-ten conference marks, including three top-five performances in the Big 12 this season.
Ariane Ballner's 2:48.02 is the second-best time in the 1,000 meters by a Big 12 performer this season.