Oklahoma State University Athletics
Friday, February 23
AMES, IA
Oklahoma State University
at
Big 12 Indoor Championships
Track and Field Heads to Ames for Big 12 Championships
February 21, 2018 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
MEET NOTES
The Basics
Oklahoma State battles it out with the Big 12 this weekend at the conference indoor championship meet held in Ames, Iowa, for the sixth-consecutive year.
The Pokes are looking to build upon last year's finish when the men finished fourth and the women third. The Cowboys are returning half of the DMR team that won a conference title last year, while the Cowgirls are bringing back Abbie Hetherington and Molly Sughroue who won the women's 1,000m and mile titles a year ago.
Follow the Meet
To follow the competition, live results will be available on deltatiming.com.
A full recap for Oklahoma State will be available on okstate.com following the conclusion of each day of competition.
Broadcast
The 2018 Big 12 Championships will be available online via a live stream provided by FloTrack.
Fans can only access the live stream with a FloTrackPRO account.
Meet Format/Schedule – All Times CT
The 2018 Big 12 Championship follows the same schedule as previous years with the multi-events opening the conference games at 10 a.m. Friday.
The first open event of the day will be the women's weight throw at 3 p.m.
The first open running event of the day is the women's mile prelim at 3:10 p.m., followed by the men's mile prelim at 3:30.
The last field event of day one will be the women's long jump at 6:30 p.m., and the women's and men's distance medley relays close the first day of competition at 8:40 and 9 p.m., respectively.
Day two kicks off with the remaining events in the heptathlon at 11 a.m., then the women's high jump at noon starts five-straight hours of finals outside of a break for the National Anthem.
An awards ceremony for the team champions and other honors is estimated to take place at 6 p.m. (subject to change), and is the final event of the conference championships.
HC Dave Smith on the Weekend
On the depth of the women's team
"We don't have the depth that we had last year. We lost four-of-five really good seniors who led us for a long time. We've got several of our up-and-comers dinged up right now and aren't competing. We're thin, but I think we've got some of the best athletes in the conference in those event areas. The problem is, we've only got a few of them. So we're trying to spread them around and maximize our potential as a team without doing anything to interfere with their long-term goals."
On the depth of the men's team
"On the men's side, we're very young but we have a lot of bodies. For the most part, I think the young guys are probably on the outside looking in at scoring, but we have men and women in that position every year who come up big and score. So I've told them all year, you can't control who you're competing against. You can't control your fitness at this point. All you can control is your effort and your attitude. You have to go in there knowing you can be a contributor. Fight for every second, inch or whatever it is and do the best you can do."
On the women's DMR debut last week
"I think they went up there and ran well together. I told them before they left, 'If you go up there, you have to be excited about it. You have to be excited and ready to go and take advantage of the atmosphere.' I thought they did an exceptional job. I thought they went up there and brought great energy and great effort and really went for it. Kaylee Dodd ran an incredible 800 leg for us. We ended up missing the school record by about 0.4 seconds, so second-fastest time ever run. I think that experience and being together as a team is a whole different part of track and field. I think it's really, really fun and most people don't get a chance to experience that in track and field. I think it is a springboard for the conference meet, their confidence and being ready for competition. I think the relays do a great job of stoking that fire."
My, Oh Mile
This season has been another successful one for Dave Smith's track and field squads, with particular 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. 19 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 two weekends ago 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-25 milers in the NCAA. Sitting at No. 21, Fayers is a mere four seconds behind the top spot in the country.
Dominating DMR Debut
This past weekend, the Cowgirl distance medley relay team made a stunning debut in Notre Dame, Indiana at the Alex Wilson Invitational.
Taking fourth in the event, the DMR team of Ariane Ballner, Ambra Wesley, Kaylee Dodd and Molly Sughroue ran the race in 11:01.55. That mark is the second-fastest time by a women's DMR in school history, along with being the No. 7 time in the NCAA this season.
The DMR is an event the Pokes have had plenty of success with in the past.
At last year's indoor Big 12 Championship, Oklahoma State swept the DMR titles on the first day of the championship.
The Cowgirls have won the event three-consecutive years, while the Cowboys are seeking their third DMR title in four years.
Middle Distance Machines
As always, Oklahoma State middle distance has shined in the 2017-18 season.
Through six weekends of competition, Oklahoma State owns 25 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 second-best mile time in the conference and the No. 21 mark in the country.
His season's best of 2:25.68@ in the 800 meters is also the No. 4 time in the Big 12 in the event.
The Pokes will look to continue their middle-distance dominance this weekend in their trip to Ames, Iowa.
Fighting for Every Inch
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 three separate events to the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas.
Hassan Abdi and Kaylee Dodd both earned qualifying times two weekends ago at the Husky Classic and Iowa State Classic.
Last week's DMR debut also puts the Cowgirls at No. 7 in the country in the event. The DMR ran an 11:01.55, which ranks as the second-fastest time put up by a Cowgirl quartet in school history.
The Cowboys own 14 top-10 marks in the Big 12 and three top-25 marks in the nation.
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 13 top-10 conference marks, including five 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, along with the plethora of orange splashed across the conference leaderboards.
The Basics
Oklahoma State battles it out with the Big 12 this weekend at the conference indoor championship meet held in Ames, Iowa, for the sixth-consecutive year.
The Pokes are looking to build upon last year's finish when the men finished fourth and the women third. The Cowboys are returning half of the DMR team that won a conference title last year, while the Cowgirls are bringing back Abbie Hetherington and Molly Sughroue who won the women's 1,000m and mile titles a year ago.
Follow the Meet
To follow the competition, live results will be available on deltatiming.com.
A full recap for Oklahoma State will be available on okstate.com following the conclusion of each day of competition.
Broadcast
The 2018 Big 12 Championships will be available online via a live stream provided by FloTrack.
Fans can only access the live stream with a FloTrackPRO account.
Meet Format/Schedule – All Times CT
The 2018 Big 12 Championship follows the same schedule as previous years with the multi-events opening the conference games at 10 a.m. Friday.
The first open event of the day will be the women's weight throw at 3 p.m.
The first open running event of the day is the women's mile prelim at 3:10 p.m., followed by the men's mile prelim at 3:30.
The last field event of day one will be the women's long jump at 6:30 p.m., and the women's and men's distance medley relays close the first day of competition at 8:40 and 9 p.m., respectively.
Day two kicks off with the remaining events in the heptathlon at 11 a.m., then the women's high jump at noon starts five-straight hours of finals outside of a break for the National Anthem.
An awards ceremony for the team champions and other honors is estimated to take place at 6 p.m. (subject to change), and is the final event of the conference championships.
HC Dave Smith on the Weekend
On the depth of the women's team
"We don't have the depth that we had last year. We lost four-of-five really good seniors who led us for a long time. We've got several of our up-and-comers dinged up right now and aren't competing. We're thin, but I think we've got some of the best athletes in the conference in those event areas. The problem is, we've only got a few of them. So we're trying to spread them around and maximize our potential as a team without doing anything to interfere with their long-term goals."
On the depth of the men's team
"On the men's side, we're very young but we have a lot of bodies. For the most part, I think the young guys are probably on the outside looking in at scoring, but we have men and women in that position every year who come up big and score. So I've told them all year, you can't control who you're competing against. You can't control your fitness at this point. All you can control is your effort and your attitude. You have to go in there knowing you can be a contributor. Fight for every second, inch or whatever it is and do the best you can do."
On the women's DMR debut last week
"I think they went up there and ran well together. I told them before they left, 'If you go up there, you have to be excited about it. You have to be excited and ready to go and take advantage of the atmosphere.' I thought they did an exceptional job. I thought they went up there and brought great energy and great effort and really went for it. Kaylee Dodd ran an incredible 800 leg for us. We ended up missing the school record by about 0.4 seconds, so second-fastest time ever run. I think that experience and being together as a team is a whole different part of track and field. I think it's really, really fun and most people don't get a chance to experience that in track and field. I think it is a springboard for the conference meet, their confidence and being ready for competition. I think the relays do a great job of stoking that fire."
My, Oh Mile
This season has been another successful one for Dave Smith's track and field squads, with particular 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. 19 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 two weekends ago 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-25 milers in the NCAA. Sitting at No. 21, Fayers is a mere four seconds behind the top spot in the country.
Dominating DMR Debut
This past weekend, the Cowgirl distance medley relay team made a stunning debut in Notre Dame, Indiana at the Alex Wilson Invitational.
Taking fourth in the event, the DMR team of Ariane Ballner, Ambra Wesley, Kaylee Dodd and Molly Sughroue ran the race in 11:01.55. That mark is the second-fastest time by a women's DMR in school history, along with being the No. 7 time in the NCAA this season.
The DMR is an event the Pokes have had plenty of success with in the past.
At last year's indoor Big 12 Championship, Oklahoma State swept the DMR titles on the first day of the championship.
The Cowgirls have won the event three-consecutive years, while the Cowboys are seeking their third DMR title in four years.
Middle Distance Machines
As always, Oklahoma State middle distance has shined in the 2017-18 season.
Through six weekends of competition, Oklahoma State owns 25 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 second-best mile time in the conference and the No. 21 mark in the country.
His season's best of 2:25.68@ in the 800 meters is also the No. 4 time in the Big 12 in the event.
The Pokes will look to continue their middle-distance dominance this weekend in their trip to Ames, Iowa.
Fighting for Every Inch
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 three separate events to the NCAA Championships in College Station, Texas.
Hassan Abdi and Kaylee Dodd both earned qualifying times two weekends ago at the Husky Classic and Iowa State Classic.
Last week's DMR debut also puts the Cowgirls at No. 7 in the country in the event. The DMR ran an 11:01.55, which ranks as the second-fastest time put up by a Cowgirl quartet in school history.
The Cowboys own 14 top-10 marks in the Big 12 and three top-25 marks in the nation.
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 13 top-10 conference marks, including five 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, along with the plethora of orange splashed across the conference leaderboards.
Players Mentioned
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