Track and Field Set to Take on Stacked Weekend

Friday, February 9

SEATTLE, WA

Oklahoma State University

Husky Classic

February 07, 2018 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

Meet Notes

The Basics
The OSU track and field squad splits up to tackle four meets this weekend in Arkansas, Iowa, New Mexico and Washington.
This is the busiest weekend of the indoor season for the Pokes, and one in which miler Kaela Edwards and long jumper Jacob Fincham-Dukes both improved their school records last season.

Follow the Meet
To follow the competition, live results will be available on each meet's host website.
For the Husky Classic, visit gohuskies.com.
For Don Kirby Elite results, go to golobos.com.
For Tyson Invitational updates, see arkansasrazorbacks.com.
Finally to see the Iowa State Classic results, check out cyclones.com.
A full recap of Oklahoma State's day at each meet will be available on okstate.com following the conclusion of the final day of competition.

Broadcast
The Husky Classic, Don Kirby Elite Invitational and the Iowa State Classic will be streamed live on FloTrack and can be seen with the proper subscription.
The Tyson Invitational can be seen on SECNetwork+ beginning at 4:30 p.m. CT on Feb. 9 and at 1 p.m. CT on Feb. 10.

Meet Formats/Schedules
All four meets are weekend-long meets taking up most of Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, but OSU only has one competitor in the Iowa State Classic.
Each meet's individual schedules can be seen on the host websites.
Friday's events are set to begin at 1 p.m. CT for the Tyson Invitational, 5 p.m. CT for the Don Kirby Elite and 6 p.m. CT for the Husky Classic.
On Saturday, Kaylee Dodd will compete at the Iowa State Classic at approximately 3:30 p.m. CT. The Tyson Invitational is set to kick off at 11 a.m. CT, the Don Kirby Elite at 10:30 a.m. CT and the Husky Classic at 11 a.m. CT.

HC Dave Smith on This Weekend

On how the team will be divided this weekend

"It is a big weekend. We've got kids going all over the country trying to find qualifying marks. Our philosophy is to get each individual athlete to whatever meet fits them the best. So we've got four different meets this weekend. In New Mexico, we've got our jumpers ... Up at Iowa State, Kaylee Dodd is the only athlete we've got competing there. She's got a shot at the 800m school record and we've had some really good 800-meter runners here ... We've got a bunch of sprinters heading over to the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas, which is one of the best sprint meets in the country every year ... Then finally up in Seattle, we've got a bunch of distance and middle-distance runners competing."

On the impact of the weekend

"All along, we're kind of pointing toward these meets as our big shot. We kind of train through a lot of the earlier meets. We're always getting ready and the races we're running are in preparation for this weekend. This is the one that's for the athletes and for the individuals. It's, 'What do you need to do to do what you want to do in your event? Let's get you to the best place you can go.' And then in two weeks, we'll go to the conference event, which is for the team. It doesn't become about big performances or times. It becomes about beating people and moving up in the place scoring."

On All-American Kaylee Dodd

"I think her confidence is light years beyond where it was this time last year. This time last year, she had only ran 2:11 (in the 800m). Now, she's at 2:06. She finished out the season at 2:04 and with a ninth-place finish at the national championships. I think she's going to go beyond that 2:04 hopefully this weekend and I think she's got big goals in terms of the NCAA Championships and Big 12 Championships. As good as she is, she hasn't won a Big 12 title yet. Finally, it's her turn. She's got big goals and I've seen her confidence and her approach is light years ahead of where it was last year."

A Look Back – DeLoss Dodds Invitational
The Cowboys and Cowgirls traveled to Manhattan, Kansas, last week for the DeLoss Dodds Invitational.
Per usual, Oklahoma State dominated the 600-yard run.
The men took the top four spots in the event. Brandon Singleton won the event with a time of 1:13.38. Tanner Green placed second, Tyler Jackson came in third place and Calahan Newsome rounded out the top four places.
The Cowgirls followed suit, taking four of the top five places in the women's 600-yard run.
Amira Coleman won the event in 1:24.81. Not far behind, Ambra Wesley came in as the runner-up. Nicolette Dixon came in third place and Latriciea Smith finished fifth.
The Cowgirls also dominated the 3,000 meters. Grace Baker and Anna Gunter went one-two in the event.
Elliett Kulkin set a new season's best with a mark of 3.70 meters in the pole vault. Her performance earned her first place as well.
Also in the women's pole vault, Allie Stern finished in a tie for second at 3.55 meters, also setting her season's best mark.

Dominating the Don Kirby Elite
This weekend, Oklahoma State will be represented at the Don Kirby Elite, a meet it has performed well at in the past.
Jacob Fincham-Dukes is no stranger to success in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
At last year's meet, Fincham-Dukes jumped 7.86 meters and improved upon his school record. The jump also catapulted him up the NCAA rankings all the way up to No. 3.
Along with his indoor school record, Fincham-Dukes also holds the Cowboys' outdoor school record in the long jump.
The jump in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a year ago was a lifetime best for the Leeds, England, native at the time and he is poised to repeat his 2017 performance.

Middle Distance Magic
As always, Oklahoma State middle distance has shined in the 2017-18 season.
Through four weekends of competition, Oklahoma State owns 23 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 2:06.27 in the 800 meters is fourth-best in the Big 12 and is the No. 20 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 sixth-best mark in the 800 meters.
His season's best of 1:50.93 in the 800 meters is also the No. 61 time nationally in the event.
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 conference's best.
The Cowboys own three top-five marks in the Big 12 and 13 top-10 marks in the conference.
Big 12 Cross Country champion Hassan Abdi owns the third-best time in the Big 12 in the 3,000 meters. His time of 8:15.03 came at the Razorback Ivitational when he outkicked Iowa State's Edwin Kurgat for a win.
Malik Givens also has posted a top-five conference mark. His 6.74 in the 60-meter dash is No. 5 in the conference. The time is also a nationally-ranked performance. His season's best is No. 55 in the country.
Matthew Fayers is the other Cowboy to have a top-five performance so far this season. In the 1,000 meters, Fayers' time of 2:25.68 is good enough for No. 4 in the conference. Fayers also has excelled at the 800 meters this year, owning the sixth-best time in the Big 12 and the No. 61 time in the nation this season with a time of 1:50.93.
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 a 1,000 meters by a Big 12 performer this season.
Kaylee Dodd has an outstanding 800-meter run time. Her time of 2:06.27 is fourth in the Big 12 and No. 20 in the nation.