Oklahoma State University Athletics
OSU Track and Field Opens Outdoor Season in Arkansas
March 20, 2019 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track
Meet Information
• Event – Arkansas Spring Invitational
• Times – Friday: Field events - 3:30 p.m.; Saturday: Field events – 11 a.m., Running events – 3 p.m.
• Facilities – John McDonnell Field
Meet Notes
The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's and women's track teams return to the outdoor track this weekend at the Arkansas Spring Invitational.
Most of OSU's entrants are seeing the track or field for the first time since Feb. 22-23 when they competed at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.
Hassan Abdi is set to make his return to the track. He did not have eligibility in the cross country or indoor seasons, but has one year left of outdoor eligibility.
Big 12 runner-up Aaliyah Birmingham is coming off a record-breaking indoor season in which she set the school's 60-meters record four times. She is primed for more of the same outdoors.
Follow the Meet
Fans can follow the action live on Twitter by following @run4okstate for updates. Final results will be published on www.okstate.com, along with a recap of OSU's day on the track.
Throws/Multis/Pole Vault Coach Josh Langley on the Meet
On athletes who haven't competed
"It was about getting back to basics and getting a chance to get over any nicks and scrapes from the indoor season. It was a chance to rejuvenate and get healthy after the indoor season and was a chance to get back to the basics of training. From a field event perspective, we did some more drills and worked on things that needed improving."
On differences between indoor and outdoor competition
"The weather. You've got to be able to be more mentally tough outdoors to handle whatever the weather handles. From a distance runner perspective, there's more room on the track, so that's good for them. This is track in the classical sense. A lot of these kids didn't run on indoor tracks growing up, so for these younger kids, it might get them into a situation that's more comfortable because this is what they did in high school."
Guess Who's Back, Back Again
Hassan Abdi is slated to return to the track this weekend after two seasons away from the track due to exhausted eligibility in the cross country and indoor seasons.
Abdi has been a staple for the Cowboys over the past two years. He aided OSU to a conference title during the 2016 cross country campaign.
Abdi earned All-America honors during the same season, which was his first season as a Cowboy.
The South Plains transfer has two more All-American performances under his belt. He anchored the Cowboys' distance medley relay team to a sixth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Abdi came back the next year and finished third in the 5,000 meters.
At the conference level, Abdi has been elite. He has won three individual conference titles and has scored at conference track meets six times.
Abdi's three conference championships have all come in distance events. He was the 2017 Big 12 cross country champion and was named the 2016 Big 12 Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Abdi was the 2017 outdoor 10,000 meters' conference champion and the 2018 Big 12 champion in the indoor 3,000 meters.
After two seasons away from the track, Abdi is poised to return and step back into his role as one of the nation's best distance runners.
Leading Ladies
Sinclaire Johnson and Molly Sughroue both finished the 2018 outdoor season in Eugene, Oregon, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and figure to again lead the way for OSU this year.
Both Sughroue and Johnson are coming off a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships as members of the Cowgirls' distance medley relay team. Sughroue led off that relay with the 1,200-meter leg and Johnson anchored the race for OSU.
Johnson has been steadily improving since her breakout outdoor season in 2018. She finished that season with honorable mention All-America honors in the 1,500 meters.
Johnson brought all of her momentum into the cross country season where she finished as OSU's best runner in every race and won two races (Hurricane Invitational and the Arturo Barrios Invitational).
She won a conference title in the most recent indoor season in the 1,000 meters. Johnson also set the Big 12 Indoor Championships' meet record in the event with a time of 2:44.23.
Sughroue is entering her final season as a Cowgirl and has set herself up for success.
Sughroue is a four-time All-American and owns five Big 12 titles. In the 2019 indoor season, she claimed her third consecutive Big 12 title in the Mile and was a member of the distance medley relay squad that won a conference championship.
Sughroue has the unfortunate distinction of being the fastest woman ever in the outdoor 1,500 meters to not qualify for the final race, but she earned second-team All-American honors for her performance at the 2018 Outdoor Championships.
Johnson and Sughroue are primed to once again earn All-America honors.
Young Guns Taking the Mantle
The OSU sprinters have gone through some reform, but the young athletes coach Giles McDonnell has brought in have made an impact and have the potential to compete at the national level this season.
Ashton Hicks is coming off an appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships where he earned second-team All-America honors. Hicks went into the race seeded in the top 10 in the country and was the second-best true freshman going into the national championships.
LaKyron Mays joined Hicks on the podium at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. Mays finished seventh in the 400 meters, which is especially impressive considering the Big 12's impressive sprinting history.
Justin Long is another freshman McDonnell is excited about and had an up-and-down indoor campaign, but had momentum on his side toward the end of the indoor season.
Other sprinters such as Kurtis Cotton and Calahan Newsome as well as middle-distance runner and Costa Rican U20 record holder Juan Diego Castro give the Cowboys options in the 4X400- and 4X100-meter relay events.
The relays have been an area of emphasis for McDonnell and he feels he has a young group that is talented enough to compete and score on the national and conference levels immediately.
• Event – Arkansas Spring Invitational
• Times – Friday: Field events - 3:30 p.m.; Saturday: Field events – 11 a.m., Running events – 3 p.m.
• Facilities – John McDonnell Field
Meet Notes
The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's and women's track teams return to the outdoor track this weekend at the Arkansas Spring Invitational.
Most of OSU's entrants are seeing the track or field for the first time since Feb. 22-23 when they competed at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.
Hassan Abdi is set to make his return to the track. He did not have eligibility in the cross country or indoor seasons, but has one year left of outdoor eligibility.
Big 12 runner-up Aaliyah Birmingham is coming off a record-breaking indoor season in which she set the school's 60-meters record four times. She is primed for more of the same outdoors.
Follow the Meet
Fans can follow the action live on Twitter by following @run4okstate for updates. Final results will be published on www.okstate.com, along with a recap of OSU's day on the track.
Throws/Multis/Pole Vault Coach Josh Langley on the Meet
On athletes who haven't competed
"It was about getting back to basics and getting a chance to get over any nicks and scrapes from the indoor season. It was a chance to rejuvenate and get healthy after the indoor season and was a chance to get back to the basics of training. From a field event perspective, we did some more drills and worked on things that needed improving."
On differences between indoor and outdoor competition
"The weather. You've got to be able to be more mentally tough outdoors to handle whatever the weather handles. From a distance runner perspective, there's more room on the track, so that's good for them. This is track in the classical sense. A lot of these kids didn't run on indoor tracks growing up, so for these younger kids, it might get them into a situation that's more comfortable because this is what they did in high school."
Guess Who's Back, Back Again
Hassan Abdi is slated to return to the track this weekend after two seasons away from the track due to exhausted eligibility in the cross country and indoor seasons.
Abdi has been a staple for the Cowboys over the past two years. He aided OSU to a conference title during the 2016 cross country campaign.
Abdi earned All-America honors during the same season, which was his first season as a Cowboy.
The South Plains transfer has two more All-American performances under his belt. He anchored the Cowboys' distance medley relay team to a sixth-place finish at the 2017 NCAA Indoor Championships.
Abdi came back the next year and finished third in the 5,000 meters.
At the conference level, Abdi has been elite. He has won three individual conference titles and has scored at conference track meets six times.
Abdi's three conference championships have all come in distance events. He was the 2017 Big 12 cross country champion and was named the 2016 Big 12 Cross Country Runner of the Year.
Abdi was the 2017 outdoor 10,000 meters' conference champion and the 2018 Big 12 champion in the indoor 3,000 meters.
After two seasons away from the track, Abdi is poised to return and step back into his role as one of the nation's best distance runners.
Leading Ladies
Sinclaire Johnson and Molly Sughroue both finished the 2018 outdoor season in Eugene, Oregon, at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and figure to again lead the way for OSU this year.
Both Sughroue and Johnson are coming off a third-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships as members of the Cowgirls' distance medley relay team. Sughroue led off that relay with the 1,200-meter leg and Johnson anchored the race for OSU.
Johnson has been steadily improving since her breakout outdoor season in 2018. She finished that season with honorable mention All-America honors in the 1,500 meters.
Johnson brought all of her momentum into the cross country season where she finished as OSU's best runner in every race and won two races (Hurricane Invitational and the Arturo Barrios Invitational).
She won a conference title in the most recent indoor season in the 1,000 meters. Johnson also set the Big 12 Indoor Championships' meet record in the event with a time of 2:44.23.
Sughroue is entering her final season as a Cowgirl and has set herself up for success.
Sughroue is a four-time All-American and owns five Big 12 titles. In the 2019 indoor season, she claimed her third consecutive Big 12 title in the Mile and was a member of the distance medley relay squad that won a conference championship.
Sughroue has the unfortunate distinction of being the fastest woman ever in the outdoor 1,500 meters to not qualify for the final race, but she earned second-team All-American honors for her performance at the 2018 Outdoor Championships.
Johnson and Sughroue are primed to once again earn All-America honors.
Young Guns Taking the Mantle
The OSU sprinters have gone through some reform, but the young athletes coach Giles McDonnell has brought in have made an impact and have the potential to compete at the national level this season.
Ashton Hicks is coming off an appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships where he earned second-team All-America honors. Hicks went into the race seeded in the top 10 in the country and was the second-best true freshman going into the national championships.
LaKyron Mays joined Hicks on the podium at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. Mays finished seventh in the 400 meters, which is especially impressive considering the Big 12's impressive sprinting history.
Justin Long is another freshman McDonnell is excited about and had an up-and-down indoor campaign, but had momentum on his side toward the end of the indoor season.
Other sprinters such as Kurtis Cotton and Calahan Newsome as well as middle-distance runner and Costa Rican U20 record holder Juan Diego Castro give the Cowboys options in the 4X400- and 4X100-meter relay events.
The relays have been an area of emphasis for McDonnell and he feels he has a young group that is talented enough to compete and score on the national and conference levels immediately.
Players Mentioned
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Middle Distance
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Sprints
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Middle Distance
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Sprints
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Middle Distance
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