Track and Field Heads to Familiar Track in Fayetteville

Meet Information
• Events – John McDonnell Invitational
• Times –Thursday: 1 p.m.; Friday: 10:30 a.m.
• Facilities – John McDonnell Field
Meet Notes

The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's and women's track teams go back to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the second of three trips to Arkansas. This time around, the Cowboys and Cowgirls are competing in the John McDonnell Invitational.
The meet got moved up one day, so now competition will take place on Thursday and Friday.
               The multi events will take part in their first full decathlons and heptathlons this season. It's the first time since the Big 12 Indoor Championships that the multi athletes will compete.
The Cowboys and Cowgirls are also looking to put up qualifying times in the 1,500 meters.

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.

Assistant Coach Josh Langley on the Meet
On expectations for the John McDonnell Invitational
"We just want to continue to progress and continue to get better. They've moved the meet up by a day in hopes to give the athletes better conditions to run in, so we want to take advantage of that. For most of the mutli athletes, it's their first full decathlon. They've been through indoors, so they kind of have an idea, but a decathlon is a whole different animal. For them, it's a learning experience. On the women's side, Megan Mann has done a few (heptathlons) for us. We just want to continue to improve and continue to get ready for Big 12's. From a distance perspective, we're looking for some fast 1,500's. The conditions are set up pretty well. We've got races set up to run fast. It'll be at night, so they should be able to run pretty fast."

On the familiarity of Arkansas
"For some of these kids, they're able to compete in a setting they're more relaxed in. It puts you in a different state of mind when you're there that much. You can focus more on executing your technique. You get a little more relaxed and focused."

Making Waves at the National Level
               The Cowboys and Cowgirls have combined so far this season for six top-50 NCAA times and marks.
               Ryan Smeeton is the closest of any OSU athlete to the No. 1 performance in the country. Smeeton currently owns the fifth-best time in the country in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. His time also catapulted him to No. 5 on the OSU performance list.
               Ashton Hicks ran the No. 2 time in the 400 meters in school history. His 45.82-second performance also put him in position for second in the West Region and No. 6 in the nation this season. He is coming off an indoor season that saw him earn second team All-America honors, and the freshman is poised to repeat the feat.
               Taylor Somers ran her first 10,000-meter race at the Stanford Invitational and is in the nation's top 50. She ran a time of 33:51.17 to finish seventh in her section of the 10,000 meters. Her performance puts her at No. 31 in the country in the event.
               Blake Scott is continuing his outdoor successes. After finishing as a second-team All-American in 2018, Scott is putting himself in position to do more of the same. Scott is currently No. 31 in the country in the pole vault with a mark of 5.21m/17-1.
               Aaliyah Birmingham had a record-breaking indoor season and has kept her momentum rolling outdoors. She ran a time of 11.51 in the 100 meters at the Jim Click Shootout.. Birmingham's time is good enough for 35th in the country.
               Hassan Abdi returned to distance events after running the 1,500 meters in the first weekend of competition. Abdi ran in the invitational section of the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational and crossed the line in 29:13.95. His performance is No. 41 in the country.

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.
               She opened up her season with a 10th-place finish in the Invitational section of the 1,500 meters at the Stanford Invitational with a time of 4:24.81 and a 2:08.43-performance in the 800 meters.
               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.

Oklahoma State University Athletics

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Players Mentioned

Hassan Abdi

Ashton Hicks

Sinclaire Johnson

Megan Mann

Blake Scott

Ryan Smeeton

Taylor Somers

Molly Sughroue

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