OSU Distance Relays, Sprinters Throw Down Impressive Performances

Friday, April 26

Fayetteville, Arkansas

All Day

Oklahoma State University

National Relay Championships

OSU Distance Relays, Sprinters Throw Down Impressive Performances

April 26, 2019 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

STILLWATER—The Cowgirls' distance runners dominated the distance relays, winning both events they ran, as the Oklahoma State men's and women's track and field teams opened the weekend Friday at the Drake Relays and the National Relay Championships.

The Cowgirls' 4X800-meter relay team set the Drake Relays record with a time of 8:25.41. The squad of Jenny Martinez (Celis), Ariane Ballner, Kaytlyn Larson and Sinclaire Johnson clinched the race thanks to a 2:02.79 anchor leg from Johnson. Johnson's final 800 meters would be third-best time in school history and would be No. 3 in the NCAA this season.

OSU also swept the 4X1,600-meter relays in Des Moines, Iowa, at the Drake Relays to cement their status as distance powers. It's the third time in the past five years that OSU has won the men's and women's 4X1,600-meter relay races.

The Cowgirls' squad of Morgan Szekely, Molly Sughroue, Taylor Somers and Johnson won the race with a time of 19:22.96. OSU defeated the rest of the field by nearly eight seconds thanks to three of the four 1,600-meter legs running below 4:51.

The OSU women's squad is a victory in the distance medley relay on Saturday away from sweeping the distance relays at the Drake Relays for the third time. The feat has been accomplished five times and the Cowgirls are the only team to have done it twice.

The Cowboys earned a victory lap on the famous blue track at Drake Stadium as well. Hassan Abdi ran a 4:07.72 anchor leg to secure victory for the Cowboys. They finished the race with a time of 16:39.79 to complete the sweep.

Ashton Hicks ran a season-best to better his position on the NCAA performance list. His time of 45.68 puts him at No. 6 in the country. Hicks' time was .08 seconds off the school record mark set by Dennis Schultz in 1972.

Aaliyah Birmingham ran her first solo 400-meter race as a Cowgirl, and she also nearly matched the OSU record. She ran a time of 52.41, which was .15 seconds behind the school record set by Leisa Davis-Knowles in 1986. Birmingham now finds herself at No. 13 in the country in the 400 meters.

Jacob Fincham-Dukes won his second long jump competition of the season at the National Relay Championships. He tied his school-record mark of 7.96m/26-1.5 to take home another victory. Fincham-Dukes' performance moves him into seventh in the country and No. 2 in the West Region.

OSU finishes up the weekend Saturday at the Drake Relays with the DMRs and the men's discus throw, and with 4X100- and 4X400-meter relays and the women's triple jump at the National Relay Championships.

Drake Relays

Men's Individual Results

4X1,600-Meter Relay
1. Calhoun, Khosla, Smeeton, Abdi – 16:39.79

Shot Put
21. Torrey Hickel – 15.83m/51-11.25

Women's Individual Results

4X800-Meter Relay
1. Ballner, Martinez (Celis), Larson, Si. Johnson – 8:25.41 (Meet Record)

4X1,600-Meter Relay
1. Szekely, Sughroue, Somers, Si. Johnson – 19:22.96

Javelin Throw
28. Michaela Vasey – 30.63m/100-6

National Relay Championships

Men's Individual Results

100 Meters
22. Martino Falls – 10.81
--. Wyatt Duvall – FS

200 Meters
18. Wyatt Duvall – 21.55
26. Martino Falls – 22.10

400 Meters
2. Ashton Hicks – 45.68
6. LaKyron Mays – 46.56
11. Justin Long – 47.26
22. Kurtis Cotton – 48.80

800 Meters
10. Kobe Christiansen – 1:55.86

400-Meter Hurdles
8. Calahan Newsome – 52.08

Long Jump
1. Jacob Fincham-Dukes – 7.96m/26-1.5
12. Joshua Anadu – 6.77m/22-2.5

Women's Individual Results

100 Meters
19. Kira White – 12.11

400 Meters
2. Aaliyah Birmingham – 52.41
18. Amira Coleman – 55.57
19. Nicolette Dixon – 55.77
20. Latriceia Smith – 55.89

400-Meter Hurdles
10. Michaela Travers – 1:01.79

Long Jump
8. Schuyler Wood-Hilderbrandt – 5.84m/19-2
10. Ryan Roane – 5.70m/18-8.5