Conference Championships Await OSU Track and Field in Norman

Conference Championships Await OSU Track and Field in Norman

May 08, 2019 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

Meet Information
• Events – Big 12 Outdoor Championships
• Times –Friday: 11 a.m.; Saturday: 10 a.m.; Sunday: 2:30 p.m.
• Location – Norman, Oklahoma
• Facilities – John Jacobs Track and Field Complex
• Tickets – Available here
Meet Notes

The Basics
The Oklahoma State men's and women's track teams begin postseason competition with the Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Competition begins Friday and goes through Sunday.
Ariane Ballner is OSU's lone returning conference champion from a year ago. She looks to repeat in the 1,500 meters, but faces stiff competition from last year's runner-up, Cowgirl teammate Molly Sughroue.
Sinclaire Johnson has been solid for the Cowgirls all year and has the opportunity to claim another conference crown. She won the 1,000 meters indoors in February.
On the men's side, Jacob Fincham-Dukes won the long jump indoors, but faces a loaded field of five other athletes in the NCAA top-50 of the event.
Ashton Hicks finished as the conference's runner-up in the 400 meters indoors in his first ever collegiate season, and he has the opportunity to repeat his accomplishment 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.

Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Dave Smith on the Meet
On expectations for the weekend
"I think we're a team that's really strong nationally, and probably not as strong at the conference level. We have a lot of athletes out front, but we don't have a lot of depth. In track and field you have to make a choice. Do you want to concentrate your resources in elite athletes, or spread it out? We have several athletes competing for conference titles. Sinclaire Johnson, Molly Sughroue, Jenny Martinez (Celis) and Ariane Ballner all have good shots at winning one. On the men's side, Ryan Smeeton certainly has a chance as the NCAA leader in the steeplechase. Ashton Hicks, Jacob Fincham-Dukes and Hassan Abdi have chances. I like our 4X400-meter relay team. I'm just looking for great individual performances that can springboard us into the regional and national meets."

On how to not overwork athletes headed to national competitions
"It's tough in track and field, especially when you've got distance and middle distance kids who run cross country in the fall, indoor in the winter and outdoor in the spring. They're often doing postseason work for their countries during the summer, so you have to pick and choose where they compete. For example, we have several athletes who could double or triple at the conference meet, but we don't do that a lot because they have big goals. We get them ready to run in postseason events."

Pokes in the Conference
               The Oklahoma State men's and women's track teams take claim to 16 top-five conference marks heading into the Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
               The Pokes own three conference leads. Sinclaire Johnson, Ryan Smeeton and Aaliyah Birmingham all are first in the Big 12 going into the weekend.
               Sinclaire Johnson leads the women's 1,500 meters' field. She highlights the group which also includes three other Cowgirls in the top five of the event. Her time is also No. 4 in the country and third in the West Region.
               Ryan Smeeton is leading the conference in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase, but is also leading the nation in the event. Smeeton's world-qualifying time of 8:27.90 leads the conference by nearly 20 seconds.
               Aaliyah Birmingham ran her first 400 meters race as a Cowgirl in April, and her performance is leading the Big 12. She ran a time of 52.41 to put her name on the map. She is also in the nation's and region's top 15 in the event.
               The Cowboys also have the second- and third-best performances in the 10,000 meters. Hassan Abdi and Victor Shitsama are near the top of the conference. Abdi's current season-best in the event is 29:13.95, and Shitsama's best performance in the event is a time of 29:40.41.
               The Cowgirls also have representation in the top five of the 10,000-meters leaderboard. Taylor Somers' performance from the Stanford Invitational puts her at third in the conference. She ran a time of 33:51.17 back in March. She scored in both distance events (the 3K and 5K) at the Indoor Championships in February.

Record-Breaking 2019
               Eleven school-record breaking performances have been put up so far this year for the Oklahoma State track and field teams.
               Allie Stern broke the school's record in the women's pole vault last weekend. She cleared 3.86m/12-8 to break her teammate Elissa White's record which she set earlier this season.
               Elissa White beat out Elliett Kulkin and Megan Robbins on the performance list for the school record in the pole vault. She cleared 3.85m/12-7.5 at the John Jacobs Invitational.
               The women's 4X800-meter relay team broke the school record at the Drake Relays with a time of 8:25.41. Their time also set the Drake Relays record and set the world lead in the event. Sinclaire Johnson anchored the relay in 2:02.79, which would have been the third-best 800 meters' race in the NCAA this year had it come in a solo race.
               Cole Verble broke the school's decathlon record at the John McDonnell Invitational with 6,221 points, breaking Mace Metcalf's mark from the 2018 Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
               The Cowgirl distance medley relay squad of Molly Sughroue, Nicolette Dixon, Kaylee Dodd and Sinclaire Johnson ran a time of 10:55.01 to beat a record they previously broke. Their performance earned them third place and All-America honors.
               Bailey Golden broke the school record in the pentathlon with a score of 3,564 at the Razorback Invitational. She broke Melody Vaughn's record of 3,498 points which was set back in 1998.
         Mace Metcalf also broke the school's indoor heptathlon record. He scored 4,999 points at the Big 12 Championships to set the school record in the men's indoor multi event.
            Aaliyah Birmingham, a transfer athlete coming in from the University of Tulsa, broke the school record at the Arkansas Invitational in the 60 meters in her first race as a Cowgirl. Her new school-best time of 7.42 surpassed Kira White's previous record of 7.54, set back in 2017. She broke her own record at the Big 12 Championships with a time of 7.25. She finished as the conference's runner-up in the 60 meters. All-in-all, Birmingham set the 60-meters record four times in her first season as a Cowgirl.
Jacob Fincham-Dukes set the school record in the indoor long jump with a jump of 7.99m/26-2.75 at the Don Kirby Elite. He went on to finish fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships and was only four centimeters short of the winner (LSU's Rayvon Grey).
               Fincham-Dukes, who is the indoor and outdoor long jump record holder, set the school record in the 60-meter hurdles. He ran an 8.32 at the Arkansas Invitational. Fincham-Dukes also bested his own record in the long jump.
                 Ashton Hicks is only a freshman, but put himself at the top of the 400-meters performance list, running a 46.31 to set the school record in that event. He topped Timmy Thomas' 28-year-old record. Nobody on OSU's roster was born when Thomas set that record in 1991.