Cowgirls Finish Second, Cowboys Fourth as Hicks, Roe, Auerbach and Hentemann Earn Gold to End Big 12 Indoors

Friday, February 26

Lubbock, TX

ALL DAY

Oklahoma State University

Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championship

Cowgirls Finish Second, Cowboys Fourth as Hicks, Roe, Auerbach and Hentemann Earn Gold to End Big 12 Indoors

February 27, 2021 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

LUBBOCK, Texas – The second and final day of the Big 12 Indoor Championship proved to be fruitful for Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls tied their highest team finish in program history, earning runner-up as a team with 103 points and the Cowboys finished fourth as a team with 75 points, their highest finish and point total at the conference meet since 2017.

Both the men's and women's teams improved massively on their performances at the conference meet from a year ago, where the Cowgirls finished tied-sixth with 54 points and the Cowboys ended the indoor season in eight with 46 points. Dave Smith, director of cross country and track & field, said he was amazed at the determination and perseverance of his team in a season fraught with adversity.

"I'm just incredibly proud of these student-athletes," Smith said. "In a year when they had every reason not to do well with COVID, which I know everyone is dealing with, and with the recent winter weather, it made it really hard on our student-athletes who don't have access to indoor facilities. But those circumstances didn't get in their way. The whole team, the collective attitude is just so inspirational to me. They are so tough. I told them this and I'll say it again: days like today are the reason why we coach.

Oklahoma State totaled 24 individual medalists on the weekend and a pair of group medalists in the men's distance medley relay and the women's 4x400 meter relay. In total, Oklahoma State will take five event titles back to Stillwater.

Continuing to find success in a bounce back year, Ashton Hicks' display in the 400 meters reaffirmed his position as one of the most impressive sprinters in the country. Hicks earned the event title with a conference-leading 46.02. The mark is second in school history to his 45.60 school record from the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championship. Hicks now owns the fastest time in the Big 12 in both the 400 meters and the 600 yards and is qualified for Nationals in both.

"It felt good to get back to that race," Hicks said. "I know I have a lot of stuff to work on. It wasn't the cleanest race on my part, but I pulled out the win and that's all that matters. I know I can do better. I'm going to Nationals with a chip on my shoulder and looking to execute the way I know I can."

Sivan Auerbach, a freshman from Ein Ayala, Israel, contributed heavily to the Cowgirls runner-up team finish with an event win of her own in the women's 1,000 meters. Starting her first year with OSU as a cross country athlete and adding depth to the Cowgirls' distance unit, Auerbach took to the track for the first time this season and earned the event title in 2:46.77, a time that ranks sixth all time for the Cowgirls.

"It feels great," Auerbach said. "It's kind of unimaginable. We raced at the course on Tuesday, and Dave's plan for me in that race helped me to win today, especially in picking up the pace in the last 100 meters or so."
Adding onto her impressive sophomore season as a Cowgirl, distance racer Taylor Roe grabbed the gold in the women's mile in a time of 4:49.17. With the win, Roe adds All-Big 12 Indoor honors to her second-year resume along with her All-Big 12 Cross Country honors she earned as the runner-up from the conference cross country meet in October.

If there was any doubt about the star-studded distance Cowgirls' squad, Gabby Hentemann laid it to rest, joining Roe as a distance event winner and grabbing the title in the 3,000 meters. Hentemann won by more than three seconds in a time of 9:22.72, a career best.

Along with the event winners, a plethora of Pokes earned podium finishes on the second and final day of competiton from Lubbock, Texas.

Will Edmonds and Max Braht earned fourth and seventh place finishes, respectively, when the dust settled on the men's heptathlon. Will Edmonds' 5,222-point total replaces his own school record he set earlier this year at the Texas Tech Invite. For Braht, his 4,997 points ranks him third-all time for the Cowboys.

Saara Hakanen, jumps specialist from Kerala, Finland, earned a pair of medals thanks to an eighth-place finish in the triple jump with a 12.93m mark and a runner-up finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.78m. The height ties the 34-year-old Cowgirl record set by Tammy Lienhard.

Stephanie Moss and Maddie Salek each ran career bests in the 800 meters and finished third and fourth, respectively, and Lilly Lavier joined her teammates on the podium in eighth.

A trio of distance Cowboys earned the conference hardware in the 3,000 meters after competing in the OSU Winter Open on Tuesday. Freshman Ryan Schoppe (8:01.95) led the way in second, and Isai Rodriguez (8:07.28) and Alex Maier (8:13.16) were right behind in third and fourth.

Juan Diego Castro and freshman Triston Read landed on the podium in the 800 meters. Castro finished in third in a time of 1:48.88 and Read raced a career best 1:53.97 that earned him the eight-place finish.

Cowboy throws veteran Torrey Hickel saved his best of the season for last, throwing a new personal record in the shot put with a 17.43m mark. The throw earned Hickel a seventh place finish and ranks him fifth-all time in program history.

A pair of freshmen in Alex Stitt and Will Muirhead earned medals of their own in the mile. Stitt finished in fourth in a time of 4:07.53 and Muirhead clocked in at 4:10.72 for the seventh-place finish.

As the Pokes bring their hardware back to Stillwater, they'll take time to rest and recover before a busy March. The distance units will prepare for the NCAA National Cross Country Championship on their home course, indoor Nationals qualifiers will get back to work before making the trip to Fayetteville and the rest of the team will prepare to open up the outdoor track and field season in the latter half of the month.

Men's Individual Results

Heptathlon
4. Will Edmonds - 5,222 points
            2. 60 Meters - 7.03
            5. Long Jump - 6.76m
            8. Shot Put - 12.38m
            11. High Jump - 1.82m
            11. 60 MH - 8.83
            4. Pole Vault - 4.53m
            5. 1,000 Meters - 2:49.86

8. Max Braht - 4,997 points
            8. 60 Meters - 7.22
            11. Long Jump - 6.40m
            10. Shot Put - 11.56m
            8. High Jump - 1.85
            10. 60 MH - 8.81
            2. Pole Vault - 4.63m

10. Jake Dyer - 4,624 points
            5. 60 Meters - 7.03
            8. Long Jump 6.64m
            5. Shot Put - 12.84m
            13. High Jump - 1.82m
            12. 60 MH - 8.96
            11. Pole Vault - 4.53

Mile (Prelims)
3. Alex Stitt - 4:12:40
9. Will Muirhead - 4:19:39
15. Kian Davis - 4:30:55

600 Yards (Prelims)
16. Kobe Christiansen - 1:14.01
11. DJ McArthur - 1:12.26

400 Meters (Prelims)
2. Ashton Hicks - 46.58

Long Jump
11. Stephen Mackenzie - 6.64m

800 Meters (Prelims)
6. Juan Diego Castro - 1:53.81
8. Triston Read - 1:55.65
- Cash Merutka - DNS

5000 Meters
2. Isai Rodriguez - 13:55.85
3. Alex Maier - 14:07.29
- Victor Shitsama - DNF

Men's DMR
1. Oklahoma State - 9:48.71
(J.D. Castro, J. Long, A. Stitt, R. Schoppe)

Mile
4. Alex Stitt - 4:07.53
7. Will Muirhead - 4:10.72

400 Meters
1. Ashton Hicks - 46.02

Shot Put
7. Torrey Hickel - 17.43

800 Meters
3. Juan Diego Castro - 1:48.88
8. Triston Read - 1:53.97

3,000 Meters
2. Ryan Schoppe - 8:01.65
3. Isai Rodriguez - 8:07.28
4. Alex Maier

Women's Individual Results

Pentathlon
2. Bailey Golden
            5. 60 MH - 8.68
            5. High Jump - 1.70m
            3. Shot Put - 12.26m
            6. Long Jump - 5.61m
            10. 800 Meters - 2:33.64

7. Maddie Meiner
            7. 60 MH - 9.07
            4. High Jump - 1.70m
            4. Shot Put - 11.48m
            8. Long Jump - 5.41m
            9. 800 Meters - 2:32.86

Weight Throw
10. Hannah Bradford - 17.57m

Pole Vault
4. Ariadni Adamopoulou - 4.12m
10. Elissa Ray - 3.87m

60 Meters (Prelims)
16. Tori Ortiz - 7.58
24. Brooke Givens - 7.76

600 Yards (Prelims)
7. Gabija Galvydyte - 1:22.86
9. Michaela Travers - 1:23.30
13. Kalaya Ali - 1:24. 13
14. Nicolette Dixon - 1:24.47

400 Meters (Prelims)
7. Christina Ollison 54.44
9. Tori Ortiz 54.95

1000 Meters (Prelims)
1. Rilee Rigdon - 2:51.87
4. Sivan Auerbach - 2:52.62

800 Meters (Prelims)
3. Maddie Salek - 2:10.23
6. Lily Lavier - 2:10.99
7. Stephanie Moss - 2:11.29
14. Mackenzie Michael - 2:25:00

Long Jump
17. Sarra Hakanen - 5.73m

200 Meters (Prelims)
9. Christina Ollison - 24.11
13. Brooke Givens - 24.31

5000 Meters
2. Molly Born - 16:32.60

Distance Medley Relay
2. Oklahoma State - 11:21.35
(G. Hentemann, G. Galvydyte, S. Moss, T. Roe)

Triple Jump
8. Saara Hakanen - 12.93m

Mile
1. Taylor Roe - 4:49.17
5. Heidi Demeo - 4:59.77

600 Yards
7. Gabija Galvydyte - 1:22.90

400 Meters
7. Christina Ollison - 54.26

1,000 Meters
1. Sivan Auerbach - 2:46.77
7. Rilee Rigdon - 2:58.29

High Jump
2. Saara Hakanen - 1.78m
14. Maddie Meiner - 1.67m
16. Bailey Golden - 1.62m

800 Meters
3. Stephanie Moss - 2:07.39
4. Maddie Salek - 2:09.38
8. Lilly Lavier - 2:13.37

3,000 Meters
1. Gabby Hentemann - 9:22.72
3. Molly Born - 9:26.97
- Taylor Roe - DNF

4x400 Meter Relay
4. Oklahoma State - 3:38.34
(T. Ortiz, K. Ali, N. Dixon, C. Ollison)

Men's Team Results

1. Texas - 141
2. Texas Tech - 133
3. Oklahoma - 89
4. Oklahoma State - 75

Women's Team Results

1. Texas - 154.5
2. Oklahoma State - 103
3. Kansas State - 100.5
4. Texas Tech - 95.5