Cowboy and Cowgirl Track & Field Scorches Boston with Record-Setting Opening Weekend

Saturday, December 3

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Oklahoma State University

Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener

Cowboy and Cowgirl Track & Field Scorches Boston with Record-Setting Opening Weekend

December 03, 2022 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track

STILLWATER — Oklahoma State track & field kicked off the 2022-23 indoor season Saturday with several impressive performances, highlighted by Alex Maier, Fouad Messaoudi and Natalie Cook each breaking school records at the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener in Boston.

"We had a great day today all around," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dave Smith said. "Probably one of the early-season track meets we've ever had. I think we had three school records broken and a No. 2 all-time and a No. 3 all-time, so across the board it was a great day. Everybody who came ran personal bests."

Gabija Galvydyte began the impressive start to the season for the Cowgirls, winning the women's Mile with a personal-best time of 4:32.84. Her time currently leads the nation and puts her third on OSU's all-time list, behind only Cowgirl national champions Kaela Edwards and Natalja Piliusina. Galvydyte's time also ranks second in Lithuanian history, behind Piliusina.

Freshman phenom Natalie Cook launched her first indoor campaign in record fashion, shattering the school record by more than 20 seconds in the 5,000 Meters with a time of 15:24.26. After finishing as a cross country All-American just two weeks ago, Cook held her own against a field chalked full of professional athletes, national champions and All-Americans. Cook also set the national high school record in the outdoor 5K last season at the Stanford Invitational.

On the men's side, Fouad Messaoudi opened the day with his own record-breaking performance, taking down the school record in the men's 3,000 Meters set by teammate Ryan Schoppe last season at the Husky Classic. Messaoudi won the race with a time of 7:44.26, which currently leads the nation and would've qualified him straight to the NCAA Championships last season. Messaoudi survived several pass attempts from competitors and took the lead with just under 100 meters to go and out-kicked Butler's Jesse Hamlin for the victory.

"Fouad ran a fantastic race in the 3K," Smith said. "Closed his final 1K in 2:26 and looked fantastic doing it… There's more there for him for sure."

Alex Maier continued the record-setting trend to wrap up the night for the Cowboys, recording the fourth-fastest indoor 5K time in NCAA history with his school-record time of 13:11.80. Maier smashed his own program record by nearly 14 seconds overall Saturday as he etched his name in NCAA record books.

"Alex Maier's 13:11 was out of this world," Smith said. "I know he's worked really hard and he's in great shape, but that surprised even me."

Teammate Isai Rodriguez finished 11^th overall in the race as he became the second-fastest 5K runner in program history with his time of 13:25.84, behind only Maier.

Stephanie Moss and Cayden Dawson also made their season debuts for the Cowgirls, placing 12^th and 29^th overall in the Mile and 3,000 Meters, respectively.

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