DMRs Sweep, Cowgirls Lead Field After First Day of Big 12 Indoor Championships

DMRs Sweep, Cowgirls Lead Field After First Day of Big 12 Indoor Championships

February 26, 2022 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

AMES, IOWA – Anchored by the Distance Medley Relay teams, the Oklahoma State men's and women's track & field teams capped off a successful first day at the Big 12 Championships in Ames, Iowa.

The women's team leads the way after day one with 50 points, with 47 of those coming from the DMR, 5,000 Meters, Pentathlon and Pole Vault.

The pentathlon squad opened the weekend for OSU with 16 total points from Maddie Meiner, Olivija Vaitaityte and Bailey Golden. Meiner broke her own school record in the event with 4,115 points, which was good enough for second and her second career All-Big 12 finish after placing seventh a year ago.

Meiner fought all day, gradually moving up the board after starting off the day in fifth after the 60m Hurdles. However, she wouldn't stay there for long, rising all the way up to second overall after three events and holding onto the position for the rest of the day.

"I feel like High Jump and Shot Put are my two strongest events," Meiner said. "So having them be second and third is really helpful because it's great momentum for the final two events. I really like to use those events to build on."

Vaitaityte picked up her first career All-Big 12 honor as a true freshman with a third-place finish in the event while Golden also collected her second All-Big 12 award after finishing seventh overall with a score of 3,784.

In the women's weight throw, Hannah Bradford collected her first career All-Big 12 honor, scoring three vital points for the Cowgirls with her sixth-place finish in the event. Bradford's best throw came when she needed it most, locking down a mark of 19.12 in her third throw, which advanced her to the finals and held up after six total throws.

Meanwhile, in the women's Pole Vault, Ariadni Adamopoulou fought back from some early adversity to secure her second career All-Big 12 award and nearly winning her first Big 12 title.

Adamopoulou began her day by missing her first attempt at 3.92 Meters but went on an impressive run of hitting five straight heights to tie her own school record and ultimately put her in position to make the trip to Birmingham, Ala., in a few weeks for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Her second-place finish put eight points on the board for the Cowgirls.

The highest scoring event for the Cowgirls on the day ended up being the 5,000 Meter Run. Gabby Hentemann and Heidi Demeo remained solidly in the front group for the entirety of the race, claiming second and fourth place finishes to secure a massive 13 points in the team race. Hentemann collected her third indoor All-Big 12 honor while Demeo picked up her second conference award.

Following the 5,000 Meters, the women's Distance Medley Relay team put down a new facility record time of 11:13.41 on their way to picking up the program's first Big 12 Championship event of the season. Taylor Roe opened up a nine second gap in the first leg of the race that would not be relinquished. Nicolette Dixon, Michaela Travers and Kelsey Ramirez finished off the race that gave the Cowgirls the team lead on the night.

On the men's side, the Cowboys finish the first day in sixth with 19 points with scorers in three separate events thus far.

Sam Mason and Zac Robbins opened the scoring for the Cowboys with seventh and eighth place finishes that earned the team three points. Mason made the finals with his final throw during the opening session and proceeded to launch a new personal record in the finals to pick up his first career All-Big 12 honor.

Robbins also made his best throw in the opening round on his final attempt that ultimately held up in the end for his first All-Big 12 award.

The men's team continued the success in the 5,000 Meters, picking up six points in the event with All-Big 12 finishes from Isai Rodriguez and Shea Foster. The pair of cross country All-Americans finished fifth and seventh, respectively, to add to the team score.

However, the highlight of the night came from the men's DMR squad. Iowa State opened up a six second lead through the first three legs of the race before Alex Maier put down a 3:55.32 mile split to win the race at the line by .02 seconds overall. Maier made the final pass entering the final lap and held off a late charge to secure the Big 12 Championship in the event.

"I just wanted to keep the race under control," Maier said. "From the get go I kind of knew I could make up ground and if things broke the right way, I could be within striking distance… I think once I got to about 800 (Meters) to go, I kind of realized it was doable and that I was getting closer and closer each lap."

The Cowboys and Cowgirl will pick up where they left off tomorrow morning at 11 a.m. CT. Saturday's events will be streamed live on ESPN+.

For more information on the Cowboys and Cowgirls, continue to check back with okstate.com

Men's Team Results

1. Texas Tech – 41
2. Texas – 39
3. Oklahoma – 27
4. Kansas – 26
5. Iowa State – 23
6. Oklahoma State – 19
7. Kansas State – 14
8. Baylor – 6
9. TCU – 0

Women's Team Results

1. Oklahoma State – 50
2. Texas Tech – 41
3. Texas – 28
4. Oklahoma – 27
5. Kansas State – 24
6. Iowa State – 21
7. Baylor – 17.5
8. TCU – 10.5
9. Kansas – 9
10. West Virginia – 6

Men's Individual Results

Heptathlon (In Progress)
13. Max Braht – 2708

Mile Run, 1st Round
1. Ryan Schoppe – 3:57.87 (Q)
3. Fouad Messaoudi – 3:58.43 (Q)
6. Will Muirhead – 4:02.90 (Q)
7. Kian Davis – 4:03.59 (Q)

60 Meter Dash, 1st Round
5. Koryee Wyatt – 6.71 (Q)

600 Yard Run, 1st Round
5. Elijah Berry – 1:09.27 (Q)
8. DeJuana McArthur – 1:10.34 (Q)
10. Cooper Newsome – 1:10.51
12. Justin Smith – 1:10.77
15. Cash Meturka – 1:11.91

1000 Meter Run, 1st Round
6. Juan Diego Castro – 2:24.05 (Q)
7. Christopher Middleton-Pearson – 2:24.44 (Q)
12. Alex Stitt – 2:25.42

400 Meter Run, 1st Round
12. Charlie Bartholomew – 47.81

5000 Meter Run
5. Isai Rodriguez – 13:43.14
7. Shea Foster – 13:49.79
9. Rory Leonard – 13:58.07
10. Victor Shitsama – 14:01.45

Weight Throw
7. Sam Mason – 19.01m/62' 4.43"
8. Zac Robbins – 18.83m/61' 9.34"

Long Jump
10. Blair Anderson – 7.12m/23' 4.31"

Distance Medley Relay
1. Isaiah Priddey, Cash Merutka, Alex Stitt, Alex Maier – 9:37.90

Women's Individual Results

Pentathlon
2. Maddie Meiner – 4115
3. Olivija Vaitaityte – 3969
7. Bailey Golden – 3784

600 Yard Run, 1st Round
2. Tamara Woodley – 1:20.53 (Q)
3. Tori Ortiz – 1:21.38 (Q)
9. Nicolette Dixon – 1:21.99
10. Jinah Mickens-Malik – 1:22.10

800 Meter Run, 1st Round
3. Mackenzie Michael – 2:07.89 (Q)
5. Gabija Galvydyte – 2:09.14 (Q)
10. Michaela Travers – 2:10.90

1000 Meter Run, 1st Round
6. Krystal Rodriguez – 2:53.00 (Q)
7. Sivan Auerbach – 2:53.16 (Q)

400 Meter Run, 1st Round
12. Christina Ollison – 54.82
16. Kalaya Ali – 56.30

200 Meter Dash, 1st Round
15. Brooke Givens – 24.68

60 Meter Dash, 1st Round
17. Brooke Givens – 7.80

Pole Vault
2. Ariadni Adamopoulou – 4.37m/14' 4.05"

5000 Meter Run
2. Gabby Hentemann – 16:14.07
4. Heidi Demeo – 16:34.64
14. Katie North – 17:28.40

Weight Throw
6. Hannah Bradford – 19.12m/62' 8.76"

Long Jump
11. India Morgan – 5.91m/19' 4.68"

Distance Medley Relay
1. Taylor Roe, Nicolette Dixon, Michaela Travers, Kelsey Ramirez – 11:13.41