Smeeton Sets NCAA Lead, Cook Breaks National High School Record at Stanford Invitational

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Smeeton Sets NCAA Lead, Cook Breaks National High School Record at Stanford Invitational

April 02, 2022 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

Stanford Invite.Friday.Results

STILLWATER – Oklahoma State outdoor track & field competed Friday at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., where several distance runners made their outdoor season debuts across various events.

History was made in Palo Alto as OSU signee and high school distance superstar Natalie Cook took on a field of collegiate and professional athletes as the lone high school runner in the event. Cook shattered the girls' high school 5K record by nearly ten seconds with her time of 15:25.93, placing third in the race and defeating every collegiate athlete in the field.

Cook's time would have been good enough to win the NCAA Title in the outdoor 5K last year and would surpass the current program record by almost 16 seconds, set by former Cowgirl national champion Jackie Goodman all the way back in 1989.

Returning two-time outdoor All-American Ryan Smeeton returned to the outdoor scene for the first time since placing third at last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 3,000 Meter Steeplechase.
Smeeton held his pace in the middle of the pack for much of the race before exploding on the last lap to secure his first victory in 2022 with an NCAA-leading time of 8:34.37.

In the men's 10,000 Meter Invite, Alex Maier and Shea Foster each settled into the middle of the pack before joining the breakaway front pack for the final 2,000 meters or so. Maier surged forward and ran a personal-best time of 28:18.18, which moves him up to fourth on the OSU all-time list in the 5K. Foster also finished with an impressive time of 28:25.44, which puts him right behind Maier for fifth in program history.

During the open section of the 10K, Victory Shitsama joined the Cowboy strategy of sitting in the pack and waiting for the right opportunity to pounce. He ran a steady pace between 1:08 and 1:11 each lap until the final two when he finished in 1:06 and 1:03 to give him the heat win with a 12-second PR of 28:51.86.

Grant Wilcox, Rory Leonard and Will Muirhead also competed for the Cowboys on Friday in the 5,000 Meters, finishing with times of 14:35.87, 13:59.71 and 13:55.75, respectively. All three set outdoor collegiate PRs in the event as they competed in outdoors for the first time this season.

Heidi Demeo opened for the Cowgirls on the night, competing in the women's 5K, finishing with a time of 16:46.12. Immediately following Demeo was Clarissa Morales in the women's 10,000 Meters, who set a massive outdoor PR in the event with a time of 33:55.05.

OSU also competed three athletes on Friday in the Baylor Invitational, with Hannah Bradford, Sam Mason and Zac Robbins competing for the second time this season in the Hammer Throw.

Robbins came out and launched the second-longest Hammer Throw in school history, behind only Olympic qualifier Nick Miller with his throw of 56.96 meters on Friday afternoon. Mason followed Robbins with a fifth-place throw of 51.72 meters.

Bradford also set a new personal record in the Hammer Throw with her throw of 51.19 meters, which earned her a second-place finish in the meet. She also improved her standing as the seventh-best throw in program history.

While the Stanford group is finished for the weekend, action ramps up at Baylor on Saturday with multiple event groups competing for the Cowboys and Cowgirls in Waco, Texas.

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