OSU Outdoor Track & Field Sweeps DMR Titles on Final Day of Drake Relays

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OSU Outdoor Track & Field Sweeps DMR Titles on Final Day of Drake Relays

April 30, 2022 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

DES MOINES, Iowa – Oklahoma State outdoor track & field wrapped up another successful Drake Relays trip with two more victories in the men's and women's Distance Medley Relays.

The Cowgirl DMR squad of Gabija Galvydyte, Christina Ollison, Sivan Auerbach and Taylor Roe led the race from wire-to-wire in a dominating 13-second victory in the event. Galvydyte took the lead early and gapped the rest of the field in the opening 1,200 Meter leg, handing off the baton with a nearly four-second advantage.

The gap closed to 1.5 seconds heading into the fourth and final leg, but Roe ran the mile portion in 4:36.48, which was 11 seconds faster than any other anchor leg in the race, giving the Cowgirls the win and ten points towards the Hy-Vee Cup standings.

"The women's DMR team led wire-to-wire, won by a huge margin and just missed the meet record," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dave Smith said. "On a day like today that is really impressive."

Immediately following the women's race, the Cowboy crew of Fouad Messaoudi, Cash Merutka, Chris Middleton-Pearson and Ryan Schoppe put down another impressive effort, winning their DMR race by over five seconds. The Cowboys held serve for the first three legs with less than a second gap before handing off to Schoppe, who proceeded to run his mile leg over four seconds faster than any other in the field.

"The men's DMR team won in a really loaded field today," Smith said. "I was really proud of the way our athletes competed in very tough conditions."

The remaining events in the Hy-Vee Cup involved three sprint relays, including the 4x100, 4x400 and Sprint Medley Relays. The Cowgirl SMR group of Tori Ortiz, Brooke Givens, Kalaya Ali and Maddie Salek placed third overall with a time of 3:54.73, which earned six points in the standings.

Later in the afternoon, both the Cowboys and Cowgirls earned fourth-place finishes in the 4x400 Meter Relay in the wet and windy conditions. Christina Ollison, Ortiz, Ali and Tamara Woodley ran a 3:41.71 to give the Cowgirls five more points in the standings, bringing their total through the five relays to 29 points and a second-place finish overall behind Kentucky.

On the men's side, the Cowboys held their own against 2022 NCAA Indoor Championship qualifying squads from North Carolina A&T, Kentucky and Iowa. The fourth-place finish from Charlie Bartholomew, Cooper Newsome, Cash Merutka and DJ McArthur brought the Cowboys' total to 17 points and a fifth-place finish overall.

"Our sprints crew also had some big-time performances on all four relays today," Smith said. "I love the focus on mental toughness and competitiveness that relays and days like today require and I think this experience sets us up well going into the post season, when it's all about who you can beat.

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