Cowgirls Lead After Day One at Big 12 Indoor Championships as Five Cowboys and Cowgirls Take Home Conference Titles

Cowgirls Lead After Day One at Big 12 Indoor Championships as Five Cowboys and Cowgirls Take Home Conference Titles

February 24, 2023 | Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

LUBBOCK, Texas – Oklahoma State women's track & field leads the field after the first day of the Big 12 Indoor Championships in Lubbock, Texas, with OSU taking home five conference championships on Friday.

"I thought we had a really good day today," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dave Smith said. "

OSU crowned three individual champions, along with both Distance Medley Relay squads sweeping the field. Taylor Roe and Alex Maier were the respective champions in the 5,000 Meters, while Ariadni Adamopoulou took the victory in the women's Pole Vault.

A Big 12 indoor champion for the fifth time, Roe took control of the 5K race in the last 800 meters as she crossed the finish line in 16:08.37. Roe took the lead from Iowa State's three-time defending Big 12 Indoor 5K champion Cailie Logue and ultimately won by ten seconds overall. She landed fifth place all-time in OSU history with that time and is the first Cowgirl since Jackie Goodman in 1989 to be crowned a Big 12 champion in the 5K.

Roe was accompanied by Gabby Hentemann, Molly Born and Emily Carter in the scoring column, all placing in the top eight and scored 19 vital points for the Cowgirls.

Maier ran a similar race, as he took a commanding lead late in the race and rode it all the way to the finish. Maier and Texas' Haftu Knight were neck-in-neck nearly the whole race until Maier shot to the finish line after a late burst of energy, which helped him finish in 14:11.72. Maier racked up 10 points for the Cowboys, followed by Will Muirhead's third-place finish overall. In the process, Maier won his third Big 12 indoor title in three different events (3,000 Meter and DMR in 2022).

In the women's Pole Vault, Adamopoulou won her first Big 12 Championship after a 4.19 meter vault. She becomes the first Cowgirl to take home a Big 12 title in the pole vault, cementing herself as one of the best vaulters in OSU history.

"Ariadni looked as good as I've seen her all year," Throws, Multis and Vaults coach Josh Langley said. "She's been runner-up before, so for her to go out at this point in her career and get that Big 12 title is awesome."

OSU's DMR squads continued their respective hot streaks by taking home both relay titles. The men's DMR team consisted of NCAA record-holders Fouad Messaoudi and Ryan Schoppe, who ran the 1,200 Meters and 1,600 Meter legs, respectively. Charlie Bartholomew and Juan Diego Castro joined the relay and delivered a strong performance in the middle legs. Bartholomew, an indoor Big 12 champion for the first time, had a 400 Meter split of 46.66, while Castro's 1:48.94 800 Meter split helped the Cowboys bring home the win. With the victory, the Cowboys have now won three consecutive conference indoor DMR titles.

Castro also had a big day in the individual portion of his day, qualifying first in the men's 1,000 Meters. His time of 2:21.73 is the fastest in OSU history and also set the Sports Performance Center's facility record, beating the previous record by two seconds.

The women's DMR won the race handedly, as the Cowgirls led nearly from wire-to-wire. Gabija Galvydyte and Ansley Scott started the event on a positive note before Kaylie Politza and Billah Jepkirui put the race away in the final two legs. Jepkirui finished her portion of the mile more than five seconds faster than any other competitor in the field. The Cowgirls now hold six DMR titles in the last eight years.

Bailey Golden also had a historic day, as she dropped two OSU indoor school records. In the Pentathlon, Golden scored 4,136 points, besting the previous record she set earlier this year at the Razorback Invitational.

"Bailey's always going to do what's best for the team," Langley said. "She only had about two and a half hours to recover from the Pentathlon to get ready for the Long Jump… I think our athletic trainers did a great job of getting her ready, but she really answered the bell today."

Goldens Pentathlon teammates, Olivija Vaitaityte and Maddie Meiner both landed in the top five of the competition and contributed nine points together. At least one Cowgirl placed first or second in all five events of the competition.

After completing five events in the Pentathlon, Golden came back for the Open Long Jump, opening with a 6.25 meter leap on her first attempt, shattering the previous school record of 6.09 meters. She placed second in both events, tallying 16 huge points for the Cowgirls, the most by an individual thus far.

"Just when we thought we might be on the ropes in terms of the team competition, Bailey Golden came up huge for us," Smith said. "From going unranked in the Long Jump, to scoring second, in addition to her second in the Pentathlon put us right back in the game."

In the qualifying rounds, OSU saw 15 athletes advance to the finals competition taking place Saturday. Sivan Auerbach (Mile and 1,000 Meters) and Maddie Salek (Mile and 800 Meters) qualified for two finals apiece.

Five Cowgirls punched their tickets to the Mile finals, including defending champion Taylor Roe, who placed first in the prelims.

The Cowboys and Cowgirls saw six combined runners qualify for their respective finals in the 600 Yards. Tamara Woodley, Tori Ortiz and Jinah Mickens-Malik are the representatives on the women's side, with DJ McArthur, Justin Smith and EJ Berry representing the Cowboys. Mickens-Malik's 1:21.63 puts her in fifth place in Cowgirl history while Smith moved into ninth in Cowboy history.

Gabija Galvydyte became the third OSU athlete to win a qualifying round after placing first in the 800 Meters. Galvydyte won comfortably and even returned later in the night for the opening leg of the DMR.

Rounding out the day in the throws arena, Hannah Bradford and Sam Mason each scored multiple points in the Weight Throw with impressive throws. Bradford took home fifth in the women's Weight with her toss of 19.65 meters, while Mason earned a sixth-place finish on the men's side with a personal-best throw of 19.67 meters. Both throwers earned their highest finishes ever at the Big 12 indoor meet.

"I'm really proud of Sam especially," Langley said. "He was as composed as I've ever seen him. I think he PR'd three times in this competition… he had a good opening-round throw and just kept building from that. Hannah had her highest finish ever in the Weight Throw which was certainly a great accomplishment for her."

The Cowboys and Cowgirls will be back in action tomorrow morning starting at 1 p.m. CT as they look to build off the momentum of a successful first day. The Cowgirls will be looking to capture their first track & field title in program history Saturday and hold a 20.5-point lead heading into the final day of action. Saturday's events will be streamed live on ESPN+.

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

Big 12 Indoor Championships

Men's Team Standings
1. Kansas — 41
2. Texas — 39
3. Oklahoma State — 29
4. Texas Tech — 28
5. Iowa State — 24
6. Oklahoma — 10
7. Baylor — 9
8. TCU — 8
9. Kansas State — 7

Women's Team Standings

1. Oklahoma State — 68
2. Oklahoma — 47.5
3. Kansas State — 34
4. Iowa State — 30
5. Kansas — 12.5
6. Texas — 11
6. Texas Tech — 11
8. Baylor — 8
8. West Virginia — 8
10. TCU — 4

Men's Individual Results
60 Meters — First Round
13. Koryee Wyatt — 6.72

600 Yards — First Round
5. DeJuana McArthur (q) — 1:09.94
6. Justin Smith (q) — 1:10.40
8. Elijah Berry (q) — 1:10.81
10. Cash Merutka — 1:11.29
12. Justin Long — 1:11.77

400 Meters — First Round
15. Charlie Bartholomew — 47.15

1,000 Meters — First Round
1. Juan Diego Castro (Q) — 2:21.73
6. Alex Stitt (Q) — 2:23.01
9. Christopher Middleton-Pearson — 2:24.93

800 Meters
2. Mehdi Yanouri (Q) — 1:49.10
9. Hafez Mahadi — 1:50.20
13. Triston Read — 1:56.49

Weight Throw
6. Sam Mason — 19.67m/64'6.50"

5,000 Meters
1. Alex Maier — 14:11.72
3. Will Muirhead — 14:18.78
10. Rory Leonard — 14:35.56

Long Jump
16. Alex Samples — 6.81m/22'4.25"

Distance Medley Relay
1. Fouad Messaoudi, Charlie Bartholomew, Juan Diego Castro, Ryan Schoppe — 9:31.52

Women's Individual Results

Pentathlon Results
2. Bailey Golden — 4,136 Points
4. Olivija Vaitaityte — 3,958 Points
5. Maddie Meiner — 3,936 Points

Pentathlon 60 Meter Hurdles
1. Bailey Golden — 8.57
4. Olivija Vaitaityte — 8.84
6. Maddie Meiner — 8.92

Pentathlon High Jump
1. Bailey Golden — 1.74m/5'8.50"
3. Maddie Meiner — 1.71m/5'7.25"
7. Olivija Vaitaityte — 1.65m/5'5"

Pentathlon Shot Put
2. Maddie Meiner — 13.11m/43'0.25"
5. Bailey Golden — 12.31m/40'4.75"
11. Olivija Vaitaityte — 10.00m/32'9.75"

Pentathlon Long Jump
2. Bailey Golden — 6.03m/19'9.50"
3. Olivija Vaitaityte — 5.86m/19'2.75"
5. Maddie Meiner — 5.55m/18'2.50"

Pentathlon 800 Meters
1. Olivija Vaitaityte — 2:15.67
9. Maddie Meiner — 2:30.07
10. Bailey Golden — 2:30.22

Mile — First Round
1. Taylor Roe (Q) — 4:44.98
3. Sivan Auerbach (Q) — 4:48.05
5. Krystal Rodriguez (q) — 4:49.21
6. Billah Jepkirui (Q) — 4:50.46
7. Maddie Salek (Q) — 4:51.41
11. Cameron McConnell — 4:57.43

Weight Throw
5. Hannah Bradford — 19.65m/64'5.75"

600 Yards — First Round
5. Tamara Woodley (q) — 1:21.33
6. Tori Ortiz (q) — 1:21.41
7. Jinah Mickens-Malik (q) — 1:21.63
11. Ansley Scott — 1:24.79

Pole Vault
1. Ariadni Adamopoulou — 4.19m/13'9"

1,000 Meters — First Round
6. Sivan Auerbach (Q) — 2:49.07
9. Anne Gine Lovnes — 2:49.66
10. Kaylie Politza — 2:50.02
12. Payton Hinkle — 2:55.53

800 Meters — First Round
1. Gabija Galvydyte (Q) — 2:04.51
3. Maddie Salek (Q) — 2:07:42
9. Michaela Travers — 2:10.04
10. Ava Honore — 2:10.99

5,000 Meters
1. Taylor Roe — 16:08.37
3. Gabby Hentemann — 16:23.07
7. Molly Born — 16:38.09
8. Emily Carter — 16:40.00
12. Heidi Demeo — 17:03.32

Long Jump
2. Bailey Golden — 6.25m/20'6.25"
15. Saara Hakanen — 5.64m/18'6"

Distance Medley Relay
1. Gabija Galvydyte, Ansley Scott, Kaylie Politza, Billah Jepkirui — 11:12.21