Cowboys Capture Big 12 Indoor Title

February 28, 2016 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

Cowgirls score 109 to take second

AMES, Iowa - The Oklahoma State Cowboy track and field team won the 2016 Big 12 Indoor Championship Saturday in Ames, Iowa, with a score of 130, topping defending champion Texas by one and-a-half points. The Cowgirl squad came out as the conference runner-up with their best finish in school history.

The Pokes won four individual titles en route to the team win, including the mile, 1,000-meter run, 800-meter run and 3,000-meter run on the final day of the competition, but the championship came down to the final event of the meet, the 4X400-meter relay.

After Craig Nowak won the 3,000-meter title and four other Pokes finished in the top-six to score 28 points, the Cowboys held a five and-a-half point lead heading into the relay.

"I told Bobby Lockhart going into the 3K that we were going to need a miracle," coach Dave Smith said. "I knew the guys were tired and I told them I knew they had run themselves ragged all meet long, but they were going to have to get five of the top-six places because that's the only way we can do it, and one of them will have to win it. Doggone if they didn't go do it."

The Cowboy 4X400-meter team of Tyler Jackson, Brandon Singleton, Bradley Johnson and Tre'Tez Kinnaird produced one of the fastest times in school history on their biggest stage of the year when they won the first heat and finished fifth overall, scoring four points. But their championship fate relied on the result of the final 4X400 heat that included Baylor, Texas Tech, Kansas and defending champion Texas.

Baylor trounced the Longhorns, giving the Cowboys the slimmest margin of victory at an indoor Big 12 meet since 2007.

"It was an incredible day for us," Smith said. "It's the men's second indoor title in three years and for the women it was our highest finish ever. A bunch of athletes came together and just really competed with passion. We dreamed about this all year, we talked about this all year, they believed in it and they fought for it."

Cowboy newcomer and Big 12 Cross Country Newcomer of the Year Josh Thompson capped off a mile sweep for the Pokes, outpacing the crowd in the final 100 meters to grab 10 points for the Cowboys.

"It's a lot different than Central Arizona - these guys are fast here," Thompson said. "My teammates have really helped me push forward and keep up with these guys."

Matthew Fayers claimed his second All-Conference honor of the weekend when he took fourth in the same event. Thompson scored 10 more points for the Pokes with a win in the 1,000-meter run. NCAA champion Chad Noelle finished just behind Thompson in the event, crossing the finish line just two-tenths of a second behind his Cowboy teammate.

"It's a big confidence boost for me," Thompson said. "I would have been happy if he won and if I took second because we're trying to win as a team and score as many points as possible."

Vegard Oelstad and Cerake Geberkidane followed up their stellar 5,000-meter performances from Friday night with All-Conference honors in the 3,000, taking third and fifth, respectively. Seniors Brian Gohlke finished fourth and Noelle finished sixth in the event.

"For me, this performance is one of my greatest moments as a coach," Smith said. "We've had some great things happen over the years, but to have both men's and women's teams perform this well at this level, which was totally unexpected to everyone outside of the program, was just a lot of fun."

Kinnaird made a big statement at his first Big 12 meet when he sprinted past Texas Tech's Charles Jones in the final lap to win the 800-meter title in 1:48.51.

"I didn't want to lead because I knew this was a championship race and no one was going to go out too hard, and that kind's of my specialty," Kinnaird said. "I've never been on a team with so many guys and so many girls that just always want the best for each other. I'm happy that I'm here and I'm happy that I have a chance to live out my dream with a team full of guys who have the same aspirations and goals as I do."

Kinnaird is no stranger to success. Back at Indiana, he won the Big Ten indoor title in the 800.

Three Cowgirls placed in the women's 3,000-meter run and Ingeborg Loevnes came away with the conference crown after finishing as the runner-up in the 5,000 Friday. Aurora Dybedokken snagged her second All-Big 12 honor of the weekend when she finished third in the event and Boyert outran her teammate Monika Juodeskaite to take eighth.

The Cowgirls continued to assert their dominance in the middle distance races when five Cowgirls lined up for the mile final and All-American Kaela Edwards won the event by two seconds.

Edwards' win gave her a third Big 12 title and first in the indoor mile. Anna Boyert, Molly Sughroue and Dybedokken finished third through fifth, respectively, and All-American Jennifer Celis took seventh. Overall, the Cowgirls scored 27 points in the mile.

They ended the day in second place with 109 points, their highest finish and point total at a Big 12 meet ever.

The women's 1,000 had three Cowgirls entered, and Edwards took her second-straight 1,000-meter title and second win of the day. Freshman Kaytlyn Larson finished in second place and Sughroue took sixth.

Edwards later showed her range as the anchor-leg on the women's 4X400-meter relay. The Cowgirl quartet of Danielle Coleman, Savannah Camacho, Summor Fields and Edwards finished in a season's best 3:42.77 to win the first heat of the race and take fifth overall.

"We had people asking to be in more and more events to help the team," Smith said. "In all event areas, the jumps, throws, sprints, middle-and long-distance, everybody came together and it was so fun to watch 40 kids in the corner going nuts during the races to cheer our teams on."

Both Camacho and Clara Nichols ran in the 800-meter final and the duo took second and third, respectively, behind Baylor's Olicia Williams' record-breaking performance. All three of the top finishers ran faster than the meet record that was set back in 2014.

After two misfires and two disqualifications, John Teeters and Malik Givens were finally cut loose and the Cowboy duo scored 11 points for OSU. Teeters finished second behind Ronnie Baker's record-breaking time and Malik Givens grabbed sixth for his first All-Big 12 honor. Teeters later ran in the 200-meter final and took fifth giving him his seventh and eighth All-Big 12 honors.

For the second time during Championship weekend, Chase Ealey claimed an All-Big 12 honor, this time in the shot put. She finished fifth with a throw of 16.32m/53-4.50 and took home her ninth All-Conference honor.

Ryan Wheatley managed to snag an All-Big 12 honor at his first conference championships when he took sixth in the 600-yard run.

Cole Verble turned heads Saturday when he took ninth and came within striking distance of scoring for the first time at a conference meet. Verble finished 13th in the 60-meter hurdles, but set a personal best in the pole vault and 1,000-meter run where he took sixth and fifth.

"Coach Diego has been pushing me so hard in practice and I'm in way better shape than I was last year," Verble said. "I had very good PR's in the pole vault and the 1,000 and that really helped me catch back up to the group."

OSU's final day of competition in Ames ended with seven total Big 12 titles and 36 All-Big 12 honors. With the Cowboys' win, OSU becomes the second team in conference history to win a Big 12 cross country and track and field title in the same season. The other team to do it was the Cowboys back in 2014.

Women's Results

Women's 800 Meter Final - 3:40
2. Clara Nichols - 2:05.25
3. Savannah Camacho - 2:05.26

Women's 1000 Meter Final - 3:20
1. Kaela Edwards - 2:47.42
2. Kaytlyn Larson - 2:50.39
6. Molly Sughroue - 2:53.07

Women's Mile Final - 2:10
1. Kaela Edwards - 4:46.73
3. Anna Boyert - 4:49.09
4. Molly Sughroue - 4:49.40
5. Aurora Dybedokken - 4:50.31
7. Jennifer Celis - 4:51.44

Women's 3000 Meter Final - 4:20
1. Ingeborg Loevnes - 9:24.03
3. Aurora Dybedokken - 9:25.73
8. Anna Boyert - 9:32.69
9. Monika Juodeskaite - 9:35.49
25. Katie Spencer - 9:52.77
26. Natalie Baker - 9:53.09

Shot Put
5. Chase Ealey - 16.32m/53-6.50
9. Ieva Zarankaite - 15.10m/49-6.50
13. Katie Kehl - 13.51m/44-4.00

Women's Triple Jump
13. Viktoriia Sadokhina - 11.78m/38-7.75

4X400 Meter Relay
5. Oklahoma State - 3:42.77
(D. Coleman, S. Camacho,
S. Fields, K. Edwards)

Men's Results

Men's 60 Meter Final
2. John Teeters - 6.64
6. Malik Givens - 6.79

Men's 200 Meter Final
5. John Teeters - 21.53

Men's 600 Yard Final
6. Ryan Wheatley - 1:11.29

Men's 800 Meter Final
1. Tre'Tez Kinnaird - 1:48.51

Men's 1000 Meter Final
1. Josh Thompson - 2:23.75
2. Chad Noelle - 2:23.98

Men's Mile Final
1. Josh Thompson - 4:11.43
4. Matthew Fayers - 4:12.31

Men's 3000 Meter Final
1. Craig Nowak - 8:13.67
3. Vegard Oelstad - 8:14.78
4. Brian Gohlke - 8:15.14
5. Cerake Geberkidane - 8:16.22
6. Chad Noelle - 8:16.35
12. Brigham Hedges - 8:19.58
19. Luis Martinez - 8:29.55
30. Miles Yapp - 8:52.66

Heptathlon
9. Cole Verble - 4663 pts.
14. 60 Meters - 7.56
12. Long Jump - 6.20m/20-4.25
9. Shot Put - 11.61m/38-1.25
12. High Jump - 1.74m/5-8.5
13. 60 Meter Hurdles - 9.22
6. Pole Vault - 4.44m/14-6.75
5. 1000 Meters - 2:52.68

4X400 Meter Relay
5. Oklahoma State - 3:12.08
(T. Jackson, B. Singleton,
B. Johnson, T. Kinnaird)

Men's Final Team Standings
1. Oklahoma State - 130 pts.
2. Texas - 128.5
3. Kansas State - 98.5
4. Texas Tech - 97.5
5. Oklahoma - 82
6. Iowa State - 71
7. Kansas - 51
8. Baylor - 44.5
9. TCU - 34

Women's Final Team Standings
1. Texas - 147
2. Oklahoma State - 109
3. Kansas State - 107.42
4. Texas Tech - 75
5. Kansas - 70.92
6. Baylor - 69.28
7. Iowa State - 64.42
8. Oklahoma - 57.5
9. West Virginia - 24.42
10. TCU - 15