OSU Returns to Drake Relays

Thursday, April 27

Des Moines, Iowa

All Day

Oklahoma State University

Drake Relays

April 27, 2017 | Cowboy Cross Country & Track, Cowgirl Cross Country & Track

MEET NOTES

The Basics
There is just one event on the schedule for Oklahoma State for the first time since week two, but the solo meet is the historic Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa.

Follow the Meet
Those who want to follow the Drake Relays from home can find live results at godrakebulldogs.com, provided by Hy-Tek Results.
OSU's first events of the Relays will be the men's and women's 4X1,600-meter runs Thursday evening.
Friday features a bulk of OSU's entries including Kaela Edwards' outdoor debut in the women's 1,500-meter elite invitational.
OSU sends men's and women's teams to the distance medley relays Saturday and all of OSU's field events.
A complete schedule of events can be found on page three of the meet notes.

Broadcast Information
The 108th Drake Relays will be available to watch on a live stream on USATF.tv presented by Runnerspace.com with subscription and select events can be seen on NBCSN and NBCSports Live Extra.
Thursday's broadcast begins online at USATF.tv at 5 p.m. and runs until the conclusion of the first day at 10 p.m., and Friday's stream begins at 9 a.m. and runs until 9:10 p.m.
From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., USATF.tv will hold all track and field events before passing off the track events to NBCSN at 3.
USATF.tv will still carry the throwing events from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., but all track events will be available on TV at NBCSN or online at NBC Sports Live Extra until 5 p.m.

What To Watch For - Drake Relays
Kaela Edwards leads a group of Cowgirls into the Drake Relays looking for a qualifying time in the 1,500-meter run in her outdoor season debut.
Edwards is entered into the elite field for the race, dubbed the Rio Olympic Rematch Invitational section that features seven Olympians, including Rio bronze medalist Jenny Simpson, U.S. Champion Kate Grace and world silver-medalist Brenda Martinez.
Last time the Cowgirls went to Des Moines they made history when they swept the distance relay trio of the 4X800, 4X1,600 and distance medley relays.
With a return trip to the Hawkeye State, the Cowgirls will look to repeat their success as they are entered in both the 4X1,600 and DMR.
The Cowboys also send quartets for the 4X1,600 and DMR, expected to be led by All-Americans Josh Thompson and Craig Nowak.
Individually, Kennedy Turner in the 400-meter hurdles is the only other Cowgirl slated to run this weekend, but several throwers, including Ieva Zarankaite, Katie Kehl and Megan Honas, will compete.
Ryan Smeeton was a late addition to the university steeplechase.

Last Time Out
Kaytlyn Larson surged to a heat win, moving up three places on the homestretch on her way to clocking a 2:06.60 to jump into the top-20 in the region, and eighth on the school-record list.
Cowboy newcomers Hassan Abdi and Sylvester Barus toed the line for the 5,000 Friday seeking another automatic place in the preliminary meet in late-May.
Abdi's solid outing produced a personal-best of 13:43.27 and put him into the top-10 in the West.
Craig Nowak's lifetime-best of 3:40.41 in the 1,500 moved the Cowboy senior to fifth in the NCAA. The time came behind a rabbit in NCAA mile champion Josh Kerr, who was tasked with leading the field to 59-second splits.
With Nowak jumping into the 1,500-meter top-five in the region, OSU now owns two of the five best times in the West with Josh Thompson's 3:38.21 from the Bryan Clay Invitational sitting at No. 2.
Molly Sughroue's 10:26.82 steeplechase time moved her into the No. 7 spot in school history and into the top-30 in the region.
Ambra Wesley came away with a personal-best in the 800-meter run becoming the seventh Cowgirl to break 2:10 this year with her 2:09.81 that earned her a third-place finish at the John McDonnell Invitational
Jacob Fincham-Dukes finished fifth in the 100-meter dash and Emily Hart ran another PR in the 100-meter hurdles at the meet in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

Cowgirls Looking For Historic Repeat At Relays
The last time the Cowgirls made the trip to Des Moines, Iowa, for the Drake Relays, they made history by sweeping the distance relays and setting the meet record in the 4X1,600-meter relay.
The three quartets won the 4X1,600, 4X800 and distance medley relays to go three-for-three in wins, becoming just the fourth team in the meet's history to do so.
Nataljia Piliusina ran on two of the three teams, including the record-setting 4X1,600-meter team and the DMR teams, and Kaela Edwards and Savannah Camacho had legs on the 4X800-meter and DMR.
This time in the Hawkeye State, Edwards and Camacho are expected to lead the Cowgirls in the 4X800 and DMRs.

Cowboys Crack Top-25 With 14-Place Jump
For the first time in the 2017 outdoor season, the Oklahoma State Cowboys own a place in the USTFCCCA top-25 after a 14-spot leap to 24.
Craig Nowak and Hassan Abdi's big weekend led to the Cowboys' jump in the poll as the Pokes now have five marks in the top-10 of the West Region.
Along With Nowak (No. 4 1,500) and Abdi (No. 10 5,000 and No. 9 10,000), the Cowboys have Josh Thompson (No. 2 1,500) and Jacob Fincham-Dukes (No. 2 Long Jump) with top-10 marks.
OSU's debut in the top-25 gives the Big 12 five teams in the top-25 with Texas Tech leading the way in fourth.
The conference has the second-most teams in the top-25 behind only the dominant SEC that owns 11 of the top-25 and five of the top-six places.

OSU Cross Country Course Selected As NCAA Host Site
The Oklahoma State Cross Country Course has been selected as the host site for the 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional Cross Country Championships and the 2020 NCAA Cross Country Championships.
The event in 2020 will mark the first time in school history that Stillwater has hosted an NCAA Championships event for either cross country or track and field.
The 2019 regional will be the third time OSU has hosted that event and the first time since 2008.
The Cowboys have won 13 of the last 14 Midwest Regional crowns, including two when hosting, and the Cowgirls have won three since 2001 with their most recent coming in 2015.
Under coach Dave Smith, the Cowboys have been staples in the NCAA top-15 at the championships, finishing in that position in every year but one since 2005.
The 2019 NCAA Midwest Regional is scheduled for Nov. 15 and the 2020 NCAA Championships will take place on Nov. 21.

Edwards Set To Make Outdoor Debut
Cowgirl senior Kaela Edwards is set to make her outdoor debut this weekend at the Drake Relays in the 1,500-meter run.
It will be the first time she has competed since the indoor national championships where she finished fourth in the women's mile.
Edwards comes into the race with a personal best 1,500-meter time of 4:13.63 from the outdoor national championships a season ago. The same time would put the five-time first-team All-American into the No. 5 spot in the West Region with less than a month to go until the postseason.
Edwards has a tough field ahead of her in Des Moines that features the likes of American champion Kate Grace who Edwards faced at the Millrose Games back in March when Edwards ran one of the fastest miles in collegiate history and took sixth.
While not confirmed, Edwards may take part in a few relays for the Cowgirls, as they are entered in the 4X800, 4X1,600 and distance medley relays.