OKLAHOMA STATE TRACK AND FIELD NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY ROUNDS May 24-26, 2012 | Mike A. Myers Stadium | Austin, Texas THE OKLAHOMA STATE TRACK AND FIELD PROGRAM SENDS 17 ATHLETES TO COMPETE AT THE NCAA WEST PRELIMINARY ROUNDS, HOSTED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS The Basics Chasing the Olympic Dream The Oklahoma State track and field program is sending 17 athletes to compete Cowboy Tom Farrell ran a blistering 13:15.31 in the 5,000 meters at the Payton at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds on May 24-26, which will be hosted by Jordan Invitational on April 29, earning him an Olympic “A” Standard, which the University of Texas in Austin. gives him a strong chance to represent his native Great Britain at the 2012 Olympic Games. Cowgirl Natalja Piliusina ran a 4:09.51 in the 1,500 meters at On the men’s side, OSU will have 12 athletes competing in six events, while the Payton Jordan, which is just .61 seconds off of the Olympic “B” standard. the women will have five athletes competing in four events. If she is able to shave off the fractions of a second, she would be able to represent her home country of Lithuania in the upcoming Olympics. After posting a jump of six feet, one and 1/4 inches at the Big 12 Championships, OSU Schedule of Events Toni Young is just a quarter of an inch away from being automatically qualified to compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials at the end of June. Men Women Thursday Thursday 1,500 Meters 1st Round (3) ....... 5:30 p.m. 1,500 Meters 1st Round (2) ......... 6 p.m. OSU in the Polls 10,0000 meters Semifinals (2) ...... 9 p.m. Heading into the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, the men rank No. 32 and the Friday women are No. 36. After an incredible showing by OSU at the Payton Jordan Friday High Jump 1st Round (1) ............. 5 p.m. Invitational on April 29, both the men’s and women’s teams made jumps in 3,000 Meter SC Quarterfinal (1) .. 9:30 p.m. Hammer Throw 1st Round (1) ...... 2 p.m. the national rankings. The Cowgirls jumped an astounding 32 spots to No. 34, 3,000 Meter SC Quarterfinal (3) ...8:50 p.m. Saturday while the men jumped ahead six spots to No. 36. Saturday Hammer Throw 1st Round (1) ..... 2 p.m. Discus Throw 1st Round (1) .........11 a.m. 1,500 Meter Quarterfinal ....... 6:45 p.m. Among the Nation’s Elite 1,500 Meter Quarterfinal ........ 6:30 p.m. OSU track and field athletes own five marks that rank inside the top 10 in the 5,000 Meter Semifinal (3) ........ 8:05 p.m. Number in Paretheses - number of OSU competitors NCAA: No. 1 Women’s 1,500 Meters - Natalja Piliusina - 4:09.51 - Payton Jordan Inv. The Competitors No. 4 Women’s High Jump - Toni Young - 1.86m/6-01.25 - Big 12 Championships Athlete Event Schedule No. 7 Men’s 10,000 Meters - Girma Mecheso - 28:16.97 - Payton Jordan Inv. Raul Botezan 1,500 meters 5/24 - 5:30 p.m. No. 10 Men’s Hammer Throw - Nick Miller - 67.06m/220-00 - John McDonnell Inv. German Fernandez 1,500 meters 5/24 - 5:30 p.m. No. 10 Men’s 5,000 Meters - Girma Mecheso - 13.34.83 - Stanford Inv. Shane Moskowitz 1,500 meters 5/24 - 5:30 p.m. Caileigh Glenn 1,500 meters 5/24 - 6 p.m. From Hoops to High Jump Natalja Piliusina 1,500 meters 5/24 - 6 p.m. Oklahoma State women’s basketball star Toni Young, who has career averages Shadrack Kipchirchir 10,000 meters 5/24 - 9 p.m. of 11.3 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game and 1.1 blocks per game Girma Mecheso 10,000 meters 5/24 - 9 p.m. and is in the top 10 in six career statistical categories, has joined the track Nick Miller Hammer throw 5/25 - 2 p.m. team as a high jumper. In just her second outing with team, Young set the Toni Young High jump 5/25 - 5 p.m. school record, but has since broken it when she jumped 6-01.25 at the Big Fabian Clarkson 3,000 meter steeplechase 5/25 - 8:50 p.m. 12 Championships, where she placed second. That mark is currently tied for Taylor Monaghan 3,000 meter steeplechase 5/25 - 8:50 p.m. fourth in the NCAA. Nick Thorp 3,000 meter steeplechase 5/25 - 8:50 p.m. Kate Kujawa 3,000 meter steeplechase 5/25 - 9:30 p.m. Freshman Phenom Caitlin Way Hammer throw 5/26 - 2 p.m. Freshman thrower Nick Miller has had an incredible run so far in his first Kirubel Erassa 5,000 meters 5/26 - 8:05 p.m. season on campus. The Carlisle, United Kingdom, is coming off of an individual Neal Smith 5,000 meters 5/26 - 8:05 p.m. Big 12 title in the hammer throw. With the victory, Miller has now placed first Girma Mecheso 5,000 meters 5/26 - 8:05 p.m. in each of the past five meets he has competed in. He also had a string where Andrew Hudson Discus throw 5/26 - 11 a.m. he increased the distance of his throw four straight times, including setting the school record at 220 feet at the John McDonnell Invitational on April 20. That OSU MEDIA RELATIONS STEFAN NOLET | Student Assistant GAVIN LANG CONTACTS FOR OSU [email protected] [email protected] TRACK AND FIELD O: 405-744-7714 | C: 832-794-2790 O: 405-744-3875 | C: 405-612-9274 2012 NCAA FIRST ROUND 1 NOTES/ROSTERS/SCHEDULE mark crurrently ranks No. 10 in the NCAA and ranks fourth in the world for junior (under 20) athletes. COWBOYS NAME CLASS HOMETOWN/HS Rewriting the Record Books Raul Botezan JR Cluj-Napoca, Romania The 2012 outdoor track and field season has resulted in some of the best Taylor Buck JR Medicine Lodge, Kan. marks in Oklahoma State history. In just this season, the Cowboys and Cowgirls Tommy Casey FR Sligo, Ireland Fabian Clarkson FR Berlin, Germany have claimed a total of 21 spots on the all-time top-10 performance lists, Kevin Colón SO Kansas City, Mo./Summit West including five school records: Kirubel Erassa SO Grayson, Ga./Grayson HS Outdoor School Records Set in 2012: Tom Farrell JR Carlisle, United Kingdom German Fernandez SR Riverbank, Calif./Riverbank Men’s 5,000 Meters - Tom Farrell - 13:15.31 - Payton Jordan Inv. Brian Gohlke FR The Woodlands, Texas (Old Record: German Fernandez - 13:25.46 - 2009 USATF, Eugene) J.P. Hendrick FR Moore, Okla./Southmoore Men’s 10,000 Meters - Girma Mecheso - 28:16 97 - Payton Jordan Inv. Andrew Hudson RS FR Amarillo, Texas/Bushland (Old Record: Colby Lowe - 28:45.91 - 2011 Stanford Invitational) Cody Kenny FR Woodward, Okla./Mooreland Shadrack Kipchirchir SO Eldoret, Kenya/Western Kentucky Men’s Hammer Throw - Nick Miller - 67.06m/220-00 - John McDonnell Inv. Colby Lowe SR Southlake, Texas/Carroll (Old Record: Ralph Havenstrite - 47.52m/155-11 - 1915 Interclass Track Meet) Joseph Manilafasha JR Denver, Colo./Denver North Girma Mecheso JR Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Women’s 1,500 Meters - Natalja Piliusina - 4:09.51 - Payton Jordan Inv. Nick Miller FR Carlisle, United Kingdon (Old Record: Mihaela Susa - 4:13.08 - 2010 Mt. SAC Relays) Taylor Monaghan JR Tulsa, Okla./Tulsa Union Women’s High Jump - Toni Young - 1.86m, 6-01.25 - Big 12 Championships Shane Moskowitz SO Silverdale, Wash./Central Kitsap (Old Record: Michelle Crowson - 1.81m, 5-11.25 - 1987 Ralph Higgins Meet) Mark Nelson SR Oklahoma City, Okla. David Osborn SO Chesterton, Ind./Chesterton HS Tyler Payton SO Jay, Okla./Jay HS From Coach Dave Smith Klaus Schmidt JR Tivoli, N.Y./Red Hook Central “I’d like to see as many people as possible qualify for the national Neal Smith SO Southlake, Texas/Carroll HS championships. I think we have several in the group that are within striking Nick Thorp SO McKinney, Texas/McKinneyBoyd distance of making it, some are favorites to make it and some are on the Justin Vilhauer FR Visalia, Calif./Redwood outside. We always seem to do better at the end of the year and we perform Zach Wills FR Mason, Ohio/Mason well in big meets. Outside of making the national championships, I’d like Austin Wright FR Rapid City, S.D./Stevens everybody who’s going in to finish higher than they’re ranked going in. I want to see everybody improve on their rankings coming in and hopefully have several in the national championships.” COWGIRLS NAME CLASS HOMETOWN/HS Madison Allen FR Whitesboro, Texas/Whitesboro Mihaela Bobos JR Cluj-Napoca, Romania Jackie Campos JR Santa Teresa, N.M./Santa Teresa Jenny Dyer SO Collinsville, Okla./Collinsville HS Alex Ervin FR Sperry, Okla./Sperry 2012 OSU OUTDOOR SCHEDULE Victoria Fratczak JR Dartmouth, Nova Scotia Melanie Funke JR Minot, N.D./Minot Date Meet Location Caileigh Glenn SO Newmarket, Ontario, Canada March 17, 2012 Tulsa Duels Tulsa, Okla. Brooke Gritters SO Pella, Iowa/Pella March 28-31, 2012 Texas RelaysRuth-Anne Hadjis Austin,SO Texas Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Cr. April 6-7, 2012 Stanford Invitational Palo Alto, Calif. Victoria Hanna JR Oshawa, Canada April 6-7, 2012 Don Kirby Invitational Albuquerque, N.M. Laura Heaton SR Amarillo, Texas/Tascosa April 14, 2012 John Jacobs Invitational Norman, Okla. Alyssa Henrichs JR Beresford, S.D./Beresford April 20-21, 2012 John McDonnellAdela Hofmannova Invitationa l FR Fayetteville,Tmaň, Czech RepublicArk.