OKLAHOMA STATE INDOOR TRACK AND FIELD Kansas State All Comers December 8, 2012 | Ahearn Field House|Manhattan, Kan. OKLAHOMA STATE TRACK AND FIELD OPENS THE 2013 INDOOR SEASON AT THE KANSAS STATE ALL COMERS. The Basics The athletes on the 2013 roster have combined for nine All-America honors and four Big The Oklahoma State men’s and women’s track and field teams will open the 2013 12 titles in track and field. indoor season this weekend when they participate in the Kansas State All Comers meet Saturday in Manhattan, Kan. Field events will begin at 11:00 a.m. while track The Cowboys’ strength figures to be in the distance events. events start at 2:00 p.m. Six of Oklahoma State’s returning All-Americans are distance runners, headlined The Cowboys will travel Taylor Buck, Kevin Colόn, Alex Johansson, Cody Kenny, by Girma Mecheso and Raul Botezan. Mecheso was a first-team All-American in Korey Krotzer, Nick Miller, Alex Monaghan, Tyler Payton, Klaus Schmidt, Nick Thorp, the 2012 outdoor 5,000 meters and Botezan earned a first-team spot in the 2012 Justin Vilhauer, Terrence West, Jordan Williams, Zach Wills and Austin Wright. indoor mile. The Cowgirls will bring Jasmine Adams, Paige Barnes, Mihaela Bobos, Trianna Kirubel Erassa is an interesting prospect with loads of talent who could factor into Browne-Hearrell, Chase Ealey, Kaela Edwards, Brooke Gritters, Jordan Highsmith, the mix nationally in the indoor mile. Adela Hofmannova, Bailey Johnson, Clara Nichols, Chelsey Phoebus, Jacy Steelman, Taylor Stolt, Clara Telford, Caitlin Way, Codi Wilson and Kendra Woodson to With a ninth-place finish in the 2012 indoor 5,000-meters, Shadrack Kipchirchir was Manhattan. just one spot away from earning first-team All-America honors in that event. He’ll also factor into the national discussion this year. This is the only meet OSU will participate in during the fall semester. One of the most interesting storylines during the 2012 track and field season Season Preview- Men was the performance of hammer thrower Nick Miller. The Big 12 champion and a The Oklahoma State men’s indoor track and field team enters the 2013 season second-team All-American as a true freshman, Miller excelled immediately under looking to build upon the success from a year ago. the watch of throws coach John Baumann. Oklahoma State is well-positioned, returning 14 of its 15 track and field letterwinners Miller represented his native Great Britain at the IAAF Junior World Championships from last year. last summer and will be a figure to watch for Oklahoma State again in 2013. Highlighting OSU’s list of newcomers are Texas prep standout and two-time high school cross country All-American Craig Nowak and Washington native Korey OSU Schedule of High Jump Mile Krotzer. Taylor Buck Chelsey Phoebus Events Kendra Woodson Season Preview- Women Weight Throw Paige Barnes The Oklahoma State women’s track and field team will open the 2013 indoor Men’s Events season this weekend with hopes of building on the success the team had a year 60-Meter Dash Nick Miller Long Jump ago. Cody Kenny Jacy Steelman Jordan Williams Women’s Events Taylor Stolt Natalja Piliusina ranks among the national elite in the 800 meters and in the 1,500 60-Meter Dash Jasmine Adams meters and has the marks to prove it. 300-Meter Dash Jordan Highsmith Cody Kenny Jacy Steelman Terrence West Taylor Stolt Piliusina ran the fastest time in the nation in both events last year, clocking a 2:03.46 Triple Jump Jordan Williams Jasmine Adams in the indoor 800 meters and a 4:09.51 in the outdoor 1,500 meters to take her place Codi Wilson Clara Telford among the nation’s best. Jacy Steelman 600-Yard Tyler Payton 60-Meter Hurdles She is a two-time NCAA runner-up in the 800 meters, placing second outdoors in 2011 Clara Telford Shot Put and indoors in 2012 and has won every 800 meter race - both indoors and outdoors - Brooke Gritters Jordan Highsmith she’s ever run at the Big 12 Championships. 1,000-Meter Jordan Highsmith Austin Wright Chase Ealey Korey Krotzer 300-meter Dash Piliusina’s career performances command attention, but she is not the only Alex Monaghan Bailey Johnson Cowgirl who will be a factor on the national level. Weight Throw Taylor Stolt Caitlin Way Mile Jasmine Adams The indoor distance medley relay team of Mihaela Bobos, Piliusina, Caileigh Glenn Kevin Colόn Codi Wilson and Kate Kujawa returns intact and looks to build on the Big 12 championship it 4X400 Relay Klaus Schmidt Clara Nichols won a year ago. Team A Zach Wills Kaela Edwards Justin Vilhauer 600-Yard In addition to the All-Americans and Big 12 champions listed above, OSU’s roster is Clara Nichols Nick Thorp Mihaela Bobos Mihaela Bobos further deepened by All-Big 12 performers in Bobos (indoor 800 meters), Glenn (indoor Alex Johansson Trianna Browne-Hearrell Bailey Johnson 1,000 meters and outdoor 1,500 meters), Kujawa (indoor mile), Juodeskaite (outdoor Kaela Edwards 5,000 meters) and Caitlin Way (outdoor hammer throw). Long Jump Cody Kenny 1,000-Meters Though she has not yet earned All-Big 12 status, another performer to watch is Adela Hofmannova Brooke Gritters in both the shot put and the discus. Gritters ranks in OSU’s top five all-time in both events. OSU MEDIA RELATIONS Track & Field [email protected] CONTACT SARA LEGARSKY | Graduate Assistant O: 405-744-6963 | C: 724-726-9247 KSU All Comers 1 OKLAHOMA STATE CROSS COUNTRY The newcomers to watch in 2013 are Savannah Camacho and Kaela Edwards in the middle distance events, Samantha Nightingale in the distance events, Clara Nichols in the sprints and Chase Ealey in the throws. Last Year at KSU All Comers The OSU men recorded nine top-five finishes, including one first-place finish, while the women finished in the top five on seven occasions, including two first-place finishes. The most impressive event of the day came during the men’s one-mile run, in which Jackie Campos the top seven finishers belonged to OSU. Neal Smith led the way with his time of 4:14.79, while runners two through seven finished within six seconds of the lead man. Two freshmen came up big for the Cowgirls, as Adela Hofmannova and Janelle Martinez crossed the finish line in first place. Hofmannova posted a time of 2:55.19 in the 1,000-meter run to place first. Martinez clocked a 5:22.98 in the mile run to earn first place in that event. World Ranking Nick Miller will enter the 2013 track and field season ranked 12th in the world in the 6kg under-20 hammer throw, according to the IAAF 2012 top list. Miller recorded a throw of 73.76 meters in Livingston, Scotland, last June at the Hammerama meet to earn a spot among the world’s best. Miller is coming off an impressive freshman year that was highlighted by a Big 12 championship in the hammer throw. He became the first Cowboy athlete to win an outdoor conference title in the hammer throw since Wallace Thornberry in 1901. Miller also set an Oklahoma State school record when he launched a 7.26 kilogram hammerShadrack 67.56 Kipchirchir meters/221-08 at the Hammerama meet in Scotland. National Champions Many of the distance runners are coming off a spectacular cross country season where they captured their third national championship in four years. The Cowboys earned 72 points, beating Wisconsin by 63 points to claim the school’s 51st NCAA team title in all sports. By finishing in the top 40, Mecheso, Kipchirchir, Tom Farrell and Joseph Manilafasha all earned All-American honors. This is the third time for both Mecheso and Farrell and the first time for Kipchirchir and Manilafasha to be named an All-American. The team is also coming off a season where it went undefeated, capturing its fifth- straight Big 12 Championship and finishing tied for first place at NCAA Midwest Regional. The Pokes also captured their third-straight Cowboy Jamboree title. For the eighth-straight year, the Cowboys placed in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships. Head coach Dave Smith was also honored by being named National Coach of the Year and Big 12 Coach of the Year. Women’s Cross Country Many of the Cowgirl distance runners are coming off a cross country season that saw improvement. Raul Botezan The Oklahoma State women’s cross country team finished 26th at the 2012 NCAA Cross Country Championships.The Cowgirls earned 565 points and improved on their 30th-place finish from a year ago. The Cowgirls are also coming off finishing in second place at both the Big 12 Championships and NCAA Midwest Regional. They also captured their third-straight Cowboy Jamboree team title. From Head Coach Dave Smith On the Start of Indoor Track and Field “For most of the athletes, the meet this weekend is the first time they’ve competed since May, so it’s just really a chance to get on the track against some different- colored uniforms and kind of see where we are. We don’t have a lot of expectations other than wanting to see people compete hard, and do the best they can with the shape they’re in, and give us a starting point for the rest of the season.” On the Kansas State All Comers Meet “We’ve got a lot of freshmen competing this weekend, and I really want to see where they are.