LINCOLN, Neb. – The final day of the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships concluded Saturday as the Oklahoma State women's track and field team finished 10th with 35 points, inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
Texas claimed its fifth indoor title with 125 points, finishing ahead of runner-up Nebraska (118 points).
"Overall, we exceeded our expectations and scored 35 points," Cowgirl head coach Rene Sepulveda said. "With such a young team, our expectations were low going into the championships."
Freshman Nina Andersson set the tone for the Cowgirls, scoring six points in the mile run. Andersson led the first three laps before falling back to fourth. In the final lap, Andersson made a late effort sprint to finish third with a time of 4:51.69. Oklahoma's Jessica Eldridge won the event with a time of 4:47.25.
"In the beginning I felt relaxed, as I kept my pace through the first few laps," Andersson said. "When I was running head-to-head with Missouri's (Kristin Hansen), it felt like I gained more energy on the final turn.
"The late finish gave me the confidence that I can run with anyone in this conference."
Sophomore Eva Tomankova added two points to the team score with a seventh–place finish in the 1,000-meter finals. Tomankova, who had the sixth best time going into the finals, finished with a personal record time of 2:54.52. Missouri's Ashley Patten claimed the championship with a time of 2:49.
In the 3,000-meter run, the Cowgirls were led behind the running attack of junior Eva Slavikova (second-place) and sophomore Mary Davies (seventh-place). The duo tallied in 10 points as they ran times of 9:30.32 and 9:42.20, respectively.
"I think it was tactically a hard race because no girls were willing to pace the race," Slavikova said. "At the end, I gave my best and unfortunately it was not enough to win."
Freshman Mateja Posavec scored a point for the Pokes in the triple jump, finishing eighth with a mark of 39'7" (12.06-meters). Senior Cody Birk finished with a personal record mark of 37'5.25" (11.41-meters).
"It feels good to help the team," Posavec said. "Hopefully, I can improve and score more during the outdoor season."
Sophomore LaKendra Greathouse, who scored three points in the shot put, finished sixth with a mark of 48'2.75" (14.70-meters).
"This was LaKendra's first time to score in the Big 12 Championships," Sepulveda said. "Hopefully, this will be the start of her Big 12 and NCAA success."
"I am happy that I scored for the team as I will enjoy every moment of it," Greathouse said. "It was a great start to my success."
Final Standings
(team) (points)
Texas 125
Nebraska 118
Texas Tech 68
Baylor 61
Oklahoma 61
Kansas State 60.5
Missouri 58
Texas A&M 56.5
Kansas 45
Oklahoma State 35
Colorado 33
Iowa State 19