AMES, Iowa – The Iowa State men’s indoor track and field team are Big 12 Champions. The Cyclones won their first track and field team title in the Big 12 era on Saturday at the Lied Recreation Athletic Center, posting 137 team points.
Iowa State’s last indoor track and field title came in 1994 during the Big Eight Era. For Director of Track & Field Martin Smith, it ended a 10-year wait to lift the indoor title, as he last won it with Oklahoma in 2010.
The Cyclone men were led by the repeat winner of the Big 12 High Point Award for the Indoor Championships Edwin Kurgat, who did the 3K/5K double for the second-straight indoor season along with taking third in the mile. Roshon Roomes picked up a pair of titles on Saturday, repeating his triumph in the 600-yard run and adding an 800-meter run title to his trophy collection.
The Cyclone men showed their strength in the middle and long distance events, racking up a combined 123 points across the 600-yard, 800-meter, 1,000-meter, mile, 3,000-meter, 5,000-meter runs and the distance medley relay.
The Iowa State women enjoyed a strong day as well, finishing fourth with 74.33 points, with Cailie Logue also doing a 3K/5K sweep to share the High Point Award for the meet.
ISU entered the men’s 3,000 needing 16 points to guarantee the title. The Cyclones sent Kurgat and Thomas Pollard out on their own while Chad Johnson played defense against the rest of the field. The Cyclone duo was never caught, repeating their 1-2 from the night before in the 5,000. Kurgat got conference title No. 6 in 8:10.48, while Pollard brought home another silver medal in 8:14.85. Johnson was rewarded for his hard work with a sixth-place finish in 8:17.92.
Roomes had a busy day, taking on his section of the 600-yard final at 2:40 p.m. He took care of business to repeat in 1:08.66, and brought teammate Cebastian Gentil with him in second in 1:09.45. 70 minutes later, Roomes returned to the track in the 800 and was again dominant in a wire-to-wire victory. Yet again it was one of his teammates, Daniel Nixon, who joined him atop the podium as he ran to silver in 1:48.65.
Festus Lagat added to his gold medal in the DMR last night, with a pair of silver medals in the mile (4:13.84) and the 1,000 (2:26.98). Lagat was third behind Kurgat (26 points) and Roomes (20 points) in terms of points responsible for at the Big 12 Championships, notching 18.5 points across the two days.
For the second-straight season, Mason Weh was the bronze medalist in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking in at 7.93. In the field, Cody Durbin posted a career-best high jump of 6-10 3/4 (2.09m) to finish in fifth.
For the Cyclone women, Logue took the lead after 1,000 meters and never looked back to pick up her sixth career Big 12 individual crown. It was her teammate Abby Caldwell, who ran to a second silver medal of the weekend, who surprised. The sixth-year senior was sitting in sixth with two laps to go, but showed good strength to record the second place finish.
Another big finisher for the Cyclone women was Larkin Chapman, who went from eighth place to the bronze medal in the 1,000-meter run on the final lap, clocking in at 2:50.21. Katarina Vlahovic finished her indoor season with yet another personal best and a bronze medal in the 60 hurdles, finishing in 8.30. In the field, Keiara Williams had another career-best day, using a top shot put throw of 48-11 1/2 (14.92m) to finish sixth.
Up Next
Qualifiers for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be announced on Tuesday night. The Championships will be in Albuquerque, New Mexico this season on March 13-14.
Team Scores
Men: 1. Iowa State – 137; Texas Tech – 127; 3. Texas – 118; 4. Oklahoma – 87; 5. Kansas State – 76; 6. TCU – 53; 7. Baylor – 50; 8. Oklahoma State – 46; 9. Kansas – 45
Women: 1. Texas – 180.33; 2. Texas Tech – 131; 3. Kansas State – 91; 4. Iowa State – 74.33; 5. Oklahoma – 72; T-6. Kansas, Oklahoma State – 54; 8. Baylor – 34.33; 9. TCU – 34; 10. West Virginia – 16
Iowa State Results
600-Yard Run (M): 1. Roshon Roomes, Iowa State – 1:08.66; 2. Cebastian Gentil, Iowa State – 1:09.45
600-Yard Run (W): 1. Brooke Jaworski, Texas – 1:19.14; 8. Zakiyah Amos, Iowa State – 1:22.79
800-Meter Run (M): 1. Roshon Roomes, Iowa State – 1:48.39; 2. Daniel Nixon, Iowa State – 1:48.65
1,000-Meter Run (M): 1. Takieddine Hedeilli, Texas Tech – 2:26.67; 2. Festus Lagat, Iowa State – 2:26.98; 7. Leonel Perez, Iowa State – 2:30.27
1,000-Meter Run (W): 1. Kassidy Johnson, Kansas State – 2:44.89; 3. Larkin Chapman, Iowa State – 2:50.21
Mile Run (M): 1. Takiddine Hedeilli, Texas Tech – 4:13.27; 2. Festus Lagat, Iowa State – 4:13.84; 3. Edwin Kurgat, Iowa State – 4:14.28; 8. Milo Greder, Iowa State – 4:20.27
Mile Run (W): 1. Kathryn Gillespie, Texas – 4:36.89; 6. Gwynne Wright, Iowa State – 4:50.27; 11. Brina Kraft, Iowa State – 5:24.80
3,000-Meter Run (M): 1. Edwin Kurgat, Iowa State – 8:10.48; 2. Thomas Pollard, Iowa State – 8:14.85; 6. Chad Johnson, Iowa State – 8:17.92; 9. Mitchell Day, Iowa State – 8:20.45; 10. Gable Sieperda, Iowa State – 8:22.24; 11. David Too, Iowa State – 8:24.02
3,000-Meter Run (W): 1. Cailie Logue, Iowa State – 9:28.88; 2. Abby Caldwell, Iowa State – 9:29.64; 6. Winrose Chesang, Iowa State – 9:38.20; 10. Madelynn Hill, Iowa State – 9:46.68; 11. Grace Dickel, Iowa State – 9:49.01; 29. Norah Korir, Iowa State – 10:07.70
60-Meter Hurdles (M): 1. John Burt, Texas – 7.71; 3. Mason Weh, Iowa State – 7.93
60-Meter Hurdles (W): 1. Gabrielle McDonald, Texas Tech – 8.04; 3. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State – 8.30; 7. Kaylyn Hall, Iowa State – 8.46
4×400-Meter Relay (M): 1. TCU – 3:06.90; 9. Iowa State (Gage Clay, Joven Nelson, Nate Kennedy, Cebastian Gentil) – 3:15.60
4×400-Meter Relay (W): 1. Texas – 3:32.64; 9. Iowa State (Kaylyn Hall, Zakiyah Amos, Janette Schraft, Maggie Davis) – 3:55.76
High Jump (M): 1. Tejaswin Shankar, Kansas State – 7-3 3/4 (2.23m); 5. Cody Durbin, Iowa State – 6-10 3/4 (2.09m); T-9. Miles Rupiper, Iowa State – 6-6 1/4 (1.99m)
High Jump (W): 1. Jillian Johnson, TCU – 5-10 3/4 (1.80m); T-8. Megan Durbin, Iowa State – 5-6 (1.68m)
Shot Put (M): 1. Adrian Piperi, Texas – 68-10 (20.98m); 8. Kevin Sakson, Iowa State – 56-1 (17.09m); 15. Zach Timm, Iowa State – 49-10 (15.19m)
Shot Put (W): 1. Elena Bruckner, Texas – 55-2 1/4 (16.82m); 6. Keiara Williams, Iowa State – 48-11 1/2 (14.92m)
Triple Jump (W): 1. Ruth Usoro, Texas Tech – 43-8 (13.31m); 22; Jalaiya Bartley, Iowa State – 38-10 1/4 (11.84m)
