Oklahoma State Distance Medley Relay Wins NCAA, Men and Women Finish Top 10

BOSTON, Mass. – Oklahoma State Indoor Track & Field wrapped up action at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a pair of top-10 finishes for the first time in program history, highlighted by second-and third-place finishes individually by Billah Jepkirui and Alex Maier.

The Cowboys kicked things off with a hot start in the men's 3,000 Meters, with Maier earning his second All-America honor of the weekend with his third-place time of 7:44.68. His time was under the previous championship record and came one night after he finished sixth in the 5,000 Meters.

OSU went three-for-three in the scoring column in the men's 3K, with Brian Musau and Ryan Schoppe doubling back from their national championship-winning DMR performance from the night before. Musau claimed sixth overall and Schoppe took home eighth after leading for a good portion of the race early on.

"Those guys were all tired after yesterday," Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dave Smith said. "But we got together and they decided as a group that they want to go out and run from the front and make it hard. We want people to know that when you race against Oklahoma State, you're going to have to work. We knew that meant we might not win, especially with the way Nico Young is running right now, but we knew we could thin the crowd a little bit if we made it a kind of a race of attrition. I'm just proud of the way those guys ran and made it an honest race."

The trio's 10 combined points in the 3K brought OSU's total to 23 on the weekend, which earned them the program's sixth top-10 team performance at the national meet. It was also the Cowboys' second straight top 10 after placing sixth overall at last year's national championships.

On the women's side, Billah Jepkirui led off with an incredible performance in the women's Mile, placing second overall with her time of 4:27.14, which shatters the previous school record and is the sixth-fastest mark in NCAA history. Her time was also under the previous championship record.

"Billah was phenomenal in the mile," Smith said. "She ran without fear and came to win, but came up just a little short against a two-time national champion. Billah's got a bright future and I think that she served notice to the NCAA today that she's now in the conversation going forward for national titles."

In the women's 800 Meters, Gabija Galvydyte earned her first-ever indoor All-America honor after two highly-successful seasons outdoors. Galvydyte placed fifth overall with her time of 2:02.31 after starting off in the back and working her way up through the field on the final lap. She will now look for her first individual national title after placing third in 2022 and second in 2023 at the last two NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Winny Bii wrapped up the scoring for the Cowgirls on the weekend in her first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships with a seventh-place finish in the Triple Jump. The freshman concludes an incredible indoor season that included a Big 12 title and a national record in the Triple Jump.

On the back of several high-scoring performances, the Cowgirls seemed destined for their first-ever trophy in track & field with two events remaining. However, disaster struck in the women's 3,000 Meters when 5K Runner-Up Taylor Roe was shoved from behind and knocked out of the race prematurely.

"We got to the 3K with a real chance to finish third as a team," Smith said. "We need a third-place finish or better from Taylor, but another athlete runs up her back and shoves her to the ground and there's nothing you can do about it. Heartbreaking for her personally and certainly for us as a program. If that doesn't happen, we're probably out there celebrating as a team with a trophy. But I am immeasurably proud of our women this weekend. They were incredibly resilient and brought it all season long and got us here with a chance to finish top 3 at the national meet for the first time."

Men's Team Scores
1. Texas Tech – 50.5
2. Arkansas – 41
3. Florida – 39
4. Northern Arizona – 31
T7. Oklahoma State - 23

Women
1. Arkansas – 55
2. Florida - 50
3. Georgia – 33
4. Oregon – 31
T8. Oklahoma State – 27

Men's Individual Results from Saturday

3,000 Meters
3. Alex Maier - 7:44.68
6. Brian Musau - 7:46.79
8. Ryan Schoppe - 7:48.11

Women's Individual Results from Saturday

Triple Jump
7. Winny Bii - 13.42m/44'0.5"

Mile
2. Billah Jepkirui - 4:27.14

800 Meters
5. Gabija Galvydyte - 2:02.31

3,000 Meters
12. Billah Jepkirui - 9:16.97