Oklahoma State Women Wrap Up NCAA Track with a Three 1st-Team All-American Day
(This story originated with Oklahoma State University Athletic Media Relations and Mason Harbour.)
EUGENE, Ore. – Oklahoma State women's outdoor track & field completed the 2024 season Saturday at the NCAA Championships, with three more Cowgirls earning first team All-America honors in their respective events.
The Cowgirls finished the weekend with 23 points overall, good enough for 14th in the team standings. Both of those marks are second in program history, behind only the 2016 squad that scored 24 points and finished 12th. Under the leadership of Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Dave Smith, the OSU women have scored 12 or more points at four straight NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time in program history.
Gabija Galvydyte kicked off the festivities for the Cowgirls, grabbing her third straight podium in the 800 Meters with her third-place time of 2:00.23. Galvydyte is just the third Cowgirl in program history to earn first team All-America honors in the same event in three straight seasons, joining Christine McMiken in the 10K (1984-86) and Jackie Goodman in the 5K (1987-89). In her three outdoor championship appearances thus far, she's place third, second and third in the 800.
"It was an interesting race," Galvydyte said. "I was really happy with the way I fought and I was so close with about 100 (meters) to go… but those other two girls just had a better kick in the end. Everyone is so fast and can run amazing times, so it's really cool to be able to compete with them."
Following Galvydyte was Bailey Golden, who became the first multi-event athlete in school history to earn first team All-America honors in the Heptathlon with her sixth-place finish. In her third NCAA outdoors appearance, Golden finally broke through into the scoring column as she scored 5,848 points across the seven combined events. The senior leaves holding three program records in the indoor and outdoor Long Jump and the Heptathlon.
"It's not often you get the ending to your career that you want," Associate Head Coach Josh Langley said. "I am so grateful for Bailey believing in this program and trusting her college career to us. She has been the backbone of the group and is going to be missed by all… She might not have been the most vocal leader, but no one outworked her. She was respected by everyone during her time here. She started a tradition and I'm thankful for her dedication."
Rounding out the Cowgirl scorers was Taylor Roe, who doubled back from the 10K on Thursday night to finish sixth in the 5,000 Meters Saturday. Between the 5,000 and 10,000 Meters, Roe scored a combined nine points for the Cowgirls and was vital to the team performance. The Cowgirl legend picked up her third career All-America honor outdoors to along with her four in cross country and five indoors.
Winny Bii and Olivija Vaitaityte also picked up their first career second team All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with 12th-and-16th-place finishes in the Triple Jump and Heptathlon, respectively.
Women's Individual Results
Triple Jump - Final
12. Winny Bii - 13.11m/43'0.25"
800 Meters - Final
3. Gabija Galvydyte - 2:00.23
5000 Meters - Final
6. Taylor Roe - 15:26.18
Heptathlon Final Standings
6. Bailey Golden - 5848 Points
16. Olivija Vaitaityte - 5625 Points
Long Jump (Heptathlon)
7. Bailey Golden - 6.03m/19'9.5"
15. Olivija Vaitaityte - 5.79m/19'0"
Javelin Throw (Heptathlon)
3. Bailey Golden - 43.32m/142'1"
13. Olivija Vaitaityte - 35.79m/117'5"
800 Meters (Heptathlon)
1. Olivija Vaitaityte - 2:12.21
16. Bailey Golden - 2:22.94
Final Women's Team Standings
1. No. 2 Arkansas - 63 Points
2. No. 6 Florida - 59 Points
3. No. 5 Texas - 41 Points
4. No. 3 Oregon - 40.5 Points
5. No. 9 Ole Miss - 38 Points
14. No. 20 Oklahoma State - 23 Points