Oklahoma State wins first NCAA indoor track & field individual title since 1986
OSU wins first NCAA indoor track & field individual title since 1986
The Oklahoma State men's distance medley relay squad earned the program's first Indoor NCAA title since 1986 on Friday night at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Albuquerque, N.M.
The Cowboys crossed the finish line in 9:28.77, breaking the Albuquerque Convention Center's facility record by five seconds in the process. It's the fastest-ever time at high altitude. Fouad Messaoudi (2:53.75), Charlie Bartholomew (46.67), Juan Diego Castro (1:47.85) and Ryan Schoppe (4:00.50) took home the victory in dominating fashion, holding leads after every split.
Director of Cross Country and Track & Field Dave Smith has coached his first indoor champion on the men's side, and his third overall.
"The guys ran a brilliant race," Smith said. "We just decided to from the gun and make people come get us."Messaoudi kicked it off for the Cowboys in the 1,200 Meters, charging ahead of the pack in the final half of the leg with the fastest split by almost two seconds and gave the Cowboys a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Bartholomew built on the lead with what would be the second-fastest 400 Meters time in program history. Castro's steady 800 Meters put the Cowboys in the lead for good as Schoppe put the race away in the anchor leg.
"Each one of those guys ran perfect races," Smith said. "I thought Ryan holding the lead when we told him to run 30 points the whole way and doing that every split until the last two, then he felt good and took off. He brought it home with a bit of emphasis on the last straightaway and it looked fantastic."
The Cowboys ultimately won in a field of teams that broke the previous facility record by almost three seconds. It's the first time OSU has had a DMR squad win an Indoor NCAA Title. OSU's last indoor champion, Paul Larkins, accomplished the feat in 1986 in the Mile race.
Messaoudi, Castro and Schoppe are first-team All-Americans for the second time in as many years in the event after placing fifth at last year's NCAA Championships. Bartholomew became in indoor All-American for the first time Friday.
More:Oklahoma State men's basketball is on NCAA Tournament bubble. What is the Cowboys' résumé?
UCO wins NCAA Division II wrestling title
The top-ranked Bronchos placed nine of their tournament-high 10 qualifiers in the top seven and that superior depth was more than enough to propel UCO to its first NCAA Division II wrestling title since 2007 on Saturday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Central entered Saturday with a 6.5-point lead over No. 2 Lander, then went 14-5 in the all-important consolation rounds to pull away from the field. The Bronchos finished the morning session with a unsurmountable 35-point cushion over Bearcats (113-78) to clinch their 16th championship.
Dalton Abney (197) and Shawn Streck (Hvy) will compete in Saturday night’s finals. UCO also got third-place finishes from 133 Dylan Lucas, 141 Nate Keim and 165 Ty Lucas, while 184 Alex Kauffman took fifth, 149 Brik Filippo sixth and 157 Gabe Johnson and 174 Anthony DesVigne seventh.
“It’s long overdue,” said seventh-year head coach Todd Steidley. “Our guys have really, really worked hard and it hasn’t sunk in yet. We’re all so excited and we still have two big matches tonight in the championship finals.
“I’m so proud of our guys and not just the 10 guys who wrestled here. It's all the guys in our room, the UCO community, the booster club. It doesn’t just happen with 10 guys, it takes a team and a family and that’s what we preach and that’s what we are.”
Abney will go for his second straight national title after pulling out an overtime victory in Saturday morning’s semifinals. The top-seeded junior and No. 4 Dominic Murphy of St. Cloud State were deadlocked 2-2 after regulation, but Abney scored off a single-leg takedown shot 20 seconds into the sudden-victory period to advance.
Streck made the finals with a workmanlike 5-3 victory over Ouachita Baptist’s Johnny Green. The No. 1 seed, Streck had two first-period takedowns and was never in trouble in moving to 25-0 with his third win of the season over the fourth-seeded Green.
Dylan and Ty Lucas became the ninth set of brothers to earn All-America honors for the Bronchos with their third-place finishes.
Dylan won three matches Saturday, all against higher seeds. The eighth seed, Dylan started with a 3-0 shutout of No. 4 Elijah Lusk of Lander, then edged No. 7 Vincent Scollo of West Liberty before cruising past No. 2 Eric Bartos of Mercyhurst 9-3 for the bronze medal.
Ty dropped a 6-2 decision in the semifinals before bouncing back with two hard-fought wins. The seventh-seeded senior clipped West Liberty’s Alec Cook 3-1 on a takedown with 30 seconds left in the sudden-victory period, then edged No. 4 Daniel Hunsberger of Lander 3-2 behind a second-period takedown to become a three-time All-American.
Keim went 3-0 on the day to join his dad (Mike) as the fourth pair of father-son All-Americans in program history.
The seventh-seeded senior opened with a 6-2 win, followed with a big 7-4 upset of No. 1 seed Zeth Brower of Lander and then pinned long-time nemesis Peter Kuster of Drury in the consolation finals. There was no score in the second period of that match when Keim grabbed Kuster’s head and arched back to get the rare defensive fall.
The unseeded Kauffman knocked off fifth-seeded Reece 6-4 on a takedown midway through the two-minute sudden-victory period in his first bout of the day before falling to the No. 2 seed. He earned a medical forfeit victory in the fifth-place match.
Filippo rolled past Newberry’s Devan Moore 9-3 to start the day, then lost tough matches in the consolation semifinals and fifth-place match to finish sixth.
Johnson and DesVigne both lost in the consolation quarterfinals to open the session before ending the tournament with wins in their seventh-place matches.
Johnson turned an early takedown into a fall at the 1:18 mark and DesVigne held on for a 5-3 victory.
OCU brings Phil McSpadden milestone win
Phil McSpadden took over as college softball’s all-time victories leader in Oklahoma City University’s doubleheader sweep of Mid-America Christian 5-0 and 4-1 on Friday at Allen Field.
McSpadden boosted his career win total to 1,860 wins, more than Mike Candrea, who had resided atop the list of winningest college softball coaches. McSpadden has directed Oklahoma City to a 1,860-404 record in his 36th season as head coach.
Under McSpadden, OCU has reeled in 11 national championships (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2007, 2016, 2017 and 2022) and finished as national runner-up five times. Candrea guided Arizona and Central Arizona to a 1,859-505-2 mark in 40 years.
“I want to believe they see kids who are students of the game and passionate about what they do,” McSpadden said about what he expects from his student-athletes. “I always use the expression it’s a classroom on the field. You’re hoping it’s not about someone standing in the third-base box just clapping their hands and saying, ‘It’s okay girls, we’ll get them tomorrow.’ That we’re intense and we play hard and play the way it’s supposed to be played. We’re going to play intense, and we’re going to play with the idea we’re supposed to win. I hope that people see these kids are having fun in the process.”
The Stars, ranked sixth in the NAIA, handed McSpadden the milestone victory by building a 4-0 cushion in the late game of the twin bill. OCU (17-5, 4-0 Sooner Athletic Conference) plated two runs in the fifth inning. Brooklyn Mason drove a double to left-center field to bring home Rally Radacy and put OCU on top 3-0. Tiffany Paul nailed an RBI base hit to right-center for the other run.
Extra points
COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Langston University announced an extension to retain head men’s basketball coach Chris Wright for the next four years. The Lions (31-2) will face Georgetown (Ky.) in the NAIA Sweet 16 at 1 p.m. Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo.
COLLEGE SOFTBALL: Top-ranked OU added a home game for Monday against South Dakota State after the cancelation of Sunday’s scheduled game vs. Omaha at the Bulldog Invitational in Starkville, Miss. First pitch for Monday's game against OU and South Dakota State is set for 6 p.m. at Marita Hynes Field.
OBITUARY: Stoic Hall of Fame football coach Bud Grant has died at the age of 95. The Vikings announced his death on Saturday. Grant took the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowls in eight years, all losses. He won 11 division titles in 18 seasons, featuring the mighty Purple People Eaters defense. His steely sideline gaze became synonymous with the Vikings squads he guided from 1967 to 1985. He demanded sharp focus from his players and banned sideline heaters during the frigid Minnesota winter. Grant was also a four-time champion coach in the Canadian Football League.
NFL: The Carolina Panthers are on the clock. The Panthers have traded up to acquire the No. 1 pick in the draft from the Chicago Bears. In exchange, the Bears will receive Carolina's No. 9 and No. 61 overall picks in this year's draft, a first-round pick in 2024, a second-round pick in 2025 and wide receiver D.J. Moore. The move allows the Panthers to acquire a potential franchise quarterback, although it's not clear which player the team prefers.
—Staff and wire reports
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State wins NCAA indoor track men's distance medley relay title
