All-out in the elements

For those who had shivered through a dark, damp weekend at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the last race made them forget their soggy feet and matted hair.

After three days of running, throwing and jumping, the men’s team title was still up for grabs as the anchormen on the 1,600-meter relay teams took the batons last night at Walton Stadium. If Oklahoma could win the relay, it would edge Nebraska for the team title.

That didn’t happen. The runners barrelling shoulder-to-shoulder down the final straightaway were Texas A&M’s Tabarie Henry and Baylor’s Marcus Boyd. So desperate was Henry to win the race that he lurched forward at the last moment, somersaulted and skidded to a stop.

His Aggies won the race by .03 seconds. He was informed of that by his teammates as he lay facedown on the track wondering how much skin he had donated for the cause.

“That was awesome,” said Missouri Coach Rick McGuire after presiding over the last conference meet of his 27-year career. “That was pretty classic Big 12 there. Comes down to the last race, and they’re all going hard.”

In all ways but the weather, McGuire’s swan song did not disappoint. Nebraska repeated as the men’s champion despite winning only one event — Paul Hamilton’s victory in the high jump. The Cornhuskers scored 118 points to edge Oklahoma, with 114, and Texas A&M, with 110.

Nebraska is a team built for conference meets, with steady but not spectacular athletes spread across all events, while Texas A&M is better suited for the NCAA Championships with its high-end sprinters.

“Going into the meet, we knew we had a team that didn’t have many individuals that had a chance to get first,” Nebraska Coach Gary Pepin said. “We have a limit of 32 we can bring, and we knew that as many of those 32 as possible had to have a strong performance.”

On the women’s side, the Aggies won their fourth straight Big 12 outdoor title easily, even though they had to hold the Mayo.

Gabby Mayo, who had the Big 12’s top 100-meter time entering the weekend, tweaked a leg muscle in her 100 preliminary heat Saturday and sat out the rest of the meet. That cost the Aggies points in the 100 and 200 dashes and the 100 hurdles, but it made no difference in the outcome.

Texas A&M scored 157 points. Nebraska was a distant second with 102.

In Mayo’s absence, A&M’s Jeneba Tarmoh blazed to victories in the 100 (11.19 seconds) and 200 (22.65 seconds). Her 200 time was the best in the nation this year — not too shabby considering temperatures in the 50s and on-and-off rain.

“The weather was not conducive to anything,” Tarmoh said with a smile. “I’m from California, so I’m freezing.”

Several athletes ignored the elements to set meet records.

On the women’s side, Iowa State’s Lisa Koll won the 5,000 meters in a time of 15:22.24, bettering the previous mark by 36 seconds. She lapped some runners twice. Colorado’s Emma Coburn won the 3,000 steeplechase in a record time of 9:56.53.

On the men’s side, Texas A&M’s Gerald Phiri won the 100 in 10.13 and Oklahoma’s Ronnie Ash took the 110 hurdles in 13.31 — the nation’s best time this year.

Ash summed up the can-do spirit of the competitors.

“I don’t let the weather decide what I’m going to do,” Ash said. “I go into it headstrong even if it’s a tornado.”

Missouri’s men and women both finished 10th, but there was a major highlight on the event’s final day. In the men’s 800 final, MU sophomore Blake Irwin surged into the lead in the final 200 meters and held off all comers to win the race in 1:48.40.

“Every night when I was going to bed this past week,” Irwin said, “I wondered, ‘What if it was me winning that race?’ To actually go out and do it is unbelievable. Greatest feeling in the world so far.”

Final team scores

MEN

Nebraska 118; 2. Oklahoma 114; 3. Texas A&M 110; 4. Texas Tech 77; 5. Baylor 63; 6. Colorado 57; 7. Texas 56; 8. Kansas 53; 9. Oklahoma State 47; 10. Missouri 44; 11. Kansas State 40; 12. Iowa State 39.

WOMEN

Texas A&M 157; 2. Nebraska 102; 3. Texas 93; 4. Iowa State 89; 5. Texas Tech 81.5; 6. Oklahoma 76.5; 7. Kansas 71; 8. Baylor 62; 9. Kansas State 30; 10. Missouri 24; 11. Colorado 20; 12. Oklahoma State 11.

Individual results

WOMEN

400-meter relay

Texas A&M 43.74; 2. Baylor 44.63; 3. Texas Tech 44.68; 4. Iowa State 46.37; 5. Kansas 46.49; 6. Missouri 47.24; 7. Nebraska 47.46.

Triple jump

Ashika Charan, TAM, 42-9½; 2. Andrea Geubelle, KU, 42-5¼; 3. Chantel Malone, UT, 42-2¾; 4. Arna Erega, NU, 41-7¾; 5. Clarissa Andrews, OSU, 41-3¾; 6. Sasha-Kay Matthias, TAM, 41-2¼; 7. Vashti Thomas, TAM, 40-9¾; 8. Tiffany Peters, TAM, 40-9½.

1,500 meters

Lauren Bonds, KU, 4:20.02; 2. Caroline Karunde, TT, 4:22.60; 3. Betzy Jimenez, UT, 4:23.60; 4. Ashley Miller, NU, 4:23.85; 5. Purity Biwott, TT, 4:24.30; 6. Mihaela Susa, OSU, 4:28.17; 7. Gladys Kipsang, TT, 4:30.30; 8. Ellen Ries, MU, 4:32.93.

3,000-meter steeplechase

Emma Coburn, CU, 9:56.53; 2. Rebeka Stowe, KU, 10:03.41; 3. Martina Tresch, KSU, 10:04.27; 4. Shalaya Kipp, CU, 10:10.48; 5. Winrose Karunde, TT, 10:11.45; 6. Erin Bedell, BU, 10:11.81; 7. Kristen Hanselka, BU, 10:28.96; 8. Meaghan Nelson, ISU, 10:39.11.

100 hurdles

Natasha Ruddock, TAM, 12.89; 2. Latoya Greaves, OU, 13.10; 3. Tori Smith, TT, 13.36; 4. Vashti Thomas, TAM, 13.39; 5. Jenna Caffrey, ISU, 13.56; 6. Arna Erega, NU, 13.57; 7. Denise Baker, KSU, 13.72.

400 meters

Jessica Beard, TAM, 52.08; 2. Stacey-Ann Smith, UT, 53.04; 3. Angele Cooper, UT, 53.27; 4. Diamond Richardson, BU, 54.03; 5. Alicia Peterson, UT, 54.51; 6. Trudeann Clarke, TT, 54.65; 7. Taylor Washington, KU, 54.90; 8. Taylor Evans, TT, 54.93.

100 meters

Jeneba Tarmoh, TAM, 11.19; 2. Tiffany Townsend, BU, 11.35; 3. Terra Evans, TT, 11.38; 4. Porscha Lucas, TAM, 11.38; 5. Scottesha Miller, OU, 11.42; 6. Dominique Duncan, TAM, 11.57; 7. Sherine Wells, OU, 11.58; 8. Brittany Carr, BU, 11.72.

200 meters

Jeneba Tarmoh, TAM, 22.65; 2. Porscha Lucas, TAM, 22.72; 3. Tiffany Townsend, BU, 23.07; 4. Jessica Beard, TAM, 23.16; 5. Dominique Duncan, TAM, 23.39; 6. Scottesha Miller, OU, 23.39; 7. Terra Evans, TT, 23.65; 8. Sherine Wells, OU, 23.89.

800 meters

Sara Stoakes, KSU, 2:07.16; 2. Erin Penticoff, ISU, 2:08.11; 3. Blaire Dinsdale, NU, 2:08.66; 4. Purity Brown, TT, 2:09.91; 5. Layne Moore, MU, 2:10.38; 6. Emma Coburn, CU, 2:12.44; 7. Devin Bailey, TT, 2:13.43; 8. Lauren Simpson, BU, 2:17.53.

5,000 meters

Lisa Koll, ISU, 15:22.42; 2. Semehar Tesfaye, ISU, 16:08.67; 3. Betsy Saina, ISU, 16:10.69; 4. Beverly Ramos, KSU, 16:13.61; 5. Mia Behm, UT, 16:20.44; 6. Jessica Engel, OU, 16:20.69; 7. Lauren Bonds, KU, 16:23.87; 8. Felicity Milton, 16:26.89.

400-meter hurdles

Kianna Elahi, ISU, 57.40; 2. Angele Cooper, UT, 57.55; 3. Andrea Sutherland, TAM, 58.32; 4. Christina Holland, BU, 58.59; 5. Taissa Makhamayva, KU, 59.29; 6. Leslie Farmer, MU, 59.30; 7. Donique Flemings, TAM, 59.54; 8. Donnise Powell, ISU, 1:02.13.

Pole vault

Shade Weygandt, TT, 14-27/8; 2. Natalie Willer, NU, 13-11; 3. Rachel Birtles, NU, 13-3; 4. Sarah Pappas, OU, 12-11; 5. Amanda Alley, TT, 12-11; 6. Breanna Bussel, NU, 12-11; 7. Lindsey Maher, NU, 12-11; 8. Julia Cummings, KU, 12-7.

Javelin

Amy Backel, OU, 182-5; 2. Brittany Borman, OU, 168-0; 3. Emalie Humphreys, TAM, 162-7; 4. Ali Pistora, KSU, 158-6; 5. Hillary Pustka, TAM, 157-3; 6. Heather Bergmann, KU, 156-7; 7. Roxi Grizzle, NU, 150-4; 8. Chantae McMillan, NU, 137-0.

Shot put

Karen Shump, OU, 54-8¾; 2. Tia Brooks, OU, 53-7; 3. Skylar White, BU, 50-10¾; 4. Jordyn Brown, UT, 50-8; 5. Ifeatu Okafor, TT, 50-4½; 6. Amanda Van Dyke, UT, 49-8½; 7. Danielle Frere, ISU, 49-5¾; 8. Katie Evans, MU, 48-1¾.

1,600 relay

Texas A&M 3:31.79; 2. Texas 3:32.65; 3. Baylor 3:33.66; 4. Texas Tech 3:36.09; 5. Kansas 3:42.79; 6. Missouri 3:43.42; 7. Iowa State 3:43.42; 8. Oklahoma 3:45.38.

MEN

400-meter relay

Baylor 39.36; 2. Texas A&M 39.59; 3. Oklahoma 40.16; 4. Nebraska 40.31; 5. Colorado 40.46; 6. Texas Tech 40.51; 7. Kansas State 40.95; 8. Iowa State 40.96.

3,000-meter steeplechase

Hillary Bor, ISU, 8:47.82; 2. Gilbert Limo, TT, 8:53.65; 3. David Adams, NU, 8:55.74; 4. Kevin Schwab, OU, 9:01.05; 5. Jeremy Sudbury, OU, 9:01.13; 6. Taylor Monaghan, OSU, 9:07.06; 7. Christian Thompson, CU, 9:08.18; 8. Kyle Custer, NU, 9:08.19.

Discus

Mason Finley, KU, 197-05; 2. Julian Wruck, TT, 189-07; 3. Brian Bishop, KU, 186-6; 4. Eric Thomas, 181-3; 5. Luke Bryant, OU, 180-11; 6. Hayden Baillio, UT, 173-9; 7. K.P. Singh, OU, 170-10; 8. Colin Quirke, OU, 163-11.

1,500 meters

Johnathan Stublaski, OSU, 3:43.31; 2. Thomas Farrell, OSU, 3:44.02; 3. Brandon Rooney, ISU, 3:44.62; 4. Eric Harasyn, OU, 3:44.70; 5. Jacob Boone, OU, 3:45.48; 6. Rico Loy, ISU, 3:48.19; 7. Brian Rhodes-Devey, UT, 3:52.25; 8. Don Wasinger, KU, 3:56.81.

High jump

Paul Hamilton, NU, 7-1¾; 2. Erik Kynard, KSU, 7-0¼; 3. Jamal Wilson, UT, 6-10¾; 4. Darrell Roddick, TT, 6-10¾; 5. Kevin Snyder, OU, 6-8¾; 6. Tony Johnson, ISU, 6-8¾; 7. Sam Haase, NU, 6-6¾; 8. Brandon Sheppard, NU, 6-6¾.

110-meter hurdles

Ronnie Ash, OU, 13.31; 2. Lehann Fourie, NU, 13.44; 3. Keiron Stewart, UT, 13.61; 4. Jeffrey Julmis, KSU, 13.62; 5. Balazs Baji, KSU, 13.81; 6. Malcolm Anderson, OU, 13.92; 7. Tyrell Ross, NU, 13.97; 8. Jansen Hyde, TT, 13.99.

100 meters

Gerald Phiri, TAM, 10.13; 2. Rakieem Salaam, OU, 10.25; 3. Jeremy Dodson, CU, 10.35; 4. Curtis Mitchell, TAM, 10.37; 5. Martynas Jurgilas, KSU, 10.37; 6. Dax Danns, NU, 10.39; 7. Trey Harts, BU, 10.42; 8. Tran Howell, TAM, 10.53.

200 meters

Curtis Mitchell, TAM, 20.46; 2. Gerald Phiri, TAM, 20.61; 3. Jeremy Dodson, CU, 20.63; 4. Courtney Thomas, BU, 20.86; 5. Dax Danns, NU, 20.93; 6. Whitney Prevost, BU, 20.99; 7. Tran Howell, TAM, 21.08.

400 meters

Tabarie Henry, TAM, 45.89; 2. Demetrius Pinder, TAM, 46.02; 3. Zwede Hewitt, BU, 46.14; 4. Michael Liggins, BU, 46.50; 5. LaToy Williams, TT, 47.02; 6. Kyle Clemons, KU, 47.11; 7. Andre Thomas, UT, 47.46; 8. Bryan Miller, TAM, 48.41.

800 meters

Blake Irwin, MU, 1:48.40; 2. Chris Gowell, BU, 1:48.96; 3. James Gilreath, BU, 1:49.36; 4. Jack Sachse, KSU, 1:49.66; 5. Tommy Brinn, NU, 1:49.79; 6. Aaron Dixon, MU, 1:50.73; 7. Steve Kasica, CU, 1:51.99; 8. Jacob Davies, KSU, 1:53.50.

5,000 meters

John Kosgei, OSU, 14:05.96; 2. Richard Medina, CU, 14:07.23; 3. Colby Lowe, OSU, 14:07.98; 4. Robert Sorrell, OU, 14:09.81; 5. Kiel Uhl, ISU, 14:09.92; 6. Kevin Williams, OU, 14:10.16; 7. Matt Tebo, CU, 14:10.75; 8. Andy Wacker, CU, 14:13.10.

400-meter hurdles

Bryce Brown, TT, 49.64; 2. Jamele Mason, TT, 50.22; 3. Eric Bailey, OU, 50.31; 4. Adam Dailey, NU, 50.44; 5. Chance Casey, BU, 50.65; 6. Zach Plinario, TT, 51.29; 7. Eric Lund, NU, 51.34; 8. Lehann Fourie, NU, 51.97.

Triple jump

Zuheir Sharif, TAM, 52-8¾; 2. Will Claye, OU, 52-8¾; 3. Chris Phipps, NU, 52-6; 4. Tyron Stewart, TAM, 52-2½; 5. Darrell Roddick, TT, 51-6½; 6. Corey Fuller, KU, 50-9¼; 7. Nicholas Gordon, NU, 50-8¾; 8. Neelon Greenwood, OU, 50-8¼.

1,600-meter relay

Texas A&M 3:04.45; 2. Baylor 3:04.48; 3. Texas Tech 3:06.42; 4. Oklahoma 3:06.60; 5. Nebraska 3:08.36; 6. Texas 3:08.45; 7. Kansas 3:09.07; 8. Missouri 3:10.40.