ISU Wins Three Big 12 Titles, Men Lead Team Race

AMES, Iowa – Iowa State showed its strength in the distance events, bringing home titles and big point hauls in both 5,000 meter races and the men's distance medley relay Friday night at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Lied Recreation Athletics Center.

The Cyclone men, led by now two-time Big 12 indoor 5K champion Edwin Kurgat, got 31 points in the 5,000, while Cailie Logue picked up her first Big 12 indoor title to lead at 25-point effort from the Cyclone women. ISU also got its first men's DMR crown of the Big 12-era, with the team of Leonel Perez, Gage Clay, Daniel Nixon and Festus Lagat doing the job and getting the hosts 10 points.

The Iowa State men sit atop the team standings after five events with 44 points, while the Cyclone women check in fourth after six events with 32 points.

Iowa State's men put up a powerful 31-point performance which was dominant from the start. Jeffery Pedersen took control of the field with the assistance of Thomas Pollard and Chad Johnson to put ISU in the lead. Kurgat eventually worked his way up to the leading group and took the lead for good with three laps to go, easing to victory on his first of three individual races this weekend.

Kurgat finished in a winning time of 14:01.15, while Pollard took silver in a personal best 14:01.97. Johnson got the bronze in 14:09.95, while Mitchell Day got his first Big 12 podium in fourth in 14:15.23. David Too rounded out the scoring contingent in seventh, 14:23.65.

The Iowa State women's 5K contingent let the Texas squad do the heavy lifting at the front of the pack for the first 3,200 meters. Crossing the line at six laps to go, the Cyclone trio of Abby Caldwell, Winrose Chesang and Logue made their move to take control at the front. Logue took care of business from there, running to her first Big 12 indoor title and fifth overall to go with her two cross country crowns and two outdoor titles. Caldwell took second, her best Big 12 finish, while Chesang was third in her Big 12 debut. Dana Feyen joined them on the podium in eighth.

ISU's DMR squad featured three different faces from the school-record squad from January. However, the trio of Leonel Perez, Gage Clay and Daniel Nixon did the job and got the stick to Festus Lagat in second. The All-American took care of the rest, including a sub-53 final 400 to bring home the title for the Cyclones in 9:59.53. It was a first Big 12 title for all four men.

For the Cyclone women in the field, Keiara Williams had a huge personal best in the weight throw to finish seventh and score two for the Cyclones. Her final throw of 61-8 1/4 (18.80m) was a personal best by over four feet and moved her into No. 8 in ISU history for the event. Fellow thrower Antonella Creazzola marked her Big 12 Championship debut with an eighth-place finish and collegiate best of 56-1 1/4 (17.10m).

The ISU men also got three points from their weight throwers. Redshirt freshmen Jonathan Gannon (seventh, 55-4 3/4 (16.88m)) and Joe Ryan (eighth, 55-2 (16.81m)) both threw collegiate bests in their Big 12 Championships debuts to help contribute to the Iowa State cause.

The Iowa State men earned seven second runs in tomorrow's finals, along with three entries in the mile which did not have a prelim on Friday. Leading the way was Roshon Roomes, with the senior going into tomorrow as the top seed in the 600-yard run (1:09.58) and the 800-meter run (1:50.07). He will have ISU teammates in each, with Cebastian Gentil joining him in the 600, and Daniel Nixon in the 800. Festus Lagat is the top seed in the 1,000-meter run after his prelim run of 2:28.52, he will be joined by Leonel Perez. For the second-consecutive season, Mason Weh advances to the 60-meter hurdles final.

For the Cyclone women in prelim action, the highlights came in the 60-meter hurdles, with Kaylyn Hall notching a personal best 8.37 to advance to the final. She will be joined by teammate and fellow Canadian Katarina Vlahovic, who won her heat in 8.38. Larkin Chapman won the Big 12 1,000 meters in 2018 and will have another chance in the 1K on Saturday. Zakiyah Amos got into the final of the 600-yard run.

Up Next
Day two of the Big 12 Indoor Championships gets rolling with multi-events at 11 a.m., field events at noon and running finals at 1:30 p.m. Coverage of the running finals will be on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ beginning at 1:10 p.m.

Team Scores
Men (5 of 19 Events): 1. Iowa State – 44; 2. Texas Tech – 35; 3. Kansas – 29; 4. Baylor – 23; 5. Oklahoma – 19; 6. Texas – 15; 7. Kansas State – 14; 8. Oklahoma State – 8; 9. TCU – 7
Women (6 of 19 Events): 1. Texas Tech – 53; 2. Kansas State – 49; 3. Texas – 36; 4. Iowa State – 32; 5. Oklahoma – 20; 6. Oklahoma State – 12; 7. Baylor – 10; T-8. Kansas, TCU – 8; 10. West Virginia – 6

Iowa State Results
600y Run Prelim (M): 1. Roshon Roomes, Iowa State – 1:09.58; 2. Cebastian Gentil, Iowa State – 1:10.00
600y Run Prelim (W): 1. Brooke Jaworski, Texas – 1:20.69; 8. Zakiyah Amos, Iowa State – 1:23.43
800m Run Prelim (M): 1. Roshon Roomes, Iowa State – 1:50.07; 4. Daniel Nixon, Iowa State – 1:51.70; 11. Joe Schaefer, Iowa State – 1:53.88
800m Run Prelim (W): 1. Kaytlyn Larson, Oklahoma State – 2:09.35; 9. Janette Schraft, Iowa State – 2:12.78; 11. Alexis Gourrier, Iowa State – 2:14.77
1,000m Run Prelim (M): 1. Festus Lagat, Iowa State – 2:28.52; 3. Leonel Perez, Iowa State – 2:28.86; 9. Konner Roth, Iowa State – 2:29.83
1,000m Run Prelim (W): 1. Kassidy Johnson, Kansas State – 2:52.99; 6. Larkin Chapman, Iowa State – 3:02.11
5,000m Run (M): 1. Edwin Kurgat, Iowa State – 14:01.15; 2. Thomas Pollard, Iowa State – 14:01.97; 3. Chad Johnson, Iowa State – 14:09.95; 4. Mitchell Day, Iowa State – 14:15.23; 7. David Too, Iowa State – 14:23.65; Jeffery Pedersen, Iowa State – DNF
5,000m Run (W): 1. Cailie Logue, Iowa State – 16:29.48; 2. Abby Caldwell, Iowa State – 16:30.88; 3. Winrose Chesang, Iowa State – 16:36.33; 8. Dana Feyen, Iowa State – 16:57.79; 10. Grace Dickel, Iowa State – 17:04.14
60m Hurdles Prelim (M): 1. Maliek Kendall, Texas Tech – 7.76; 4. Mason Weh, Iowa State – 7.98; 15. Jack Garber, Iowa State – 8.63
60m Hurdles Prelim (W): 1. Gabrielle McDonald, Texas Tech – 8.10; 4. Kaylyn Hall, Iowa State – 8.37; 5. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State – 8.38
Distance Medley Relay (M): 1. Iowa State (Leonel Perez, Gage Clay, Daniel Nixon, Festus Lagat) – 9:59.53
Distance Medley Relay (W): 1. Texas; 5. Iowa State (Madelynn Hill, Bria Barnes, Maggie Davis, Larkin Chapman) – 11:43.80

Weight Throw (M): 1. Gleb Dudarev, Kansas – 76-2 3/4 (23.23m); 7. Jonathan Gannon, Iowa State – 55-4 3/4 (16.88m); 8. Joe Ryan, Iowa State – 55-2 (16.81m)
Weight Throw (W): 1. Seasons Usual, Texas Tech – 66-6 1/2 (20.28m); 7. Keiara Williams, Iowa State – 61-8 1/4 (18.80m); 8. Antonella Creazzola, Iowa State – 56-1 1/4 (17.10m)
Long Jump (W): 1. Ruth Usoro, Texas Tech - 21-5 1/2 (6.54m); 10. Erika Furbeck, Iowa State – 19-6 (5.94m)

Players Mentioned

Zakiyah Amos

Bria Barnes

Abby Caldwell

Larkin Chapman

Winrose Chesang

Gage Clay

Antonella Creazzola

Maggie Davis

Mitchell Day

Grace Dickel

Dana Feyen

Erika Furbeck

Jonathan Gannon

Jack Garber

Cebastian Gentil

Alexis Gourrier

Kaylyn Hall

Madelynn Hill

Chad Johnson

Edwin Kurgat

Festus Lagat

Cailie Logue

Daniel Nixon

Jeffery Pedersen

Leonel Perez

Thomas Pollard

Roshon Roomes

Konner Roth

Joe Ryan

Joe Schaefer

Janette Schraft

David Too

Katarina Vlahovic

Mason Weh

Keiara Williams

Sponsors

Iowa State University Athletics