Gomez, Kiptoo Claim Titles at Big 12 Indoors

Gomez, Kiptoo Claim Titles at Big 12 Indoors

02.27.2021 | Track and Field

LUBBOCK, Texas – Iowa State claimed a pair of conference titles Saturday at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships. Wesley Kiptoo completed the sweep of the 3K and the 5K, while Jason Gomez won the men's 800-meter run by the barest of margins.

In the team standings, the Iowa State men finished seventh with 62 points, while the women were ninth at 31.

Oklahoma State threw a wrench into both 3,000m races by having the Section 1 group go fast. The bar for Kiptoo was set at 8:01.65 and he once again delivered a wire-to-wire performance to get the job done. The Kenyan had the 1,400m split covered by (3:35.67 compared to the clubhouse leader's 3:45.47) and was able to ease home to victory, clocking a winning-time of 7:57.29. Kiptoo and Edwin Kurgat have now ensured that Iowa State has swept the 3K and 5K indoors each of the past three seasons. For his efforts, Kiptoo won a share of the Big 12 High Point Award.

Nehemia Too finished eighth to score a point for ISU in the men's 3K in 8:19.01.

Gomez led the entire way, but he knew he would get a challenge before all was said and done. That effort came from Texas freshman Yusuf Bizimana, who tried to go outside Gomez at the bell, but the Cyclone sophomore held him off. Bizimana made one final run at Gomez down the homestretch, but his stretch at the line came up short and Gomez held on in 1:48.48 to Bizimana's 1:48.49 to claim his first Big 12 title. Alex Lomong took fourth for ISU in the race at 1:50.50.

Kevin Sakson had his best day as a Cyclone as well en route to the bronze medal in the men's shot put. On his second attempt, the Estonian launched a huge new personal best of 59-1 1/4 (18.01m) to move into third, a position he would not relinquish. He also moved up to No. 7 on ISU's all-time top-10 with today's effort.

Cailie Logue was looking to do the 3K/5K double at Big 12 Indoors for a second-straight season, but got thrown a tough predicament after a fast first section, with the time needed to win set at 9:22.72. Logue left her sectional competitors behind, getting ahead by 1.5 seconds on the first lap and winning her section by 12 seconds. However, it was not enough as she came home fourth in 9:30.34. Brenna Cohoon joined her in the scoring effort, taking sixth in 9:53.35.

Cebastian Gentil and Joe Schaefer each picked up fifth-place finishes and four team points for Iowa State thanks to personal bests. Gentil scored for the second-straight year in the 600-yard run, crossing in 1:09.30. As for Schaefer, he picked up his first career individual points with his 2:26.40 in the 1,000-meter run. The Iowa State men's 4x400-meter relay of Gage Clay, Joven Nelson, Charlie Johnson and David Thompson closed the meet with a sixth-place effort in 3:14.97.

Katarina Vlahovic and Zakiyah Amos got on the board individually for the Cyclone women. Vlahovic scored for the second-straight season in the 60m hurdles, taking seventh in 8.35. Amos finished eighth in the 600-yard run for a second-straight season, clocking in at 1:23.29.

For the second-straight season, Keaira Williams scored in both throwing events at the indoor championships. A day after taking sixth in the weight throw, the Kansas City native battled her way to an eighth-place finish and another team point for the Cyclone women, posting a best throw of 49-4 1/2 (15.05m).

Up Next
Qualifiers for the 2021 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be announced on Tuesday night. The NCAA Championships will be at the Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas on March 12-13.

Team Scores
Men: 1. Texas – 141; 2. Texas Tech – 133; 3. Oklahoma – 89; 4. Oklahoma State – 75; 5. TCU – 70; 6. Kansas State – 66; 7. Iowa State – 62; T-8. Baylor & Kansas – 51
Women: 1. Texas – 154.5; 2. Oklahoma State – 103; 3. Kansas State – 100.5; 4. Texas Tech – 95.5; 5. Baylor – 93; 6. Kansas – 68.5; 7. Oklahoma – 59; 8. West Virginia – 34; 9. Iowa State – 31; 10. TCU – 2

Iowa State Results
600y Run Final (M): 1. Sven Cepus, Texas Tech – 1:08.57; 5. Cebastian Gentil, Iowa State – 1:09.30
600y Run Final (W): 1. Davicia Patterson, Texas – 1:18.85; 8. Zakiyah Amos, Iowa State – 1:23.29
800m Run Final (M): 1. Jason Gomez, Iowa State – 1:48.48; 4. Alex Lomong, Iowa State – 1:50.50
1,000m Run Final (M): 1. Takieddine Hedeilli, Texas Tech – 2:23.70; 5. Joe Schaefer, Iowa State – 2:26.40
Mile Run Final (W): 1. Taylor Roe, Oklahoma State – 4:49.17; 12. Brina Kraft, Iowa State – 5:26.88
3,000m Run (M): 1. Welsey Kiptoo, Iowa State – 7:57.29; 8. Nehemia Too, Iowa State – 8:19.01; Jeffery Pedersen, Iowa State – DNF; Noah Kohut-Jackson, Iowa State – DNF
3,000m Run (W): 1. Gabby Hentemann, Oklahoma State – 9:22.72; 4. Cailie Logue, Iowa State – 9:30.34; 6. Brenna Cohoon, Iowa State – 9:53.35; 13. Madelynn Hill, Iowa State – 10:10.95; 14. Janette Schraft, Iowa State – 10:17.50; Morgan Gigandet, Iowa State – DNF
60m Hurdles Final (W): 1. Chanel Brissett, Texas – 7.89; 7. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State – 8.35
4x400m Relay (M): 1. Texas – 3:07.20; 6. Iowa State (Gage Clay, Joven Nelson, Charlie Johnson, David Thompson) – 3:14.97
4x400m Relay (W): 1. Baylor – 3:31.90; 9. Iowa State (Erika Furbeck, Zakiyah Amos, Bria Barnes, Katarina Vlahovic) – 3:44.00
Shot Put (M): 1. Adrian Piperi, Texas – 68-10 3/4 (21.00m); 3. Kevin Sakson, Iowa State – 59-1 1/4 (18.01m)
Shot Put (W): 1. Alexandra Emilianov, Kansas – 54-11 1/4 (16.74m); 8. Keiara Williams, Iowa State – 49-4 1/2 (15.05m)
Triple Jump (W): 1. Ruth Usoro, Texas Tech – 47-1 1/2 (14.36m); 17. Jalaiya Bartley, Iowa State – 40-1 1/4 (12.22m)
High Jump (W): 1. Rylee Anderson, Kansas – 5-11 1/4 (1.81m); 15. Megan Durbin, Iowa State – 5-3 3/4 (1.62m)