With one lap remaining in a tactical 5,000-meter race last Friday, Oklahoma State sophomore Brian Musau unlocked one more gear to fend off Villanova’s Marco Langon and secure the NCAA title.
It completed Masau’s indoor-outdoor sweep in the event and marked his second straight All-America finish in the 5K, adding to his growing legacy at OSU.
The performance was one of the many highlights for OSU at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
In the field, senior Blair Anderson recorded a leap of 8.02 meters (+2.4 wind) on his first attempt, enough to maintain second place and be named a first team All-American for the long jump. Anderson’s new personal best made him the third Cowboy to earn first team All-America honors in the event outdoors, and he came one centimeter shy of the school record of 8.03 meters set by Jacob Fincham-Dukes in 2017.
On the women’s side, Emma Robbins closed out her stellar collegiate career with a fourth-place finish in the hammer throw, earning her first team All-America honors for the second time. Robbins’ exceptional consistency at OSU leaves a lasting impact on the program as she claimed school records in the hammer and weight throw. She will leave Stillwater as one of the most accomplished throwers in program history.
Fellow Cowboy Fouad Messaoudi posted a personal-best time of 13:25.48 in the 5K to join Musau on the podium and claim first team All-America honors. In the 10,000 meters, sophomore Denis Kipngetich placed ninth, good for second team All-America honors. The performance added to OSU’s consistent success in the event as at least one Cowboy has placed in the top ten six straight years at nationals.
For the Cowgirls, freshman Isca Chelangat captured second team All-America honors in the 5K, while Annie Molenhouse did the same in the heptathlon. Molenhouse’s string of events included a personal record of 13.94 in the 100-meter hurdles, contributing to her total of 5,669 points.
Despite a resilient race from junior Kaylie Politza that featured a tumble to the track, she fell short of qualifying for the 800-meter final. Lastly for the Cowgirls, Josphine Mwaura made her NCAA championship debut in the 10K last Thursday.
In the men’s 1500-meter qualifier, senior Alex Stitt got caught in a tough race that was decided in the last 100 meters, resulting in a 20th-place finish.
The Cowboys totaled 19 points across the four days, good enough to rank eleventh out of 72 teams. The result is their highest since 1984 as the focus now shifts to the offseason.
sports.ed@ocolly.com