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OU Track: Oklahoma Brings Home One Big 12 Gold On Day 1 of Conference Meet

Sophomore Kassidy Gallagher won the hammer throw with a personal-record toss that was also the second-best in program history as the Sooners host the event in Norman.
John E. Hoover|
OU Track: Oklahoma Brings Home One Big 12 Gold On Day 1 of Conference Meet
OU Track: Oklahoma Brings Home One Big 12 Gold On Day 1 of Conference Meet

By OU Media Relations

NORMAN – A good start to the weekend at the John Jacobs Track Complex.

The Oklahoma men's and women's track and field teams concluded day one of the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships Friday evening, and landed one gold medal and several other strong performances.

The Sooners collected one Big 12 individual championship in the hammer throw from Kassidy Gallagher, plus eight podium finishes and numerous personal-best records. At the conclusion of day one, the women's squad has 31 points and sits in second place, while the men's team has collected 11 points for seventh place.

Gallagher, a sophomore, became the second Sooner in program history to win a Big 12 title in women's hammer throw with an impressive 67.62 meters on her first attempt. With her mark, she obliterated an 11-year-old facility record set in 2012, second-best in program history, and also earned a personal-best record. The Sooners have held the top spot in hammer throw for the last three seasons as Lauren Jones went back-to-back in 2021 and 2022.

Senior Geraldine Udo also placed on the podium with a seventh-place finish (56.32m). In the men's hammer throw, sophomore Ben Ryer notched the sixth-best mark in program history (60.47m) for a fifth-place finish.

The Sooners continued to dominate the throws events as freshman Pippi Lotta Enok earned second-place in women's javelin throw with a 48.66m. This marked a personal record and sixth place in program history for Lotta Enok. Sophomore Kassidy Sani (45.71m) and junior Kayla Kurtz (45.41m) followed with a pair of season bests at third and fourth place, respectively.

In the men's javelin throw, sophomore duo Danny Doheny and Nikolaj Gronbech placed fifth and sixth with a PR throw at 62.02m and 59.88m, respectively.

In the men's decathlon, senior Kristo Simulask finished day one in second place with 4,089 points. He finished first in the shot put with a personal-best record of 14.65m. He also finished fourth in the 100-meter dash (10.87m), long jump (7.12m) and 400-meter dash (49.26). Sophomore Nikolaj Gronbech also placed 10th with 3,562 points. The men's decathlon will finish Saturday at 10 a.m. CT with the 110-meter hurdles.

In the women's heptathlon, sophomore Ariel Pedigo wrapped up her day with 3,252 points to sit in fourth after four events completed. She finished second in shot put with a mark at 13.30m for an outdoor personal record and placed fourth in high jump with a season-best throw at 1.70m. Freshman Ally Stephenson also earned 2,806 points and currently sits in 14th place. The women's heptathlon will resume Saturday at 11 a.m. with long jump.

Freshman Colin Caso clocked a 31:35.73 for 11th place to get the day started in the men's 10,000-meter race.

The men's decathlon will start off competition Saturday at 10 a.m., while field events start at 3 p.m. and preliminaries for the running events begin at 4.

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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