Photo by: Ben Solomon
Tulsa Track and Field Year in Review
5/29/2019 9:00:00 AM | Track and Field
The University of Tulsa track and field team wrapped up its 19th year under head coach Steve Gulley at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds. In the indoor and outdoor seasons, the Golden Hurricane claimed four conference titles, qualified nine athletes to the regional meet and set three school records in another successful year with Gulley at the helm.
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Ben Preisner added his fifth and six American Athletic Conference titles in the indoor season, defending his 3,000 and 5,000 meter crowns in his second-consecutive year to double. The decorated Canada native owns ten top-10 TU all time marks, including the No. 1 2,000-meter steeplechase time and No. 5 10,000 meters mark in school history.
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The Golden Hurricane continued the strong start into the outdoor season, as Carsyn Spurgeon claimed the long jump school record at the John McDonnell Invitational with her leap of 5.99 meters (19-8 feet). The jump crushed the previous school record, set in 2004 by Margaret Glover with a mark of 19-4.25 feet.
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Tulsa once again produced a school record at the American Outdoor Championships, as thrower Aleks Rapp claimed silver and the TU top mark with his hammer throw toss of 61.24 meters (200-11 feet). On Rapp's final toss of the event, the Canada native launched TU's first 200-foot throw in school history to secure his second-place finish, shattering Alex Lybarger's 197-3 foot distance set in 2015.
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The following day of the conference meet, freshman Katharina Pesendorfer broke teammate Ashley Barnes' school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running the race in 10:22.17 for bronze.
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Spurgeon maintained that momentum on the same day, winning the long jump and breaking her own school record simultaneously with a leap of 6.30 meters (20-8 feet) on her second attempt. Her victory marked the first outdoor field event gold for Tulsa since becoming a member of the AAC, as well as the first Golden Hurricane woman to jump a wind-legal 20 feet in program history.
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On the final day of the American Outdoor Championships, Grey Howard won a long-awaited gold in the 800 meters to cap off a decorated conference career with a time of 1:50.51. After earning a runner-up finish a season ago, Howard earned his first career conference gold, capturing Tulsa's first men's 800-meter title since 2015.
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In the team's final meet of the season, Spurgeon finished just outside the qualifying mark in the long jump, securing 13th at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, which translated to less than an inch from moving on to Austin, Texas.
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On TU's final day, Pesendorfer crushed her own 3,000-meter steeplechase record she set at the conference meet, running to the tune of 10:14.44 for 23rd overall in the West regional meet.
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For all Tulsa track and field news and information, visit TulsaHurricane.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Facebook.
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Ben Preisner added his fifth and six American Athletic Conference titles in the indoor season, defending his 3,000 and 5,000 meter crowns in his second-consecutive year to double. The decorated Canada native owns ten top-10 TU all time marks, including the No. 1 2,000-meter steeplechase time and No. 5 10,000 meters mark in school history.
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The Golden Hurricane continued the strong start into the outdoor season, as Carsyn Spurgeon claimed the long jump school record at the John McDonnell Invitational with her leap of 5.99 meters (19-8 feet). The jump crushed the previous school record, set in 2004 by Margaret Glover with a mark of 19-4.25 feet.
Â
Tulsa once again produced a school record at the American Outdoor Championships, as thrower Aleks Rapp claimed silver and the TU top mark with his hammer throw toss of 61.24 meters (200-11 feet). On Rapp's final toss of the event, the Canada native launched TU's first 200-foot throw in school history to secure his second-place finish, shattering Alex Lybarger's 197-3 foot distance set in 2015.
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The following day of the conference meet, freshman Katharina Pesendorfer broke teammate Ashley Barnes' school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, running the race in 10:22.17 for bronze.
Â
Spurgeon maintained that momentum on the same day, winning the long jump and breaking her own school record simultaneously with a leap of 6.30 meters (20-8 feet) on her second attempt. Her victory marked the first outdoor field event gold for Tulsa since becoming a member of the AAC, as well as the first Golden Hurricane woman to jump a wind-legal 20 feet in program history.
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On the final day of the American Outdoor Championships, Grey Howard won a long-awaited gold in the 800 meters to cap off a decorated conference career with a time of 1:50.51. After earning a runner-up finish a season ago, Howard earned his first career conference gold, capturing Tulsa's first men's 800-meter title since 2015.
Â
In the team's final meet of the season, Spurgeon finished just outside the qualifying mark in the long jump, securing 13th at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, which translated to less than an inch from moving on to Austin, Texas.
Â
On TU's final day, Pesendorfer crushed her own 3,000-meter steeplechase record she set at the conference meet, running to the tune of 10:14.44 for 23rd overall in the West regional meet.
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For all Tulsa track and field news and information, visit TulsaHurricane.com. Be sure to follow the team on Twitter and Facebook.
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Players Mentioned
Sprints
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Throws
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Distance
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Distance
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Throws
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Multi's
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