MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University track and field team will travel to compete at the 2016 Big 12 Indoor Championship in Ames, Iowa, on Feb. 26-27. Iowa State will host the championship at the Lied Recreation Athletic Facility.

 

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The first day of competition begins on Friday, Feb. 26, starting with the 60-meter hurdles at 11 a.m., ET, and will conclude on Saturday with the awards ceremony at 7 p.m., ET.

 

Live stats and video can be found on the track and field schedule page on WVUsports.com. Additional information is available at Big12sports.com, as well as live coverage on FloTrack.org.

 

“Training has progressed nicely over the last few weeks,” coach Sean Cleary said. “As we go into the Big 12 Championship, we are setting the goal of returning home with eight All-Big 12 performers. We have had a nice season, but we would like to cap it off with our best meet of the year.”

 

Four of the Big 12 foes rank within the top 25, with Texas at No. 5, Kansas State at No. 7, Oklahoma State at No. 11 and Baylor at No. 24.

 

Within the Big 12 women’s rankings on tfrrs.org, West Virginia has two athletes ranked within the top-five in the conference. Sophomore Millie Paladino ranks No. 1 in the women’s 1,000-meter run. In the mile, Amy Cashin ranks No. 2 and Paladino ranks No. 3. Cashin also ranks No. 3 in the 1,000 meter.

 

At last year’s Big 12 Championship, West Virginia placed ninth, while 10 Mountaineers earned All-Big 12 honors. The UT women won the championship last year, its second-consecutive Big 12 title.

 

The Mountaineers’ indoor season has been highlighted by three all-time indoor top performances: in the long jump, the triple jump and the pole vault.

 

WVU concluded its regular season at the Penn State Tune-Up on Feb. 20. The team notched a victory in the 3,000-meter run and posted four top-two finishes.

 

The victory of the meet came from sophomore Maggie Drazba in the 3,000-meter run with a career-best time of 9:38.41.

 

Cashin finished second in the mile with a career-best time of 4:39.85. She improved on her previous mile time by 7.51 seconds.

 

Sophomore Madelin Gardner placed second in the pole vault, marking 3.90 meters. Senior Tori Bertrand came in third, marking 3.75 meters, followed by sophomore Sara Finfrock in fourth (3.60 meters) and sophomore Rebekah Lafata in fifth (3.45 meters). Finfrock and Lafata posted career-best marks on the day.

 

West Virginia notched a top-two finish in the 60-meter hurdles, thanks to sophomore Meghan Jean-Baptiste, as she finished second in 8.88, matching her season-best time at Akron on Feb. 6.

 

In the 600-meter run, junior Brianna Kerekes placed second with a time of 1:33.69, while sophomore Rebecca Wendt placed fourth in the event in 1:35.5, a career-best time by 3.5 seconds.

 

Additionally, four Mountaineers have been recognized for their strong performances this season, as the USTFCCCA highlights the best marks from colleges at all levels after each weekend.

 

Cashin was recognized twice for her performance in the 1,000- meter run at the Penn State National Invite on Jan 30 and her performance in the mile at the Penn State Tune-Up on Feb. 20. Cashin placed second in the 1,000-meters (2:49.61) and second in the mile with a career-best time of 4:39.85. Kerekes and Drazba were also recognized for their performances at the Penn State Tune-up. Drazba claimed the victory in the 3,000-meters (9:38.41), and Kerekes placed second in the 600-meters in 1:33.69.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*All times Eastern and subject to change*