NOBODY NOBODY TREATS TREATS YOU BETTER YOU BETTER THAN BYFORD THAN BYFORD
2012 SIERRA 2012 SIERRA 2012 GMC SIERRA 2012 GMC SIERRA 1500 CREW 1500 CAB CREW CAB SLT 4WD
SLT 4WD
COME IN AND COME SEEINOUR ANDFULL SEE OUR LINEFULL OF BUICK LINE AND OF BUICK GMC TRUCKS, AND GMCSUVS TRUCKS, ANDSUVS COMMERCIAL AND COMMERCIAL VEHICLES VEHICLES At Byford, At we Byford, believe we in priorities—and believe in priorities—and it’s not surprising it’s notthat surprising we sellthat terrific we cars sell terrific cars you’re on the you’re top on of the thattop list.ofWe that want list. We and want trucks at andgreat trucks prices. at great Afterprices. all, what After all, what every customer every who customer comeswho through comes ourthrough betterour way to better makeway suretoour make customers sure ourare customers are door to havedoor the to best have possible the best experience possible experience happy? Come happy? visit Byford Come visit BuickByford GMC and Buick GMC and with us. And with when us. you And think whenabout you think that, about that, see for yourself. see for yourself.
Hundreds Hundreds of greatof vehicles great vehicles to choose to choose from. from. N O B O DYNT ORBEOAT DYS TYO R EUAT BS E TYO T EUR BTEHTATNE RB YTFHO ARNDBY F O R D C H I C K A S H A ,CO HK I C K| A 4 S0 H5 A.,2 O 2 4K. 0 |4 7450 5| . 2W 2 4W. 0 W. 4 7B5Y F|O R WDW AU W. TB OY . CFO OM R DAU TO.CO M
OSU2
OSU1 OSU3
OSU7 back of bracelet links back of bracelet
OSU5
OSU4 OSU1 - Framed Canvas Print - Print of hand painted collage depicting highlights from the 2011 season. Approx 38” h. x 29.5” w. $649.00 OSU2 - Framed Print - Print under glass of hand painted collage depicting highlights from the 2011 season. Approx 22.5” h. x 17” w. $119.00
OSU8
OSU6 OSU6 - Woman’s Bracelet - [A] Woman’s sterling silver medallion bracelet with round black onyx and orange gemstones. $375.00 [B] Woman’s rhodium plate medallion bracelet with dura filled charms. $199.00
OSU4 - Championship Buckle - Two-toned silver and gold plated western style buckle featuring 2011 Big 12 Champ Trophy. 6” wide. $199.00
Tag Heuer Watches - Handsome stainless steel case and link bracelet are enhanced by a unidirectional rotating bezel. Also features a custom medallion dial with luminous silver-tone hands and luminescent stick hour markers and minute markers, quartz movement, and scratch resistant sapphire crystal complete the watch. Water resistant to 30 meters.
OSU5 - Unisex Bracelet - Sterling Silver OSU ID bracelet with logo medallion with championship inscription on the back. $119.00
OSU7 - Man’s Tag Heuer Watch OSU8 - Woman’s Tag Heuer Watch
OSU3 - Wall Clock - Floating glass wall clock depicting highlights from the 2011 season. 15” diameter. $64.99
$2,052.00 $2,052.00
Order yours today! www.okstatechamp.com
The 2011 12 school year
will probably most be remembered for the tragedy the OSU family suffered in losing Kurt Budkee and Miranda Serna, and though we’ll never forget them, the year will also be remembered for some of the greatest moments in OSU sports history. Our football team finished the season with a win over Stanford in the 2012 Fiesta Bowl, and was ranked third in the final polls. It was a satisfying end to the best season in OSU football history.
Mike Holder Director of Intercollegiate athletics
But it wasn’t just football that succeeded on the field. Our soccer team advanced to the elite eight, which was the culmination of another record-setting season. Our women’s basketball team overcame tragedy to win the post-season Women’s NIT championship. This spring, our track and field team competed very well, with NatalJa Piliusina capturing yet another individual Big 12 championship. This issue features her story, along with several of her unsung teammates
Former OSU Men’s Golf Coach OSU Class of 1973
As always, I would like for you to consider purchasing season tickets for football, as well as all of our sports and all the fall sports. Each season ticket you buy makes a direct impact on the teams on the field, and the student-athletes‘ ability to work toward their degrees.
4 july 2012
You are our difference makers, and every time you contribute to the POSSE or buy season tickets, you become part of the team. Football season starts in just over a month, and the team looks good again. Now is the time to get your season tickets. If you wait around, there may not be any left. Thank you for your continued support of OSU Athletics, and I’ll see you on campus this fall.
Features 12 18 36 44 56 64 72 76
H ometown h om e ru n
j u ly 20 12
Gr eat Catch
h a mmer t im e a l l i n st rid e
on the ru n
4 22 28 32 82
L e t t e r from t he Dire c t or Th e 15 0 auc t ion re cap
L iv e oran ge W r av ! n g s
the fi eld m arsh all
Vo l . 5 N o. 4
touch t he s ky
fr om r o ugh t o re ad y
5
posse magazine POSSE Magazine Staff V i c e P r e s i d e n t o f E n r o l l m e n t M a n ag e m e n t / M a r k e t i n g E d i to r
Paul V. Fleming
A r t D i r e c to r / D e s i g n e r
D i r e c to r o f Ph oto g r a p h y a s s i s ta n t e d i to r
Phil Shock le y
Cl ay Billm a n
Contributing Writers
M at t Elliot t
C o n t r i b u t i n g Ph oto g r a p h e r s A s s i s ta n t A r t D i r e c to r ,
Don’t get me
wrong, 2011-12
was a great year for OSU, but personally, I am already looking forward to the 2012-13 academic year! It is fun to watch underclassmen step up and assume leadership roles while at the same time
G a ry L awson, Bruce Wat erfield
Ross M au t e
A t h l e t i c s A n n u a l G i v i n g ( P O S S E ) D e v e l opme n t S t a f f A s s i s ta n t At h l e t i c D i r e c to r / e x t e r n a l a f fa i r s
P r e m i u m S e r v i c e s D i r e c to r
K a ry l Henry
As we prepare to start the new semester there
P u b l i c at i o n s C o o r d i n ato r
Cl ay Billm a n
are a couple of reminders from the Office of Athletics made it very clear that OSU is committed to playing by the rules and not taking shortcuts to achieve temporary success. Therefore, it is important to
Jesse M a rtin
Ellen Ay res
A s s i s ta n t D e v e lo p m e n t D i r e c to r
welcoming new student-athletes into the OSU family.
Compliance. President Hargis and Coach Holder have
K y le Wr ay
Cory Chene y
P r o g r a m s C o o r d i n ato r / B e n e f i t s
M a ry Le wis
Ev e n t C o o r d i n ato r / G a m e Day Pa r k i n g M a n ag e r At h l e t i c D e v e lo p m e n t A s s i s ta n t
Ja mes Bat le y
St eph a nie Boese
remember that Compliance is a shared responsibility and everyone connected to OSU has a part to play. If you have questions or concerns about anything, please contact our office (405-744-7862). Second, please leave the recruiting to our Coaches. If a booster, such as you, contacts potential recruits it is an NCAA violation. This even includes reaching out to prospects through social media
A t h l e t i c s M a j o r G i f t D e v e l opme n t S t a f f A s s o c i at e At h l e t i c D i r e c to r / D e v e lo p m e n t D i r e c to r o f D e v e lo p m e n t / At h l e t i c s P r o j e c t M a n ag e r
OSU POSSE
that diamond in the rough, feel free to let our coaches
1 0 2 At h l e t i c s C e n t e r
know, but make sure they are the ones to tell the Finally, if you see our student-athletes out in the community feel free to stop and say hi, but please do not provide them with any sort of benefit (meal, cash, use of vehicle) no matter how small or how noble the gift may be. The NCAA provides several avenues for its member institutions to provide additional resources to
M at t Gr a n t h a m
Sh awn Tay lor
platforms such as Twitter and Facebook. If you find
prospect how great OSU is!
L a rry Reece
S t i l lwat e r , OK 74 078 - 5 070
P 405.744.3322 F 405.744.9084
www.okstat eposse.com posse@okstat e.edu
student-athletes in need, so please contact our office if there is a situation you think we need to be aware of. With everyone playing their part, I think 2012-13 is going to be a great year both on and off the field
A D V E RTI S ING 4 0 5 .74 4.73 0 1 E D IT O RIAL 4 0 5 .74 4.7 19 2
at Oklahoma State. I look forward to hearing you all cheer loud as you support our outstanding Cowgirl and Cowboy teams in the months to come. Thanks for all you do to make OSU such a special place. Sincerely,
Assistant AD for Compliance
6 july 2012
Donations received may be transferred to Cowboy Athletics, Inc. in accordance with the Joint Resolution among Oklahoma State University, the Oklahoma State University Foundation, and Cowboy Athletics, Inc. POSSE magazine is published four times a year by Oklahoma State University Athletic Department and the POSSE, and is mailed to current members of the POSSE. Magazine subscriptions available by membership in the POSSE only. Membership is $150 annually. Postage paid at Stillwater, OK, and additional mailing offices. Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. Title IX of the Education Amendments and Oklahoma State University policy prohibit discrimination in the provision of services or benefits offered by the University based on gender. Any person (student, faculty or staff) who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based upon gender may discuss their concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with the OSU Title IX Coordinator, Mackenzie Wilfong, J.D., Director of Affirmative Action, 408 Whitehurst, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, (405) 744-5371 or (405) 744-5576 (fax). This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the Assistant Athletic Director, POSSE, was printed by Southwestern Stationers at a cost of $0.9577 per issue. 10M/Jul 2012/#4303.
posse magazIne
For Cowboys on the Move Since 1904 Reliable, Dependable, Predictable. • Free estimates • Expert packing & crating • Local, long distance & international moves • Record management center • Commercial warehouse & distribution • Specialties in handling electronic equipment moves • Office moving • Air freight • Fireproof storage
4021-25 NW 3rd St., OKC 73107 3126 S. Van Burren, Enid, OK 73703
T 800 299 7070
Official Movers of OSU Athletics
www.emricksallied.com
C. Paul Baker Jr., Owner Allied Van Lines Agent
Over the past couple of months,
8 july 2012
the Cowboy Caravan has been stampeding across Orange Country.
Athletics and the POSSE,
We’ve visited Enid,
Bartlesville and Altus, and
made two stops in Texas — Houston and Tyler.
As always, we’ve been greeted with nothing but the best hospitality, which is to be expected of Cowboy fans. the final two stops are coming up — Tulsa on Aug. 1 and
Oklahoma City on Aug. 7. But be sure to check out okstateposse. com/caravans for more information.
If you’ve never been to a Caravan before, you should make plans to attend one of the last two of the summer. These events are a great opportunity to mingle with other POSSE members and OSU fans from your community, and to hear first-hand from our coaches the excitement you can expect from our teams in 201213. You’ll also get to bask in the success of this past year. Fans can see (and take photos with) the Big 12 Championship and Tostitos Fiesta Bowl trophies, celebrating a recordbreaking 12-1 season on the gridiron. We’ll have the women’s NIT Championship Trophy on display, as well.
Fan Day has been set for
Saturday, Aug. 4, in Stillwater, where our orange-blooded supporters can meet and get autographs from the entire Cowboy Football and Cowgirl Soccer squads. (Both teams can boast conference titles from 2011, by the way.) Check out okstate. com for complete Fan Day details.
We hope to see you on the road.
Now, on behalf of OSU
we would like to say thank you to all of our donors and season ticket holders for your continued support of OSU Athletics. Your commitment to OSU sports makes it possible to provide quality educational opportunities to more than 450 student-athletes in 18 varsity sports.
The 2011–12 season was a highlight reel, both academically and athletically, for our studentathletes. If you’re a member of the POSSE, you shared in each student-athlete’s triumphs and successes. Not only was it a great year for them, but for you as a fan and supporter.
As great as it was, this coming year (which will be here before we know it) could be even better. Don’t hesitate to
Orange”
“Live
for the highly anticipated 2012-13 season by supporting our teams in person. With a pair of new Big 12 Conference partners in TCU and West Virginia, things will certainly be exciting around the league, particularly in Stillwater. The 2012 Football season ticket renewal process is completed, and new season ticket options are on sale now. If you haven’t had a chance to view the new Virtual Venue for Boone Pickens Stadium ( okstatefootball. io-media.com), take a moment
and use this great tool to assist with finding your perfect seat. The Virtual Venue is simple to use and can show you exactly what the view from your new seats will look like. It’s just another way to make it easier for our fans to have the opportunity to experience OSU sports. If you do not have season tickets
and are considering getting some, now is the time. We’re already ahead of the record season ticket sales pace set last year. With the West End Zone having very limited seating availability, we have decided to expand our popular four-pack option throughout the 300 level
(adding 11 new sections). Now in the 300 level — sections 302, 309, 333 — you’ll be able to purchase a four-pack at $1,400 ($350 per ticket), and in sections 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 331 and 332, you will be able to purchase a four-pack at $1,400 plus the perseat donation designated for the corresponding section. If you are reading this, then it’s likely you already contribute to OSU Athletics as a member of the POSSE – thank you for your support and for being a part of our family. If you haven’t or know someone who may like to join, please call us at 877-2B-POSSE (877-227-6773) or visit okstateposse.com. Get your friends and family involved today!
Annual donations to Athletics totaling $150 or more qualify for membership in the POSSE and include an annual subscription to the award-winning POSSE Magazine, the POSSE star decal for your automobile and an educational tax deduction.
9
The POSSE is your Team Behind the Teams! Jesse Martin Assistant AD / External Affairs Oklahoma State Athletics
jesse.martin@okstate.edu 405-744-3322
10 Photography by
july 2012
Phil Shockley
11
Hometown Home Run
Holliday Hired to
story by
12 july 2012
Clay Billman
photography by
Gary Lawson
Coach Alma Mater
13
Earlier this summer, Josh Holliday became the first former Cowboy Baseball player to be named head coach of his alma mater. The 35-year-old Stillwater native had earned a reputation as one of the top assistants in college baseball, after stints at Oklahoma State, North Carolina State, Georgia Tech, Arizona State and Vanderbilt. A four-year letterwinner for the Pokes from 1996-99, Holliday was a starter on Cowboy teams that made four NCAA Tournament appearances and reached the College World Series in 1996 and 1999. A familiar name to Cowboy fans, Josh is the son of Tom
Holliday, who served as Gary Ward’s top assistant for nearly two decades before being named head coach in 1997. As a player, Holliday’s 256 games played ranks second all time at OSU. The all-conference catcher and infielder compiled a career .311 batting average to go along with 53 home runs, 62 doubles and 237 run batted in. He was named an Academic All-American and the OSU Male Student-Athlete of the Year in 1999. In 2003, Holliday was inducted into the OSU Baseball Hall of Fame. A ninth round selection by Toronto in the 1999 Major League draft, Holliday spent two years in the Blue Jays organization. Following
his professional playing career, he returned to Stillwater and joined the OSU coaching staff as an assistant for three seasons. Holliday’s local roots run deep. He was a prep standout on both the baseball diamond and gridiron at Stillwater High School, as well as co-valedictorian of his graduating class. Josh and his wife, Jenny, have two children, Olivia and Brady. Shortly after taking the reins of the program, POSSE spoke with Coach Holliday about the chance to return to his hometown and lead the Cowboys on the diamond.
Photo / Gary lawson
14 july 2012
POSSE: Those of us who watched you as a player always thought of you as a coach on the field and figured you might come back to your alma mater one day to lead the program. JH: “It’s almost hard to think about it, because when you pinch yourself and you realize you’re doing something you’ve always dreamed of doing, you just know how fortunate you are. It’s an honor. Growing up here
and playing here, and then going off and building a coaching career, is it something I had in my heart? Yeah, it was. But we don’t always get these opportunities. When we do, we certainly want to make the most of them. To say I always knew it would happen wouldn’t be true, but I sure am excited and lucky that it has. To be given a chance to come back is a dream. You don’t know if it’s doing to ever come true, but it has.”
POSSE: Can you describe the response you’ve received from OSU alumni and fans, as well as the Stillwater community? JH: “The first thing I’ve discovered is just how many people want to express their support and how many people care and want to do their part in helping create a program that represents everyone to the best of its ability, that everyone’s proud of. It’s been
JH: “I believe a great program is built on people, and I certainly can’t be any more excited about the types of coaches that we’ve had the chance to attract. We’re trying to build this one person at a time, with great people. We have great fans, and they’re excited about the people we’re bringing in. I
unbelievable how many hugs
baseball. Our coaching staff is
and handshakes and smiles
going to work together to create an atmosphere where players really develop and discover themselves in so many ways: on the field, certainly in the classroom, and really in life.”
I’ve gotten. Wow, what a group of
people. What a community to build a college experience in. That energy and excitement has literally propelled me every single day to keep building this thing and get people excited. “Secondly, you immediately realize the amazing responsibility you have to everyone involved in the program — players, coaches, fans — all of the people that care about your program. You immediately sense a level of responsibility and commitment to do right by them and to communicate and really represent the school in all your interactions with these people. Those things have become real clear to me in the first few weeks on the job. I’m certainly embracing that. It is critical to do right by all those involved, so that’s been a great learning experience for me right off the bat.” POSSE: Your new assistants, former Cowboy Rob Walton (head coach at Oral Roberts) and Marty Lees (associate head coach at Oregon State), seem like home run hires.
think our focus as a staff will be to develop the mind as much as the body to play winning
POSSE: What has the response been like from your current Cowboy players and the incoming class of recruits? JH: “We’ve had good interaction and a positive response with all of our kids. We’ll continue on a daily basis to earn their trust and build relationships with them, because they did lose the coaches that brought them here. But as I told them all, ‘You chose Oklahoma State University. You chose it for a reason. And that university still stands here strong, and you have a new coaching staff that’s wanting to embrace you as a person and get to know you and care about you.’ So it’s been a big part of the job. It’s been fun to get to know a new bunch of kids. “Obviously, any time there’s transition there’s that period of the unknown, and people explore options. Some kids who were drafted did sign professionally. I think they signed
because they felt that was in their best interest, and it was time for them to take a shot at a pro career. Some may move on to other schools. We certainly wish them well. But it’s part of working with each kid and just doing what’s in his best interests for his future and his education. That’s a process that we’ll put a lot of time into because we care about all these kids.”
“
think you’re going to see a brand of baseball that is exciting and true to the game.
POSSE: Can you describe your coaching philosophy? What kind of team do you want to put on the field? JH: “I can tell you this, an Oklahoma State baseball team is going to play hard. They’re going to be united. They are going to play with an effort level that honors the game. Our team and our players are going to be a reflection of our school and our state. They’re going to have
work ethic. They’re going to be pure in their love for the game. They’re going to be respectful to their opponent, but they won’t back down from anyone. We’re going to go out there and put a team together that shares all those critical values that everybody believes in. story continues
15
“My biggest goal is to be a team in every facet of the word. I want a team that’s fundamentally sound, that plays the game the right way. In hiring a great coaching staff and recruiting the right players, I think you’re going to see a brand of baseball that is exciting and true to the game. “We want to play winning baseball, and winning baseball often times is
To this day, he stands in my mind as the most innovative, creative and skilled teacher of offense the college game has seen. The game certainly has changed, with the bats, but we’ll definitely want to have a ballclub capable of putting up big numbers when the right time’s there. We’d love to have a power element to our team. Certainly home runs are exciting.
“We’ll certainly have our own identity, and we’ll work to have a dynamic team … one that can win in many ways, one that is balanced. That’s what we’re shooting for. But it is different. Winning baseball looks a little different than maybe what we were used to seeing in the past. I think that’s the case all across college baseball.”
doing the things with the players you have that they’re best at. We have to coach the players we have to their strengths. The fun part is going to be learning about all these players and deciding what makes them great and putting them in a position to be successful based on those talents.”
They can change the game in a hurry.
POSSE: You’ve been an assistant at a number of elite baseball programs around the country. What types of things have you picked up that you want to bring to your head coaching position? JH: “I absorbed and was taught a lot of great baseball from some great people, and I think there are some elements that are critical. Like pride.
POSSE: Under Gary Ward, OSU Baseball was known as a powerhitting program. Is that part of your philosophy? Is that even possible in today’s college baseball climate? JH: “We’ve always been known here as a program that had potent offenses, and that certainly was no accident. Coach Ward’s ability to teach and develop offense was second to none.
16
july 2012
Modern day power hitters are hard to come by. If we can get our hands on some kids with some great power then we’d like to hit the ball out of the ballpark. “We also want to have a ballclub that can win a 3-2 game with execution and skill, because there are pitchers’ duels out there, and that’s an important game to have the ability to win. And we want to have a team that can go out over the course of a season and protect its pitching staff by playing great defense. Catching those routine outs and making those plays over the long haul really help your pitching staff hold up over the course of a long season.
When players have pride in your current team and pride in your past, it pushes them on a daily basis to uphold that tradition.
Certainly we have tradition here that we’re going to educate our players on. I think that gives them a sense of strength to know who we’ve been in the past. I saw some of those traditional components at Arizona State,
with its longstanding tradition. Vanderbilt is more of a younger program in its national prominence, but watching them build tradition and being a part of that process was fascinating. I think those are critical elements that we bring back to our group. “Creating a home field advantage and a fan base that electrifies your team at home are elements of winning programs that I’ve observed. It’s certainly something that we know we can do here. “The development of players, both mentally and physically as baseball players, I think is critical. The Vanderbilt experience really showed me the power of education, the importance of graduation and the importance of kids recognizing that they are certainly bigger than baseball and convincing them to dream big about what they want to do after baseball so they leave here confident and ready for the world. “Those are elements that you learn the places you go that you say, ‘Someday, if given a chance to lead a program, those are going to be pillars of our success.’ Those things have been really influential, and certainly the list goes on and on, but those things stand out right now.” POSSE: You literally grew up at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. What does that facility mean to you? JH: “The history is undeniable here. There have been tremendous championships won on this field. Everyone’s ballpark, arena, stadium, whatever sport we’re talking about, has a dynamic to it that’s unique. That dynamic, when you’re the home team, is something you can tap into. You certainly want the visiting team to feel that lack of comfort
when they come into your park.
to compete at the highest level. Some
For years, this ballpark spooked a lot of teams before the first pitch was thrown, whether it was the presence of the team, the size of the players or the threat of the home run. All the different dynamics that existed when people came here to play created a level of discomfort that was beneficial.”
of the greatest players to ever
POSSE: How important is bringing back that home field advantage? JH: “We have great fans, and I know they’re excited about supporting our players. We want to look out and see Allie Reynolds full of people. Our fans are essentially us, and being there will go a long way in our kids feeling what Oklahoma State sports and Oklahoma State Baseball is all about. We want the same type of passion and following for our baseball team that the school has done such a great job in creating for our other sports. We’re fired up
about it.” POSSE: What does the future look like — immediate and long-term — for the home of OSU Baseball? JH: “I trust with every ounce in me the support of our school for baseball, and I know we’re going to keep working to do all we can to take care of Allie P. and make her the best facility for our players. We’re going to have a beautiful surface. We’re going to have tremendously well-maintained and prepared playing surface. We’re going to do all we can to create a good setting for our fans to enjoy the ballgame while they’re here. We will continue to develop our training areas for our players every day, so our locker rooms, weight room and hitting areas are as good as they need
play college baseball dug into these batters boxes and used these cages. If those guys could
develop themselves, I don’t see why we can’t believe in that and stay true to that plan. That’s our facility and that’s our mission. “In the long term, we’ll certainly look to sit down with Coach Holder and continue to dream and put plans in action to take our facilities to the next level. With his leadership and obviously what the school’s proven they can do with other facilities, I’m going to team up and do my part in helping make that a reality for baseball.”
“
Winning baseball looks a little different than maybe what we were used to seeing in the past.
POSSE: It sounds like a big part of your job, beyond what happens on the diamond, is to be a spokesman for the Cowboy Baseball program. JH: “It’s really easy to come back and share my true feelings about Oklahoma State, our baseball program and our community. Those are real life experiences that I’ve shared. I believe in Oklahoma State. It’s a wonderful place, and I believe in the future of our team.”
17
M story by
18
at t E l l i o
tt
Great OSU Shortstop Earns
Prestigious Scholarship Other OSU scholars include Cowgirl soccer’s Lopez and Melinda Mercado, football’s
There must be something in the Gatorade.
Devin Hedgepeth, cheerleading’s Nicci Hudson,
In May, Cowgirl softball All-American
pom’s Samantha Mahan and more. Women’s
Chelsea Garcia won the Arthur Ashe Jr. Female Sports Scholar of the Year award. The former shortstop joins OSU
track and cross country leads all sports at OSU with 24, Good says, closely followed by the men’s team, while football is in third place.
soccer great Yolanda Odenyo as the only OSU
The award capped a tough year for Garcia
athletes honored with the award, and just a few
who is a graduate student in special education.
of dozens to be honored by the program.
She couldn’t fulfill her student teaching require-
“I’m really just very honored to be picked
ment this year due to softball, her team didn’t
because I knew Krista Lopez was in my group,”
make the NCAA tournament, and she received
Garcia says. “I think it’s just pretty cool
her first B ever in a number theory math course
because what I focus on outside of softball is my academics.”
(she did make Academic All-American again for 2012) last fall.
Garcia’s award is the top award named for the late tennis great, while dozens of other
“I wish I could have won bigger awards on the playing side, but I know academics
ethnic minority students are lauded each year
is going to get me farther in my profes-
as Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports scholars. The winners,
sional life,” Garcia says. “To be recognized
lauded for excelling in the classroom, in the community and on the field, are announced
for this is pretty cool.” She’ll finish her teaching requirement
each year in the magazine Diverse: Issues in
during the next year and be a certified
Higher Education.
special education teacher in May. She
Garcia is one of 24 OSU student-athletes honored this year, which is a school record
has an older sister, Tiffany, who has Down syndrome, Garcia hopes to be
and an increase of one student over 2011. OSU
able to work with students like her in
has had 112 such scholars since the awards
the future, as well as students from
began in 1999, says Alan Good, manager of
other backgrounds.
academic services for student athletes. “We encourage all students to be successful
“I’ve always kind of had a heart for inner city kids,”
in the classroom, and we have sports coun-
she says. “I would like to get into
selors that are assigned to individual teams
teaching in an inner city school
who provide academic advising and tutoring to
somewhere.” The Moore native hopes
each student,” Good says. ”We also really try to create a more diverse campus where faculty
to find a career teaching in
members can come here, teach or increase
the Oklahoma City metro
the number of roles. We’re already number one
area.
in granting degrees to Native Americans in the country.” OSU has dozens of students honored for multiple years, including track star German Fernandez, whom Good says has been an Arthur Ashe scholar three consecutive years.
19
Oklahoma has been at the epicenter of several influential pop-music movements. One style can be traced not just to a city but also to a specific place. Red Dirt music began in a two-story, five-bedroom, funky old place called the Farm in Stillwater.
Join us in CELEBRATING today’s chart-topping artists like the RED DIRT RANGERS and the opening of the new
VISITOR INFORMATION CENTER.
2617 W. 6th Avenue Stillwater, OK 74074
www.VisitStillwater.org StillwaterCVB @StillwaterCVB
T. Boone & Madeleine Pickens 6,087,221
0 5 1 TH E
as of 2012 , 1 e n u J
july 2012
38.
Lew & Suzanne Meibergen 30,690
John Clerico
39.
OSU President
Karsten Manufacturing
40.
Garland & Penny Cupp
6.
W & W Steel Co.
41.
Vicki & Jim Click
7.
Ross & Billie McKnight
42.
Brad & Margie Schultz
8.
Dennis & Karen Wing
43.
Sparks Financial
9.
Walt & Peggy Helmerich III
44.
Bryant J. Coffman
10.
A.J. & Susan Jacques
45.
Jon & Suzanne Wiese
11.
Robert A. Funk
46.
OSU Foundation
12.
Ed & Jana Evans
Blueknight Energy Partners, LP
13.
Mike & Robbie Holder 66,967
47. 48.
Jameson Family, LLC
49.
Philip & Shannon Smith
2.
Malone & Amy Mitchell
3.
Sherman & Eloise Smith
4. 5.
14.
Harold & Joyce Courson
50.
Atlas Paving Company
15.
ONEOK, Inc.
51.
Jerry & Rae Winchester
16.
Stillwater National Bank
52.
Andy Johnson
17.
Dennis & Cindy Reilley
53.
Jay & Connie Wiese
18.
Gary & Jerri Sparks
54.
KNABCO Corp
19.
Watson Family Foundation
55.
Ike & Mary Beth Glass
20.
Joe & Connie Mitchell
56.
David Bradshaw
21.
Vickie & Tucker Link Foundation
57.
The Foothills Foundation
22.
Kent & Margo Dunbar
58.
JS Charter Investments, LLC
23.
Ken & Jimi Davidson
59.
Lambert Construction
24.
Patrick & Patricia Cobb
60.
Calvin & Linda Anthony
25.
Bob Howard
61.
Thomas & Barbara Naugle
26.
Chad Clay
62.
Les & Cindy Dunavant
27.
Richard & Barbara Bogert
63.
Griff & Mindi Jones
28.
RCB Bank
64.
Anonymous #3
29.
Greg & Rhonda Casillas
65.
Sandra M. Lee
30.
Anonymous #1
66.
31.
Chesapeake Energy Inc
Mark & Lisa Snell 21,133
32.
Joullian & Co
67.
Berkeley Manor Enterprises
33.
Flintco, Inc.
68.
Richard & Joan Welborn
34.
James & Mary Barnes
69.
Barry & Roxanne Pollard
35.
Bob & Kay Norris
70.
David LeNorman
36.
OG&E
71.
American Fidelity
37.
Anonymous #2
72.
Harvey & Donna Yost
73.
Mark & Beth Brewer
74.
Neal & Jeanne Patterson
75.
K.D. & Leitner Greiner
76.
Jerry & Lynda Baker
77.
Darton & Jamie Zink
A-Cross Ranch 17,554
114.
OSU Center for Health Sciences
115.
Thomas Winton
79.
Southwest Filter Co.
116.
Jack & Joyce Stuteville
80.
Scott & Kim Verplank
117.
F & M Bank & Trust
81.
Ed & Mary Malzahn
118.
Jay & Fayenelle Helm
82.
Doug & Nickie Burns
119.
Henry Wells
83.
Anonymous #15
120.
Norman & Suzanne Myers
84.
Ameristar Fence Products
121.
James H. Williams
85.
Bank of Oklahoma
122.
Anonymous #14
86.
BancFirst
123.
Mike & Judy Johnson
87.
John & Gail Shaw
124.
Mike & Kristen Gundy
88.
MidFirst Bank
125.
89.
David & Tracy Kyle
Randy & Pati Thurman 11,962
90.
Emrick’s Van & Storage
126.
Brad & Leah Gungoll
91.
Johnsons of Kingfisher
127.
Chris & Julie Bridges
92.
Steve & Jennifer Grigsby
128.
Bryan Close
93.
The Oklahoman
129.
Shaw’s Gulf
94.
John & Jerry Marshall
130.
Drummond Investments
95.
Russ & Julie Teubner
131.
Connie & Stephen Tatum
96.
Russ Harrison & Natalie Shirley
132.
Bob & Tammie Tway
97.
Larry Bump
133.
Bob & Mary Haiges
98.
Diane & Steve Tuttle
134.
Vionette & John Dunn
99.
Austin & Betsy Kenyon
135.
John & Patti Brett
100.
SST Software
136.
Jack Bowker Ford
101.
AEI Corporation
137.
Randall & Carol White
102.
Brent & Mary Jane Wooten
138.
Chip & Cindy Beaver
103.
Ron & Marilynn McAfee
139.
Dennis & Bonnie Smith
104.
Larry & Shirley Albin
140.
Greg & Kay Massey
105.
Anonymous #4
141.
OSU Alumni Association
106.
Tom & Sandy Wilson
142.
Bill & Karen Anderson
107.
Stan & Shannon Clark
143.
Dillingham Insurance
108.
Bill & Claudean Harrison
144.
Baab Legacy, LLC
109.
Terry & Martha Barker
145.
David & Marellie Littlefield
110.
James D. Carreker
146.
Ed & Kathy Raschen
111.
Z-Equipment, LLC
147.
Jim Vallion
112.
The Bank of America
148.
Pixley Lumber Co.
113.
Chandler USA, Inc
149.
Fred & Kellie Harlan
150.
Southern Cross Alliance, LLC
78.
How Do My Points Rank? as of june 1, 2012 Points Rank 131,216
Top 5
24,703
50
15,052
100
5,917
250
2,920
500
1,364
1,000
467
2,500
100
5,000
23
7,500
OSU Athletics Priority Point System
The Priority Point System provides a fair, consistent and transparent method of providing benefits to donors in exchange for their financial investments in OSU athletics.
Donors gain points three ways:
• Contributions: All current and lifetime contributions (cash or stock) are worth
3 points per $100 donation. Planned (deferred) gifts in the new Leave a Legacy Endowment Campaign will receive 1 point per $100.
• Commitment: Donors will earn one point each year for purchasing season tickets (one point per sport annually), as well as one point for each year of POSSE donations.
• Connection with the University: Donors (or their spouses) who are OSU Alumni receive a one-time 10 point bonus, as do OSU faculty/staff and letterwinners.
Points never diminish and will carr y over to subsequent years. Donors retain all previously earned Priority Points in their giving history. For questions about the POSSE Priority Point System, email posse@okstate.edu or call us at 405.744.7301.
The Official Hotel of OSU Athletics athertonhotelatosu.com 405-744-6835
Make yourself at home.
Producing trusted Oklahoma vets since 1948 Oklahomans trust OSU veterinarians with their animals. That tradition is going strong. In May, OSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine graduated 85 confident, competent and practice-ready doctors of veterinary medicine. The Class of 2012 is the largest since the college began 64 years ago. OSU is focused on bright minds, brighter futures and the brightest world for all.
26 july 2012
27
photography by
Gary Lawson
Auction Roundup On April 28th, the Athletics Center was decked out in black and Orange pageantry
It was a haven of memorabilia for the hardcore OSU fan. If you
of the kind usually reserved for movie premieres or debutante balls. In this case, however, the transformation was for the 2012 POSSE
were so inclined, you could’ve bid on
Benefit and Auction.
anything from a signed photo of Mike Gundy (one of which was one of the highest bid upon items from the silent
OSU fans of all ages corralled in
Attendees mingled with the
auction boards) to a vintage Mustang
the GIA lobby and talked, shopped
Woods brothers (honorary Chairmen
convertible.
and bid the night away. The floor of
Rashaun, D’Juan and Donovan), OSU
Gallagher-Iba Arena was transformed
coaches and staff, members of all of
into a grand dining hall, complete with
OSU’s athletic teams, and more than
The Auction generated more than $445,000 for the Student-Athlete Scholarship Fund, with $152,000
a stage for the presentations and live
700 other faithful OSU fans.
coming from the live auction, $91,000
auction.
july 2012
from the Dutch auction, $99,000
from the silent auction boards and
“Suzanne and I always look
Though this year’s benefit is still
another $100,000 from table sales.
forward to the POSSE Auction, and
freshinour minds, planning is already
There were also a number of “buy it
this year, we were fortunate to have
underway for the 2013 auction. If
now” items that added to the total,
Donovan Woods as a guest at our
you would like to attend, volunteer
like slices of the goal posts from the
table,” says Ricky. “We are always
or donate something to next year’s
2011 Bedlam victory.
amazed at the auction items the
event, please contact the POSSE
Ricky and Suzanne Maxwell
POSSE staff acquires. Knowing
office at 877-ALL-4-OSU, or via email
attend nearly every year. Like many
a little about what goes into it, we
other attendees, the couple had a
appreciate all of the OSU family that
great time at the festivities.
donate items to the auction, and we feel fortunate to be able to participate in support of OSU athletics.”
photography by
Bruce Waterfield
at posse@okstate.edu.
30 july 2012
31
photography by
Phil shockley
32 july 2012
Orange State
This isn’t an unveiling.
Not if you’ve been a good fan, anyway. By the time you have this magazine in your hands, you should also be able to visit your favorite OSU gear purveyor and get the 201213 .
Live Orange shirt
If you haven’t seen it, well, you’re looking at it right now, all over this page. Not that we get to publically have an opinion, but if we did, we’d tell you this was our favorite Live Orange shirt so far. This year’s design was one of three submitted to the university by Nike after a round of brainstorming with our marketing and licensing folks. “Every year, we try to incorporate Pete and the OSU brand logo,” says Kurtis Mason, OSU’s
administrator of trademarks and licensing. “This year, we wanted to focus on the state. So Pete set in the outline of the state really reflects the increasing popularity of Orange and OSU across Oklahoma.” Now in its third incarnation, fans are starting to look forward to the shirt, which begins appearing in stores in late July and early August. It’s another sign that football and the new academic year are just around the corner.
The shirt was created out of a desire to help fill Boone Pickens Stadium with sea of Orange. OSU’s athletic marketing staff wanted fans to have their own gameday uniform. “We also wanted our fans to have a shirt they were involved in creating,” says Mason. “It
started out as a football thing, but has caught on and spread to all the other sports. It’s been well embraced by our supporters. It’s something we’ll continue to do. People almost look at it as the ‘it’ shirt for the fall.” Fans got their first look at the three candidates during the spring football game. After that, they had two weeks to go online and vote. This year’s winner was so good, so obvious, voters didn’t turn out in numbers like years past. “Voting was down a little this year,“ says Mason. “I think that’s because everyone liked the first design so much — the one with Pistol Pete in the outline of the state — that they got complacent because it was winning by such a huge margin, and didn’t bother to vote.
The Live Orange shirt directly impacts the lives of students at Oklahoma State University, as a portion of each sale goes to the university’s general scholarship fund. Shirts will be widely available at a number of vendors, including the Student Store in the newly renovated student union on the Stillwater campus.
Get out and get yours, and State your allegiance.
33
oyal Tru L E OU R H E R I T A G E I S T I M E L E S S
Own Iconic images of old central and theta pond 30x20 Gicleé gallery wrapped canvas prints signed by the photographer
Use this QR code to order online today! $50 OFF if you order both prints together! Visit us at www.paulmcentire.com/oldcentral for additional details.
Paul McEntire Photography • www.paulmcentire.com
36 july 2012
37 story by
Clay Billman
photography by
Scott D. Weaver Photography LLC
38 photography by
july 2012
Phil Shockley
“I want to be at an even higher level,” Miller says. “I always think that if you’re in the competition, you should aim to win.”
It’s a sunny afternoon in late May, and I find myself staring death in the face. I’m at the Oklahoma State track to photograph Nick Miller , a 6-foot-2-inch, 250-pound freshman who wields a 16-pound steel ball on a wire for sport. The modern-day hammer throw has evolved from ancient origins, and I can’t help feeling like fodder for this sort of medieval weaponry. “Sit there,” instructs Cowboy Track and Field assistant coach John Baumann, pointing to a spot about 10 yards directly in front of the open cage. “It’s the safest place you can be.” I do as I’m told, but I’m not convinced. Through the camera’s viewfinder I focus on Miller standing in a 7-foot-diameter concrete circle, his back to me. He grips the heavy instrument by the handle with gloved hands and begins to put the ball into counter-clockwise orbit around his body. Bound to the end of a thick, yard-long wire, the hammer turns slowly at first, then gathers momentum. On the third overhead swing he turns his body, bends his knees and spins on his heels in dervishlike fashion. The athlete’s arms straighten as he fights to control hundreds of pounds of centripetal force. One turn, two turns, three turns, four … each progressively faster until, 1620 degrees of rotation later, Miller lets it fly. I hear the object whoosh past me and finally exhale, out of harm’s way. The projectile has flown far overhead, landing half a football field away and creating a grapefruit-size divot in the grass. Miller repeated this exercise dozens of times that day, although I only could muster the courage to plant myself front and center for a few. This is not a sport for the meek. continues
39
Miller hails from Carlisle, United Kingdom, in far northwest England. Fittingly, this sport has its roots in the British Isles. As far back as 1800 B.C., competitors in the ancient Irish Tailteann Games hurled stones tied to ropes. More than three millennia later, King Henry VIII was depicted throwing a blacksmith’s sledgehammer, while the traditional Scottish Highland Games feature a round metal ball attached to a wooden shaft. In Europe, track and field sports are known as “athletics,” and at home he competes for the Border Harriers and Athletics Club, representing his home county of Cumbria. Miller became familiar with OSU through Cumbrian teammate Tom Farrell, now a talented runner for the Cowboys. “We used to compete together,” Miller says. “His sister is also a hammer thrower. We used to train in the same place. Carlisle is not a huge city, so everybody kind of knows a little bit about most people.” At a national meet in England, Farrell’s family introduced Miller to Dave Smith, OSU director of track and field and cross country. “Nick had a year of school left, but wanted to come to the United States and was looking at schools. They said, ‘Can you talk to him and give him some advice?’ I talked to him about the NCAA and what it was like for about 45 minutes without any intention of recruiting him for ourselves. I didn’t think he was interested. About three months later he emailed me and said he was still trying to figure out what to do. I told John Baumann, ‘Maybe you should try talking to this guy. Who knows what will happen?’”
40
july 2012
“John contacted me, and I looked him up online,” Miller says. “He looked a little bit scary, to be honest, if you’ve seen his profile picture. But then he came over to England and visited my family. I just felt like we connected well, and even my parents thought this is probably a good guy for me to be with.” “From there, we brought him over on an official visit to see if he liked it,” Baumann says. “Nick came over twice: once to Nebraska, once here. He met some other coaches, but I think the relationship that he and I developed via email and over the phone was different. He had a better feel.” Once Miller began shopping for schools in the States, interest from potential suitors grew. “He’s the real deal,” Baumann says. “Everybody wanted him once they found out about him.” OSU has earned an international reputation among runners. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for throwers. The lack of first-rate facilities doesn’t do Baumann any favors. “He didn’t come here for the facilities. He didn’t come here for the tradition,” Baumann says. “Until we get a new facility, it’s an uphill battle. As a coach, those are things we have to overcome. It doesn’t matter if it’s an in-state kid or out-of-the-country kid. They come here and think, ‘This is it?’ Compare that to Nebraska when he walked in there.” “When I was at Nebraska, they said, ‘So you’re looking at Oklahoma State … didn’t even know they had a throw squad,’” Miller recalls. “They kind of had a little giggle about it. At the time I didn’t know one university from the other.
Photo / phil shockley
Miller says fancy amenities, or a lack thereof, didn’t factor into his decision. “Facilities don’t really mean anything to me,” he adds. “I think
it’s the hard work that gets you there, not having a fancy TV to watch while you lift. That wasn’t like a big issue for me. In a way, that almost inspires you to do better, just to prove people wrong. Spit in the corner and do a few reps. ”It was more about seeing who John is and what he does that brought me here. We have a great relationship. It’s very fun and jokey, not too serious. But we get the work done.” “I tell everybody the same thing,” Baumann says. “If you come here, it’s about your journey. It doesn’t matter what’s here, you can still train. Relationships are what it’s about. The relationship that we developed was better than what he developed with the other coaches in the country.” One can’t argue with the results. Since arriving in Stillwater, Miller has assaulted the OSU record books and won a number of big meets, including the Big 12 Championship. (The hammer throw became an Olympic event in 1900, which is about the last time an OSU athlete won a conference title in the event until this year. In 1901, Wallace Thornberry took home top honors for the OAMC Tigers at the Oklahoma Intercollegiate meet.) In Under-20 competitions, Miller throws a 6-kilogram (13.22 pound) hammer. At OSU, he moved up to the Olympic-standard 16-pound (7.26 kg) hammer.
He threw a personal best of 67.06m (220 feet) at the John McDonnell Invitational in Arkansas in April with the heavier weight, and also greatly improved his 6kg distance from 66.6m to 72.8m (238.85 feet) while in the States. “He’s developed incredibly fast and come a long way in just eight or nine months,” Smith says. “I don’t know if he or John expected this, but I certainly didn’t. I thought it would take a couple years until he got to this level.” “Nick has thrown farther with a ball that is heavier than what he threw a year ago with a lighter ball,” Baumann says. “He’s made huge improvements. He’s matured and learned better technique and he’s a better thrower … And he just turned 19. This summer he’ll compete in the Junior World Championships (Under 20) in Barcelona.” Miller ranked in the NCAA top ten much of the season and earned second-team All-American honors at Nationals after qualifying fourth in the West Region. (Author’s note: Nebraska did not have any regional qualifiers in the hammer throw.) It was an extremely successful freshman campaign by all accounts, but the competitive athlete isn’t satisfied. “I want to be at an even higher level,” he says. “I always think that if you’re in the competition, you should aim to win. If you want to be the best of the best, you’ve always got to try and push yourself more. Coach is still expecting more, so we’re still working hard.” As a thrower, Miller is a relative newcomer to the sport.
“This kid’s only been throwing for three years, so he’s very new,” Baumann says. “Nick had to make a big transition training-wise, especially in the weight room. He’s had to make a lot of changes.” “I did most of my training on my own back home, so this is my first year with a proper coach every day,” Miller says. “I was kind of a naturally strong kid, but since coming here I’ve gained about thirty pounds of muscle.” “Coach always laughs at me, because back home, I just used to do a lot of bench press and curls. We’d always say, ‘Curls for the girls’ … Since coming here it’s been none of that. It’s been a lot more specific for throwing the hammer, like cleaning, snatching, squats. Legs and core. A good, strong back really helps. Instead of just being a body builder, it’s about moving the hammer far.” The hammer throw is all about physics, and Miller’s frame is naturally suited for the sport. “It’s all about keeping the orbit big,” he says. “At the end, if you pull it out of its orbit, it’s going to kill the throw.” Miller says he can tell immediately if a throw is going to be a good one, even before he lets go of the handle. “I’m quite good at intrinsic feedback, because I kind of coached myself for a lot of years,” he says. “As I’m turning through my throw I can feel if something is wrong. You already know it’s not going to be great. The biggest throws just feel effortless. Once it’s left your hand, you look and you’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s going to do it.’” Miller’s future bears watching, but I think I’ll be doing it from safely behind the cage from now on.
41
THANK YOU
to the nearly 75,000 alumni and friends
who have participated in Branding Success: The Campaign for Oklahoma State University. You are helping unleash OSU’s full potential and make it one of the premier land-grant institutions in the nation. SEE HOW YOU CAN HELP AT
OSUgiving.com
TALJA story and photography by
44
july 2012
Clay Billman
: Piliusina ALL IN STRIDE Natalja Piliusina had made up her mind. She wasn’t coming to America. The Lithuanian track star was a junior record holder in her home country, winning a number of national championships as a teenager at 800 and 1500 meters. Success had come quickly for the gifted runner. “I ran 2:07 (800m) and 4:19 (1500m) when I was a pretty young age,” she says. “I started seeing myself as a better runner, seeing myself in bigger meets.” She placed in the top ten in the 800 at the World Youth Championships in 2007 and 2008, and was fifth in the European under-20 championships a year later. Those notable performances garnered interest from college recruiters, including the coaches at Oklahoma State, but cautionary tales of foreign athletes in the U.S. had made Piliusina leery of going overseas. “I was scared to come to States,” she says. “I heard all those stories. You don’t know the coach. You’re racing too much. You might be just run into the ground or over-trained. So after I graduated from high school, I just decided that I would stay home. I will just play it safe and go to the university back in my home city and live with my parents until I graduate.” continues
“By her coming here, she jumped our recruiting and our 45 program ahead five or six years.””
Despite being comfortable at home, however, Piliusina felt her progress on the track had plateaued. “I just stayed with the same times for years and years. I think I just got burned out.” In the meantime, OSU assistant coach Zivile Pukstiene (a native of Lithuania) had kept in contact with Piliusina.
“It was very fortunate that we called her when we did,” Smith adds, “because when she was on her visit here, all of a sudden she started getting e-mails and Facebook contacts from a lot of other schools, really pressuring her. Luckily she came here, liked it right away and said, ‘I’m coming to Oklahoma State.’ She didn’t visit any place else.” “Once I left, I had such a great time “Zivile kept recruiting me for those two days that I was looking after I already said, ‘Sorry, I’m forward to coming back. Too bad I not coming,’” Piliusina recalls. “She came for my visit in November, so I said, ‘Well, just come for the official had to wait at home for almost a year visit.’ They would pay all my expenses. to come back.” Free trip to States! Why not? When When she finally did arrive in Stillelse can I get this kind of opportunity water, Piliusina was introduced to her to come to States with everything first taste of cross country. It is not an paid? I guess it was kind of selfish to event she planned to compete in. think like that, but you do what you “Dave lied to me when I came for have to do, right?” my visit,” she laughs. “He said I will “She came over here in Novemrun cross country now and then and ber and kind of fell in love with the try to help the team in a couple of place,” says head coach Dave Smith. races, and I end up running every “She couldn’t believe the kind of the single meet of the season!” program we had and how many The crafty coach doesn’t deny her people were here training. She never accusation. had anyone to train with back at “When we recruited her, we said, home. She was kind of on her own ‘You won’t compete in cross country. with just her and her coach.” You’ll kind of do it. You’ll train, but “When I came here I loved you won’t actually race.’ She’d never everything about it,” she says. really run cross country and had no “Just the atmosphere around the team, interest in it, and we didn’t expect having so many girls to run with. The her to race here. Then she got here coaches are easy to work with. They and started training. She was trainkeep joking around. You don’t really ing with Mihaela (Susa) and Felicity see Dave as a coach. He’s more like (Milton), and the rest of the girls your friend. Now and then we race on couldn’t keep up with those two. For the track. He still thinks that he can the first time ever she started to run run a faster 800 than I can, which we some distance and some volume and all know is not true. looked good doing it. I said, ‘You’re “Back home it’s more official. You really good. Why don’t you try to run don’t really joke with your coach or the Jamboree and see how that goes?’ anything. It was just so different than It went pretty well. Then she went to from home.” the Chile Pepper and ran even better … Natalja ended up being our No. 1
46
girl that year at Nationals (49th), so that ruined it for her forever. Now I’m making her run cross country.” “I definitely want to help the team,” she says. “As long as I’m making top five, I’ll be there running every single meet, trying to do my best in cross.” Piliusina has seen the benefits of her coach’s tactics. “I think it’s something that makes me stronger, even for the track meets. That’s where we build our base, when we do our long runs. It’s something so new for me. I’m not really used to running for like 40 or 50 minutes, doing tempos, and I think I get stronger not just physically but mentally, as well.” She still isn’t a fan of the 5K or 6K distances, though. “I think I’m pretty good at it, but for me it just feels too long,” she says. “I run out of stuff to think about. Running on the cross country course, it’s pretty soft, and I think I’m that type of runner who takes all the energy out of the ground. The harder the surface, the better it is for me. Cross country is just too soft. The grass is too high … I think I start hurting before the race even starts.” “She’s got an incredibly powerful stride,” Smith adds, “When she hits that track, she hits it quick and hard with her feet and bounces right back out. A lot of people kind of roll and are slow through their mechanics. She’s not. She just hits the ground, and she’s off. She’s fast. She’s very strong physically, as well as aerobically.” Add to that a competitive nature. “Natalja hates to lose. That might be her greatest attribute. She’s extremely competitive.” Piliusina is also eager to listen and learn, the coach adds. continues
july 2012
“Dave lied to me when I came for my visit” … The crafty coach doesn’t deny her accusation.
47
photography by
Clay Billman
48 july 2012
“She’s probably the most coachable athlete I’ve ever worked with,” Smith says. “She does exactly what you tell her to do. That’s just the way she is. “She’s extremely coachable, very competitive and is also physically gifted. Natalja’s got it all.” That rare combination has produced some impressive results on the track. It’s only halftime in Piliusina’s collegiate track career, but the juniorto-be has already rewritten the Oklahoma State record book in the middle distances, earning All-America honors both indoors and outdoors. She owns the school’s top time in the indoor 800 meters (2:03.46), outdoor 800 (2:02.16) and outdoor 1500 (4:09.51). Each race requires different skill sets, Smith says. “The 800 is just an all-out, hard running event. You’re running and collapsing on the track sometimes. The 15 can be that way, but often it’s tactical with a hard last 300, 400, 500 meters. In that type of race, Natalja’s hard to beat.” Even though she’s more experienced in the 800 meters, Smith says her future prospects lie with the 1500. “I don’t think there’s anybody good enough to go run away from her and leave her. They’re also not good enough to sit easy and out-kick her, because I think she’s probably the best kicker in the NCAA. She’s probably got 54-second quarter (mile) speed. There are not a lot of girls in the 15 who can do that. Most of those girls are running the 400 or the 800. Natalja has the
gift that she also has great endurance. Ultimately she’s going to be a 1500 meter runner. That’s going to be her best event.” Piliusina agrees. “I think I prefer to run 15, just because I still have some more room for improvement,” she says. “I think I can drop at least another few seconds. With the 800, I’ve been running that distance for years and years now. I started running the 8 when I was probably 13 or 14 years old. I think I know that distance from the start to the very end. I can close my eyes and just run. “In the 15, it’s still new. I’m still learning. I ran 15 a few times over the years, but it didn’t go well until this year. The first race of this season went just perfect. I went there without any expectations and I ran a huge PR (personal record), and then a few weeks after that ran another big PR again. It’s exciting you know to kind of explore new waters. A national title contender at both distances, Piliusina also has her sights set on the London Olympics later this summer. She narrowly missed the Olympic-qualifying B standard in the 1500m at Stanford’s elite Payton Jordan Invitational earlier this spring. “The A and B standards are set by the International Olympic Committee,” Smith explains. “You have to run 4:08.90 to get the B, and she ran 4:09.51.” “I wasn’t shooting for the standard that race. I just wanted to go there and run feeling good,” she recalls. “After I finished the race, I didn’t look at the watch. Then Dave came to me and said I was just like half a second away.
“That’s when it hit me. I was so angry. I wanted to break some-
just, I want to win everything in
thing. If I had something I defi-
to lose anymore. I don’t know if
nitely would have kicked it. It was one of those races where I could have gotten that time. I went back over the race 100 times trying to think of a mistake that I made.” “Natalja’s competitive, and she knows what’s out there,” Smith says. “She’s got big goals. She has never lost a race in the conference. She’s run six times now and won every single time she’s run at the Big 12 Championships, indoors and outdoors. She wants to keep that streak alive. She’s finished second twice at the National Championships. She wants a title. And there are some other pretty big honors and recognitions out there that she wants to make a run for, like the Bowerman Award, which is kind of the Heisman of track and field. She’s said, ‘What do I have to do to get on that list in the future, and how many races do I need to run?’ She wants big things.” With Piliusina’s remarkable success has come the expectation of repeat performances at every meet. “There always is that pressure, but I think it comes more internally than externally,” Smith says. “Her own inner drive to win probably far supersedes anything that we or the media or people around the sport could put on her.” “This year is much different than it was last year,” Piliusina says. “Getting second my freshman year was great. I went to outdoor nationals just to have fun, and I got second. But then I got second again Indoors this year ... You know, the feeling wasn’t that great anymore. “I feel like I got to the point where I’m not settling for anything less than first place. It doesn’t matter if
it’s a good thing or bad thing.” As a coach, Smith has to balance his runners’ desire for immediate results while looking out for their future. “She’s a developing athlete. Let’s be patient and take our time. You have to pick your races very carefully. You decide when and where you’re going to go for it. You’ve got to really keep yourself in check and try not to do too much, not get greedy. “That’s hard,” he adds, “because when you start knocking them out of the park, it’s hard not to swing for the fence every time you get up. You’ve got to be happy with a single. Some of our runners hit a single and get depressed. But you just keep swinging and try to get on base. Eventually you’re going to connect and hit a home run. That’s the way you’ve got to approach track and field, especially with distance running. You keep running, keep working. You might go through a year where you don’t have a PR, but you can’t get depressed. You just keep plugging away and getting better in practice every day. At some point the stars are going to line up. You’re going to be in that prefect race with the perfect weather. You’re going to feel great and run a huge time. But you can’t go into every race looking for that. It doesn’t happen that often.” The approach has obviously worked for Piliusiana, and it’s enticed some other elite middle distance runners to come to Stillwater. Smith says that’s put the women’s program ahead of his expected pace. “By her coming here, she jumped our recruiting and our program ahead five or six years,” he says. “We were
it’s Big 12 or if it’s Nationals. I
running, and I don’t really want
going to become good eventually anyway, because we were going to work hard and recruit and get kids to come in and develop them and inch our way up to the next level. But Natalja came in here and in one year went from 2:07 to 2:02 and finished second at the NCAAs. That gave us something last summer to go talk to recruits about. This fall’s incoming class, in my mind, is the best middle distance group in the country. That wouldn’t have happened without Natalja being here. When I went and said, ‘Hey, here’s what we’re doing at Oklahoma State, this is what Natalja’s done, here’s her improvement, you’ll get to train with her the next two years … it was like instant credibility.” Piliusina has also had a positive effect on her current Cowgirl teammates. “Attitude is contagious, and so is the success or failure that comes with it,” Smith says. “I think when you have someone like Natalja who comes in expecting to win, expecting to go work hard every day, everybody else picks up on it. If she were attending some other school, the women here would look at her differently, like she was a preordained superstar, not ‘just one of us.’ But they get to be with her every day and get to know her as a person. They see how hard she works, how much of herself she invests in the sport, and they see that there is no secret formula. There is a path to success, and they have a leader to follow. All of a sudden, they’re seeing themselves differently. I think women like Caleigh Glenn and Kate Kujawa and Teran Mixon, right on down the line, have all benefited from having someone like that who is their friend and teammate. “It’s not all Natalja, but she helped kick-start that process.”
49
We’ve come a long way. Help the high school student you know see campus through the eyes of a current OSU student. Register a future Cowboy at admissions.okstate.edu/visit for an official student-led campus tour.
SPORT SUPPORT The POSSE is “The Team Behind the Teams” … and now you can be an integral part of whichever team you choose. These sport-specific clubs help raise money for Cowboy and Cowgirl individual programs with funds directed where it’s needed the most. Revenues generated help supplement annual budgets, fund facility improvements, aid in travel expenses, provide new equipment and enhance the overall student-athlete experience.
Cowboy Wrestling Club
Cowgirl Softball On-Deck Club
OSU Tennis Baseline Club
Cowgirl Soccer Goal Club
OSU Golf Cowboy Pro-Am Cowgirl Pro-Am
SPORTSPECIFIC CLUBS
Cowboy Baseball Home Run Club
Cowgirl Equestrian Paddock Partners
Get involved in one or more of these sports clubs today and designate where you want your gift to go … Club donations will qualify for Priority Points, as well as POSSE benefits for gifts totaling $150 or more annually.
877-2B-POSSE / www.okstateposse.com/clubs
52 june 2012
53
photography by
Gary Lawson
Check out our third section garden homes, designed for people age 55+ Kay Burns, CRS, GRI Broker Associate c o h
405.747.1772 405.377.1000 405.372.5461
Please contact Kay Burns for information concerning floor plans and pricing on homes in The Canyons, located in Stillwater North. Additional Information is available at www.rustykraybillhomes.com
kay@fprealtors.com
We ❤Selling
Stillwater FISHER PROVENCE REALTORS®, INC 405.377.1000 • 904 East 6th www.welovesellingstillwater.com
Party with America’s Favorite Mascot!
PISTOL PETE’S PARTNERS Annual kids club membership (8th grade & under) is just $25 per child.
Benefits include: • FREE ADMISSION to OSU soccer, wrestling, women’s basketball, baseball & softball • Exclusive members-only t-shirt & ID lanyard • Invites to autograph parties & other special events • Birthday card from Pistol Pete • Pistol Pete picture & more ... For details, visit at okstate.com/kidsclub
photography by
56 july 2012
Mark Myles
57
photo / Gary Lawson
“I want to have a career that uses a strong understanding of the science of nuclear energy and the sociology of how technology interacts with our culture in order to remove the roadblocks that keep us from the big solutions.”
58 july 2012
Mark Nelson isn’t your average walk-on student-athlete, though he did successfully walk onto the Cross Country team. In fact, he’s not your average student, never mind the athletics part. The OKC native recently graduated from Oklahoma State with not one, not two, but three degrees (aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering and Russian), and completed 238 (and counting) hours of coursework. Prior to his graduation, he volunteered in Africa, completed a book of photography that he’s now shopping around to publishers, and was a Senior of Significance. And that’s just the stuff he did after coming out of high school with a perfect 1600 on the SAT.
In the fall, he’ll be attending University of Cambridge in the U.K., having received the prestigious W.W. Allen Scholarship, which we’ll talk more about in a minute. What Nelson really wants to do is run. And he looks like a runner, tall and gaunt, with a mop of unruly brown hair. He looks like one of those guys from Chariots of Fire. His goal was to run collegiately, and though he took the long way around, he did eventually get to run as part of the OSU team. And it looks like he might get to continue running as part of a collegiate team when he gets to Cambridge. “Cambridge duels Harvard in track ever year,” says Nelson. “Based on the improvement I had in the Arkansas meet, I’ll be varsity for Cambridge if I
can just improve a little bit more. I’m not done competing against Division 1 colleges in the United States.” Running was something he figured out about himself early on. He dabbled with it in the fourth grade, winning the mile in an intercity grade school track meet. In the 8th grade, he joined the middle school track team, and figures he was the “worst distance guy on the team.” So that summer, he trained. “I realized very quickly that if
time, I thought of myself as an athlete,” he says. “I had never been into sports. I didn’t think of myself as athletic.” His second season was less successful. He didn’t achieve what he thought he should have, and didn’t believe he was trained very well by his coaches. In typical Nelson fashion, he opted to start training by himself. He researched the sport on the internet and fashioned his own training regimen. “That’s how I first discovered that OSU was a good running
and you tried hard and trained,
school,” he says. “It wasn’t just this place where my family went. Histori-
you could get up to a decent
cally, it’s a good distance
you cared about cross country,
level within the squad pretty
school. That meant something
quickly.” He made varsity his first
to me.”
year in high school. “That was some great thing. It was really meaningful to me. For the first
What it meant was a subtle shift in his thinking about a school he was very familiar with. Nelson is the definition
of a legacy student. He’s a third-generation OSU engineering student. “My grandfather was an electrical engineer. My father was a mechanical engineer. My uncle was an engineer here. My cousin and brother are engineering students here,” he says. “I was determined not to be here. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to follow. I wanted another path.” He tried to go elsewhere. He applied to M.I.T. and the Cal. Tech, both for school and to run. But that was it. “I decided I didn’t want to waste any of my time applying to schools I didn’t want to go to,” says Nelson. “So it was those two and OSU, because my parents wanted me to be in a school, to not have May come around and not be accepted to any school.” continues
59
“One of the best parts of my traveling while at OSU has been running” … “I run everywhere I go.” He didn’t get into M.I.T. or Cal. Tech. He blames it on an ambitious senior year at the Phillips Exeter Academy, where he says his ambition was dangerous to his grades. “I took the very hardest classes I could,” he says. Nelson took math classes he wasn’t quite ready for, and says he got “crushed” in all of them. This, in turn, made him look like he’d had a senior slump. “So I was only into one school,” he says, and he wasn’t happy about it. “The only thing that made it better was the thought that, ‘at least I could walk on.’ That was my consolation prize.” This too, however, would not go as Nelson envisioned. The summer prior to his freshman fall semester at OSU he traveled to India. While there, he had appendicitis and almost died. He missed his first week of classes, and the doctors told him he could not run for six months. For a guy who trained every day, this was devastating news. “It was like everything had gone,” he says. “I could barely walk around to class.” He buried himself in his studies, probably taking too many hours, and in an attempt to at least get close to the cross country program, he got a job with the O’Colly and took every assignment he could covering the cross country and track teams.
60
july 2012
The next year he tried to walk on. He tried running with the team. The first three miles were at his personal record 5K pace, and he got dropped by the pack. Not to be dissuaded, he came back the next year, just after the team had won a national championship. He ran with the group, and this time, he kept up. “If you can keep up with the team, you’re ready for serious cross country,” says Nelson. He’d made it. Sort of. In January of 2010, he was hanging around the team room, still unsure of his status with the team. Out of the blue, coach Dave Smith asked him to run. “He said, ‘Nelson, can you run on Friday?’ I said, ‘yes.’ He said, ‘Okay, have you done all the paperwork?’ I said, ‘What paperwork?” Paperwork tackled, he ran in his first meet as part of the OSU team. His most distinctive memory of that race was the last lap. “At one point near the end, Dave said, ‘Nelson, if you don’t pass this runner, you’re off the team,” he recalls. “I passed the runner, so I stayed on. It was an incredible time. “I’m a social sort of athlete. I’d always rather be on some sort of team. If I’m competing with someone else, I’m just as happy to see them do well as I am to see myself do well. And if I can help them achieve more than I would have just going by myself, I’d rather sacrifice for the greater glory of the team.”
Three degrees in five years should tell you that Nelson is as equally serious about academics as he is about running. But also, it begs the question: what does he want to be when he grows up?
“I couldn’t answer that until last December (2011),” Nelson says. “I was here for five years, and for four and a half of those, I had no ability to answer that question. I was looking to be an astronaut until I saw how gutted NASA has become. “As our national representative body, pushing the boundaries of where humans can go … We don’t have a way as a country to send people to space. That’s really depressing. That’s something my parents weren’t born into and I wasn’t born into, but that’s the place we’ve gotten because of policy decisions.” You’ll notice he mentioned policy. Policy is the word that focused Nelson from uncertainty to having a direction for his career. This is where the W.W. Allen Scholarship program enters the picture. The Allen scholarship is among the most prestigious for engineering students in the country. Potential engineers are recruited to OSU and provided scholarships for their undergraduate work. Then when it’s time to go to graduate school, they apply to Cambridge University. If accepted, they receive a scholarship that allows them an entire year in the U.K. to pursue a fast-paced Master’s program. In Nelson’s case, he’ll be studying nuclear energy. He believes he can make a difference in the world in this field. “I was reading about energy issues and everything suddenly clicked. All the struggles I’d had trying to figure out what to do, how to have a career that had some sort of important path to follow, everything came together all at once.
“I needed to do nuclear engineering with a focus on policy solutions that help everybody — as in, removing the roadblocks that hurt 99 percent of the people who’re stakeholders. And for something as big as energy and our future, and potentially our climate, we’re all stakeholders. I want to have a career that uses a strong understanding of the science of nuclear energy and the sociology of how technology interacts with our culture in order to remove the roadblocks that keep us from the big solutions. “There are a lot of people who look at social issues, energy issues, climate issues, and then they just decide that it’s incredibly depressing and that there’s no hope. There is hope, it just requires some really creative struggles to get to the right solutions.”
Clearly, he’s done his homework. He’s even studied how foreign countries have implemented nuclear energy programs and can elucidate a willing listener as to how the United States’ nuclear energy program has been held back by policy decisions. To wit: he’d love to talk to Boone Pickens about nuclear energy. “It’s not your dad’s nuclear energy,” he says, then backtracks. “I take that back. It is your dad’s nuclear energy, we just never implemented it. We have ways of implementing nuclear power that are orders of magnitude safer, more secure and cleaner. We’re not doing it because there is not a regulatory or business environment to allow for desperately needed implementations of nuclear energy. There’s no pressure to change. The companies currently working in nuclear energy are doing just fine in the constrained environment. “Plus, the public just sits there thinking that solar and wind might be our future, but for some very basic physics reasons, they cannot be our baseline future. They can be wonderful additions to whatever we end up using for our power. “In public policy issues, you’re in this trap where you either need a tremendous amount of money to buy ears (like the Pickens Plan) or you need credentials to get ears. It’s not enough to have just good ideas. You have to have channels to pursue them.” His time at OSU has prepared him for a career doing just that. Nelson believes he got as good or better an education than his old Exeter classmates who attended Ivy League schools. “I tell people what I did in college, and they can’t believe I did that much,”
he says. “Their experience might’ve been a lot more focused. I wouldn’t say I haven’t been focused, just that I focused on a lot more things. “My time at OSU has been incredibly rich. All the things
I’ve done, from the Wentz foundation funding the work on my photo book to studying abroad … After a few years, I started taking them for granted. I can count on one hand the number of times I encountered administrative barriers to doing whatever I could dream up at OSU. “People say, ‘How could you do it all?’ to which I say, ‘How could I not?’ If it was at all possible, how could you miss that opportunity?” No matter what Nelson achieves in his career, he’ll always be a runner. It’s something that’s become part of him, past the goal of competing on a team or striving to beat personal records. He loves running for the sake of running. It is something that has meaning to him. “One of the best parts of my traveling while at OSU has been running,” he says. “I run everywhere I go. I had a summer internship in central Asia. I lived on the edge of a city along one of the big rivers than runs through central Asia. Every morning, I would run up into the mountains outside my house. It was pretty hard, but I’d get to the top and turn around, and I could see the river below. I could see this giant mountain range. I could see shepherds with their flocks. That was how I was able to start my day. Sure, it was training to be on the team, but I was running just to run.”
61
A. Nike Elite Force Polo (2280113) Look sharp while keeping cool in this Dri-FIT polo featuring a three button placket, a finished collar, contrasting striping along the side and the OSU brand. Also available in orange and white. Sizes S-XXXL/$65.00 B. Nike Legacy91 Coaches Cap (2280266) Cheer on the Cowboys in this structured six panel cap with a 3D embroidered OSU brand in center front and an adjustable back closure to fit most sizes. Also available in black. Made of 100% polyester. $22.00
C
A
B
C. Nike Women’s Gridiron Tee (2280364) Tackle a great look in this 100% cotton tee featuring bold screen print graphics and vibrant team colors. Also available in black. Sizes XS-XL/$26.00 D. Nike Retro Rib Tank (2275523) Go a little retro this summer with this 100% cotton tank featuring a large throwback logo with vibrant metallic detailing. Also available in orange. Sizes XS-XL/$25.00
E
E. OSU Tartan Plaid Umbrella (2288164) Shield the summer sun or show your OSU pride during the next rain shower with the official OSU tartan plaid umbrella. The large, 40-inch umbrella includes a matching sleeve cover and one button easy open technology. $25.00
B D
F. Nike Legend Max Out Tee (2280140) Add a splash of style to your wardrobe with this 100% polyester Dri-FIT T-shirt featuring vibrant team colors and bold silicone screen print graphics. Also available in black and orange. S-XXL/$28.00 G. Nike College Tempo Short (2204131) Run in comfort in this OSU-inspired NikeFIT woven microfiber short with contrast curving lines, mesh sides, elastic waistband with drawstring and crepe liner. Sizes XS-XL/$34.00
F
H
G
H. iFanatic 3D Luxe iPhone 4/4S Case (2273994) Protect your phone and show some OSU spirit with this 3D soft-touch hard case. The one piece, snapon case features dual-molded rubber interior lining and access to all buttons and connections. $39.99
I
I. Nike Official Practice Tee (2280177) Show them your Orange Power and look good doing it in this Dri-FIT fabric tee with screen printed graphics. The tee is a blend of 60% cotton and 40% polyester. Also available in black. Sizes S-XXXL/$28.00.
Order online at shopokstate.com or call 1-800-831-4OSU. facebook.com/osuunion
twitter.com/osuunion
* Don’t forget, OSU Alumni Association members receive a 10% discount! You must have your OSU Alumni Association membership number (located on your membership card) at the time you place your order to receive the member discount.
photography by
Gary Lawson
story by
Matt Elliott
Ever since he was a kid, Todd Tribble has loved mowing the
64 july 2012
yard. “It sounds ridiculous,” says Tribble, “but I always thought cutting the yard was a really fun thing to do.” That’s a good thing because he’s Oklahoma State’s Field Superintendent, and he doesn’t get much time off. A Cowboy since 2008, he took a vacation once for three days last year to head back home to Savannah and visit his parents. That’s the only time he’s been gone. Weekends? He’s at work. Nights, too. continues
“I wish people knew just how time consuming it is to care for our clay areas at baseball and softball.”
65
Tribble, three employees and eight student workers manage a total of 18 acres of grass for OSU Athletics. That includes the new practice fields for football north of Boone Pickens Stadium, as well as the softball, soccer, track and baseball fields. In addition to the fields’ use, Tribble is at the mercy of weather, bugs, diseases and weeds. He has to match up climatic conditions with the right turfgrass species. At OSU, that’d be perennial rye grass from September to the first of June and Bermuda grass for the dry summer months on the baseball, soccer and softball fields, and bermuda year round on the football practice fields. “Sometimes you just wish you could turn the fields off for a couple days and have a little bit
of a life yourself,” says Tribble, a hat pulled low over his sun-reddened face as he sits inside his plywood-walled office underneath the stands at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. Sweatshirts, jackets, hats, tools and hoses hang from the walls. A large tool chest with drawers half-opened sits in one corner. A pressed OSU collared shirt rests on a hangar in one corner for days when the 29 year-old can’t run home to change clothes before a game.
66 july 2012
“If we didn’t like the hours we work, we could quit, I guess,” Tribble says. He loves being outside. He doesn’t have to dress up most of the time. He can show up in a hat, T-shirt and gym shorts. “We all love coming to work. I really don’t ever feel like we’re at work.”
Tribble grew up in Savannah, Ga., with the Atlantic coast nearby. He fell in love with the area’s golf courses. He remembers going to games of the Atlanta Braves’ farm team, the Greenville Braves, and watching players such as Chipper Jones, Javy Lopez and Andrew Jones. Being at the game early to seek autographs also meant being there to see the grounds crew prep the field. “I think being at all those games when I was little got me kind of started paying attention to field prep.” His dad, David Tribble, laughs as he describes his son’s obsession with grass. David remembers when Todd was three years old and walking a Fisher Price toy lawnmower behind him when he cut the grass. The family lives today where it did then, on a 640-acre farm that is a historic school for at-risk youth, Bethesda Academy, where his father is president. His staff would laugh when they saw Todd try to fire up the lawnmower when he was little, David says.
“He’d get kind of feisty with me,” David says. “He wanted to cut the grass. He didn’t want his dad to do it. I don’t know where that comes from, but he’s got a royal case of it.” As he became older, he worked in landscaping around the area, including at a nearby golf course. When the time came to go to college, he chose Clemson University. “He told me he was going to be in turfgrass management,” his father says. “I thought, ‘Yep, that’s my boy.’” Tribble graduated in 2005 and went on to Georgia Tech as an assistant turf manager, where he worked for three years. He had an internship with the Philadelphia Phillies, in addition to spots with minor league teams in Savannah and Eastlake, Ohio. He was hired at Oklahoma State as the Athletic Field Superintendent in 2008. His job is a bit more complex today than mowing the yard when he was a kid (he says his dad’s lawn hasn’t been the same since he left). Take the field at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium as an example. The grassy portion is rye grass because of the plant’s rich, deep green color. But it’s a thirsty plant that prefers cooler temperatures. And the soil in which it grows is sandy. Keeping it watered, fertilized, edged and sprayed takes a lot of time.
When the summer heats up, the rye dies back. Tribble and his crew kill it off completely with a herbicide in June. Then, they then encourage the permanent stand of Bermuda grass to fill in which will cover the field until September when they start the process all over again. That’s just the grass. The “infield clay” area of a baseball diamond requires special attention, too. It looks like regular old dirt, but it isn’t. “I think the thing that we maybe wish people knew is just how time consuming it is to care for our clay areas at baseball and softball.” Fifty tons of a special clay, silt and sand blend are tilled into it each year, and is also treated with a calcined material — a clay heated past the melting point — to help with moisture retention and playability. A lot of it. If, for example, the Cowboys have Texas A&M in town for a series, Tribble’s team will go through about 1,000 pounds of it to maintain the field during play for those three games. “We go through a lot of product to keep our baseball field playing the way we want it to,” he says. Even the grade of the infield clay is specially designed. Tribble uses lasers and a box blade fitted with receptors pulled by a tractor to perfect the surface in December well before spring play starts. His crew tills in new clay, places a laser on top of the pitchers mound, and uses the tractor to drag a box containing technology monitoring the laser’s signal to adjust the box blade automatically to within hundredths of an inch. The more he talks about the job the more it seems like it’s a good thing turf management is his obsession.
Photos / gary lawson
The seams between the dirt (the infield clay) and the grass have to match up (his father commented on his son’s uncanny skill at edging a yard). He can’t have anyone tripping over that edge. Plus, uneven edges can make a ball pop up at a strange angle and hurt a player. “We realize that having fancy looking rye grass is what the fans like to see but our coaches and players are much more concerned with how the infield clay performs and how flush our edges are.” He realizes much of his work goes unnoticed. But even an untrained observer can tell if they’re watching a game on a decent field or not. Watch how the ball bounces, he says. If the ball speeds up after it strikes the turf, or if it bounces high, the grounds crew had better get to work. If a ball bounces lower or slows after striking the field, the crew has done a great job. Fans can also tell by how much the clay sticks to players’ uniforms. Good moisture management means the surface stays intact and won’t stick as much to players’ jerseys. When he’s not working, Tribble plays golf and watches baseball. But he finds himself watching the field more often than the players. That’s true for others as well. Turf management is a fraternity. Other guys in the business will tune in when their friends’ fields are on TV for games.
“I’ve had several buddies call or text me saying, ‘Hey, your field looks good,’ or ‘the synthetic turf around home plate looks bad.’ There’s such a connection between sports turf managers. We’re all very good friends, help each other out and give each other a hard time.” Tribble’s position is becoming less common at universities. Although artificial fields are almost nonexistent in the pros, many schools are switching to artificial playing surfaces in baseball. Four schools in the Big 12 use them largely because they are cheaper to maintain and weather conditions in the Midwest make managing a baseball field for year round use a real task. But Tribble hopes more schools decide to keep their grass fields. In addition to being bad for turf managers’ professional prospects, the artificial surfaces in baseball can be hazardous to players’ health. Junior OSU outfielder Jarrett Higgins was sliding into second base during a game at Kansas State, and the infield material was slick and he accelerated and slid over the base. He twisted his ankle and missed several games as a result. Even though his job is nearly seven days per week, Tribble says he wouldn’t do anything else. “If you love what you do, you don’t spend a day at work,” he
says. “That’s how the old saying goes. That’s how I feel.” That’s a good thing for OSU.
67
68 photography by
july 2012
Clay Billman
69
4 FOOT TALL PISTOL PETE
Bringing
ideas to life in
metal END TABLE
PATIO BELL
FENCE ORNAMENT
CUSTOM GRILL INSERTS
SHOW YOUR
COWBOY PRIDE!
Contact us today! 412 N. Independence, Enid, Oklahoma 73701 PH 580.237.3857 FAX 580.237.0068 www.ArtsMetalDesigns.com
CUStOm
metal
DeSignS
An A.W. Brueggemann Company
Professor Jerry Jordan works with an athlete at the Special Olympics Oklahoma Summer Games softball throw in Stillwater. More than 4,500 athletes attended the event.
The power of service OSU makes a positive, meaningful and enduring difference in the world. In May, the university hosted the nation’s largest Special Olympics Summer Games. Dozens of students, staff and faculty members volunteered at the games the university has hosted for 29 years. OSU is focused on bright minds, building brighter futures and the brightest world for all.
Touch the sky
Cowgirl baller Toni Young finds peace on the track story by
72 july 2012
Matt Elliott
photography by
Bruce Waterfield
73
There’s
NO SOUND.
Only that Stillwater wind whipping across the Kaye Barrett Droke Track and Field Center. There’s no harsh glare from fluorescent lights. No refs. No screaming fans. No pain. Her only opponent is gravity. “It’s kind of relax-
ing,” Toni Young says. The junior forward for the Cowgirls became a high jumper last season for women’s track. “It’s just another competition I enjoy doing. Jumping comes really naturally to me. Being able to do this and being somewhat good at it makes that even better.” Being “somewhat good” at the high jump is an understatement. Young is a natural. She can jump over a six-foot-high bar. In fact, she took fifth at the NCAA national championships in Des Moines, Iowa, in June, automatically entering her in the U.S. Olympic trials. At press time, there were only three people ahead of her in the NCAA and she was tied for second in the conference. Tough conference.
74
“I never had to work
on jumping,” Young says.
“It just comes natu-
Her rare natural talent is jaw-dropping considering she didn’t play any sports until she was a freshman in high school. “I was so small,” she says. “I was like less than a hundred pounds. I was a book nerd. All I was focused on was school.” Always a lanky kid (one of 11 siblings), her brother convinced her to play basketball, and her coach urged her to do the high jump. Her senior year, she averaged nearly 15 points per game and eight rebounds at Del City, earning the attention of then OSU head coach Kurt Budke, to whom she would eventually commit as a recruit. Meanwhile, she was jumping at 6-feet 4-inches — better than anyone else in the world. She did that without the coaches many similar athletes have to help them with their mechanics.
rally to me.”
Photo / gary lawson
july 2012
That ended when she started college in 2009. Sixfeet and 2-inches tall today, Young decided to focus on her grades and basketball. OSU’s third-place leader in career blocks, Young was a huge part of OSU’s WNIT championship run in 2012. She won the tournament’s MVP award and scored 25 points in the final against James Madison University, capping a tragic season that saw the death of Budke and his assistant Miranda Serna, who worked very closely with Young. Also, a broken arm kept her from joining the track team until this year. Now fully recovered, Young showed raw talent on the track this season after not having jumped in a meet since she was in high school.
She hit the ground running, placing first at the NCAA’s regional tournament last May in Austin, Texas, tying the nation’s top high jumper, Arizona’s Brigetta Barrett. At the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in June, Young became OSU’s first female All-American high jumper and tied a school record, one that she had already set earlier that year. The U.S. Olympic Team Trials were at the end of June in Eugene, Ore. Her coach, Zivile Pukstiene, says Young has a lot of work to do, but she could make the team. Pukstiene was trying to get Young to jump 6-feet 2½ inches before the end of the season. She’s almost there. At the national championships, Young jumped 6-feet 1½-inches.
Photo / bruce waterfield
Young has never had a jump coach before, nor has she had any formal training in how to do the high jump (for example, there’s a specific way a jumper is supposed to run and approach the pole), Pukstiene says. Imagine how good she’ll be with coaching. “She’s such a talented girl,” Pukstiene says. “She definitely needs more practice. She has a lot of training to do. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time right now to go and start from the beginning. “… Knowing her, her passion, there is no limit to what she can accomplish,” Pukstiene says. Young’s success on the track is ironic because she hates running. She takes one lap around the track to warm up before she jumps. In fact, she never had a serious warm up routine until Pukstiene coached her into one. Young is amazed by her teammates’ accomplishments, such as those of Natalja Piliusina, who won the NCAA Regional women’s 1,500-meter race. “They work hard. I see all the runners and the work they put into it,” Young says. “They’re talking about running three thousand meters. I’m like, ‘No, never.’ And that’s just their warm up. They get done running a 5K, and
they’re like, ‘I’m going to go run another 5K before I cool down.” Her competitive drive keeps her going. She strives to be the best at whatever she does. After Budke died in November, his successor, Jim Littell, told her he was OK with her going out for track if she was still interested. Today, her coaches, teammates and fans always text her after a meet and congratulate her.
Young is excited for the future. She hopes to get drafted by a WNBA team, but in June she had her sights set on representing her country in the Olympics. The opportunity is pretty amazing for someone who never really worked at the high jump until recently. Even though her approach is a bit nontraditional, there is one routine she makes sure she goes through each time she jumps. She stretches her hamstrings and bends over, closes her eyes, and talks to Budke and Serna who died in that Arkansas plane crash with two OSU donors. “I bend over, I grab my shoes, and I talk to my coaches, actually, at each jump,” Young says. “I say it to myself. It’s for them. Then, I jump, come back off and run to my coach. Every time.”
75
76 july 2012
story by
Matt Elliott
photography by
Gary Lawson
77
Josh Stewart
78 Photo / bruce waterfield
july 2012
could’ve thrown in the towel at an early age. He could’ve given up. There certainly are plenty of excuses he could have made. His mother, Letkia Stewart, and a brother, Johron Stewart, died in a car wreck when he was an infant. His dad, Donald Edditon, was fatally shot during an argument with Josh’s paternal grandfather. Stewart, who was five years old at the time, witnessed the accidental shooting. Raised by his grandmother and grandfather (whom he calls his mom and dad), he was one of thousands to flee New Orleans in 2005 as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the city. Mom and dad, Valrie and Charles Stewart, took him and a cousin before the storm arrived to Denton, Texas, about 40 miles northwest of Dallas, where they had family. Their two-bedroom house in St. Bernard’s Parish was destroyed, and they lost almost everything they owned. They spent the next three months living in a hotel. But in that suburb north of Dallas he found caring people who helped his family get back on its feet. “I’m really surprised,” Stewart says. “It’s unbelievable. It’s a blessing. It’s so many things. So many words I could use for it. And this is all crazy because being here and being able to play college football, it’s just what I dreamed about since playing the first time when I was five.” At the hotel, his family met Karen McCown who was staying there with her husband, Bill, and their sons. The McCowns’ house had burned down a few days before, and there new one was being built. “He’s our adopted son,” McCown says. “We just took to him.”
Stewart, a middle school-age kid then, became a playmate of McCown’s son, Connor, while they were at the hotel. The McCowns took the Stewarts in as if they were part of the family. “Mrs. Karen,” as Stewart calls her, drove them to Fort Worth on errands. Connor played football, so she took Josh along to watch. Eventually, Josh started playing, too. She took them to karate practice, too, and other events for the thousands of Katrina victims who’d fled to the area. She also looked after him while his parents were out. The McCowns helped the Stewarts find a house nearby — a fivebedroom house much nicer than their home in New Orleans and just a few blocks away from their new friends. McCown laughs when she recalls that, before she knew it, her family had grown by about 50-60 people as she came to know the Stewarts’ relatives in the area. Josh calls her his second mother. “Ever since we met her, my life has been different,” he says. “She’s the one that got us into school. She’s like still a mother to me today.”
The next person he’s quick to mention is his seventh-grade … being here and school football coach, Kenny being able to play Howell. While still college football, it’s living at the hotel, Stewart signed up just what I dreamed for football, and about since playing it was clear he the first time when I was going to be pretty good. Coach was five.” Howell took him under his wing. “I took him home from practice one time and his family were staying at that hotel in Denton,” Howell says. “Josh became more like family to us than a kid I coached.” Howell and his wife, OSU finance and marketing grad Melissa (Brewster), pitched in to help, too. “His family, his mom, his dad, we just kind of over time fell in love with the family,” Howell says. “They’re just really good people.” Stewart says, “He still talks to me today like a father. He gives me tips on life and things to improve.”
Then, there’s J.W. Walsh. His teammate at Oklahoma State has been his best friend since they were in the ninth grade. Their friendship got off to an inauspicious start, though. They first met on the basketball court during a middle school game. The two were from different schools, and during one play Stewart thought Walsh was guarding him a little too close. “His defense was too physical,” Stewart laughs. “I didn’t like it. Me and him kind of had an altercation on the court … I had the ball, and he was just all on me. And I don’t like people being all in my face or in my bubble. So I was like, ‘You’d better get off me! You’d better move!’ When I said that, it made him do it even harder … We talk about it all the time. It’s funny to think about now.” Photo / bruce waterfield
continues
79
But Stewart was getting bored. Opposing quarterbacks stopped throwing Later on, the two attended Guyer High School his way, so he started together. Stewart was always a bit undersized but doing double-duty on played bigger than he was. He settled in at defenoffense at wide receiver. sive back as a sophomore when he nabbed a pair He returned punts, too. of interceptions and earned a reputation as a solid Stewart was becoming tackler. Meanwhile his best friend grew into one an all-around good footof the top quarterbacks in Texas. ball player. His senior year, he caught 56 passes for 971 yards and 10 touchdowns while bringing the wood on defense with 85 tackles and seven interceptions. Scout.com called him one of the top defensive back prospects in the country. It was a dream come true to attend OSU, which he says is where he always wanted to be. He initially committed to Texas A&M where his cousin Lionel Smith was a cornerback. But he switched when Walsh committed to OSU, and he learned the Cowboys would let him play receiver. The Aggies thought of him as more of a corner, too, like his cousin. Plus, there was something different about Stillwater, he says. The people recognize him, say hi, and tell him how excited they are to see him play. “There’s nothing wrong with Oklahoma State,” Stewart says. “Everything about the fans, the coaches, how they’re like family to Photo / bruce waterfield you, it just couldn’t get any better. I couldn’t help but switch my commitment.” Everything about Stewart turned in an exciting year for a freshman on a the fans, the coaches, team loaded at wide receiver with one of the best to ever play the position in Justin Blackmon. He had two touchdown how they’re like catches and 93 yards against Texas Tech. When OSU was family to you, it just down at Texas A&M, Stewart had a huge 28-yard reception against his jilted suitor team that helped lead the comeback. couldn’t get any In fact, Stewart looked a lot like Blackmon on that play. better.” He caught the ball on an out, turned up field and the Aggies couldn’t bring him down. His extended family in attendance got a big laugh when he made his cousin, cornerback Lionel Smith, whiff on a tackle near the end of the play. “I think he wanted to push me out of bounds, but when I moved my shoulder he missed,” Stewart laughs.
80
july 2012
Photo / bruce waterfield
The play has generated much grief giving since. “Honestly, I was so in the zone, I didn’t know it was him until my dad showed me the YouTube highlight. We talk about it every once in a while. Especially since he got signed by the Dallas Cowboys — that made me feel real good about myself. And he’s my cousin so that just made it that much better.” Stewart is starting in 2012 at inside receiver. He should be a match up nightmare due to his deceptive speed and quickness. In that sense he’s a lot like his predecessor, Josh Cooper. Stewart is too fast for bigger, slower linebackers and safeties to cover. He’s also stronger and quicker than most cornerbacks. He’s in the mix, too, to return punts. “I’m just ready now. This is going to be a big year for me and the team. I’m just ready. I can’t explain it.” He still misses New Orleans even though as a kid he couldn’t safely walk much further than three streets over from his house. He has a lot of family members who stayed behind after the hurricane, and they’re still there today. He also misses the food. There are soul food places in the Dallas area, but he laments they can’t replicate New Orleans cuisine. They also don’t have Mardi Gras. So he’s tried to bring a little Cajun flavor to Stillwater. “We had beignets at training table (OSU athletics’ food service for players) one time,” he says. “I’ve asked every day since if they can keep making them. My mom can make them from biscuits.” Regardless, he’s found yet another home at Oklahoma State. His family comes to each game. And he’s made OSU fans out of the McCowns, Photo / gary lawson who’ve got a new favorite team to watch. As tough as things have been, Stewart knows he has it pretty good. “He’s had a hard life,” McCown says. “He doesn’t dwell on it. He continues moving forward … He never meets a stranger and everybody remembers him. In high school he was always, always, always so thankful. He’s just an all-around good kid. He’s been through more than his share of problems, and he’s moving forward with a big smile.”
81
THE
One TRUE ,
ORANGE
I’ve been thinking of writing a book. One of suspense, intrigue,
were added in 1949, sixteen more in
Several years ago when OSU
1958, and fluorescent hues in 1972 (of
fans decided the right Orange
course it happened in the ’70s).
was in vogue, it seems all kinds of
mystery and all things “hot” inside
Textile and manufacturing
Orange products began popping
college sports. I’ll call it 50 Shades of
companies caught on and began
up. People began to look for it in their
Orange . Surely that would have
cranking out all kinds of products
favorite shoes, clothing and depart-
been a better title of the book by E.
in various shades of Orange .
ment stores. Fans began to ask, “Can
L. James. Even for those of you who
So, beware the bogus Orange!
I get that in Orange ?” Just about
loved the new gray infused into the
There are Orange purses,
the time I think I have seen everything,
uniforms last year, everyone knows
watches, boots, belts, cups, coffins,
someone walks past me with an
Orange is way more steamy. I have some great Orange
wash-and-wear, underwear and
original Orange product that tops
everything in between. If it can be
them all.
neckties.
creatively crafted and communicated
Perhaps I’d be better off steering clear of the “shady” side of things and focus on something I know a little bit
to creators, they can make it in
Orange . But the real question is: Is it the
It just so happens that Orange “pops” well off of black, white and, yes, gray. I’ve decided Orange is a very distinguishing, flattering and unique
about: Orange . In 1903 Crayola
right Orange ? There is amber,
color, and that sets us apart from
developed a new product called
apricot, tangerine, peach, pumpkin,
most all the rest of the sporting world.
Crayons. Eight basic colors were
rust, burnt orange, safety orange …
produced, the brightest of which was
you get the idea.
Orange . Forty additional colors
82
july 2012
I like it. It’s distinctive. In fact, I believe Orange makes people look smarter. After all, I bet the sharpest crayon in your box of 64 was … Orange .
go Pokes!
Kyle Wray Vice President Enrollment Management & Marketing
Follow Follow thethe Cowboys Cowboys to Tucson! to Tucson!
OKLAHOMA OKLAHOMA STATE STATE AT ARIZONA AT ARIZONA SATURDAY, SATURDAY, SEPT.SEPT. 8, 2012 8, 2012 Take advantage Take advantage of ourof football our football ticketticket & travel & travel packages packages
For every For every sportsport and season, and season, Stillwater’s Stillwater’s full-service full-service traveltravel agency agency – International – International ToursTours – – has the hasperfect the perfect package package for for Cowboy Cowboy & Cowgirl & Cowgirl fans. fans.
Brandon Weeden Brandon Weed 1st Team All-Big 12 1st Team All-Big 1 2011 Male Student-Athlete 2011 of the Male Year Student-Athlete B.S., Marketing 2011 B.S., Marketing 20
JOIN THE JOIN TEAM THE TEAM BEHIND BEHIND THE TEAMS. THE TEAMS. The POSSE is the lifebloodThe of the POSSE Oklahoma is the lifeblood State athletic of theprogram, Oklahoma providing State athletic scholarships program, providing scholarships for 450+ Cowboy and Cowgirl for 450+ student-athletes Cowboy andfrom Cowgirl all ofstudent-athletes OSU’s varsity sports. from all Your of OSU’s generosity varsity sports. Your generosity makes it possible to compete makes at the it possible highest to level compete – in the at classroom the highestand level on–the in the playing classroom field. and on the playing field. Annual contributions to OSU Annual Athletics contributions totaling $150 to OSU or more Athletics qualify totaling for membership. $150 or moreBenefits qualify include for membership. Benefits include the award-winning POSSEthe Magazine, award-winning POSSE star POSSE decal Magazine, for your POSSE automobile, star decal educational for yourtax automobile, deduction educational tax deduction and more. Stay connected and to more. OSU Athletics Stay connected ... Join our to OSU winning Athletics team...today. Join our winning team today.