POSSE Magazine - Spring 2023

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LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD

BY KEVIN KLINT WORTH

At the end of Mike Holder’s tenure as Oklahoma State’s athletic director, there was no big sendo . He wouldn’t allow it. There was no retirement party documenting his accomplishments as an administrator or regaling tales of his dominance as a college golf coach. He turned down numerous media requests to talk about his tenure in charge and simply went about his business on July 1, 2021, as if nothing had changed.

It was Day One of his post-AD duties.

In collegiate athletics we like to recognize each other as often as we can. Presenting awards is practically a cottage industry. If you have worked in athletics any time at all, at some point someone wants to give you a piece of hardware with your name on it. But Mike Holder wouldn’t allow himself to even be nominated, and good luck getting him to show up for a banquet in which he would have been the center of attention.

In many ways, the humble attitude of Holder, who was always too focused on the next task to celebrate any achievement, was a disservice … to Mike Holder.

As a coach and administrator, Holder had lofty expectations. He was demanding, and working for him (and I’m sure playing for him) was both rewarding and at times stressful, as he would freely admit. When I was young and foolish, and new to the administration team, I asked Coach for tips on hitting out of a sand trap. His advice was something akin to anyone lacking the skills necessary to successfully hit out of a trap would be smart to not put the ball into a trap.

I wanted to write this column two years ago, but Mike Holder was my boss and told me to forget it. I double checked with human resources (twice) to make sure he couldn’t fire me for writing it now. Athletic Director Chad Weiberg has my back

because he agrees with me. Mike Holder has done too much for Oklahoma State to not be recognized, at some level, for his e orts

When people think of Oklahoma State golf, they think of it as a tradition-rich program with every advantage: the history, the funding, the facilities, the trophies. It, of course, wasn’t always like that. Mike Holder turned Cowboy Golf into the superpower it is now. Because of Mike Holder, PING sought out OSU when it was a fledgling golf equipment company. It was not OSU reaching out to PING. It eventually became a very beneficial and sincere relationship between both parties.

In 32 years as a golf coach his numbers are well known but still astounding: eight national championships, 10 NCAA runner-up finishes (which continue to him awake at night), 26 top-five finishes, 112 All-Americans and 21 academic All-Americans.

That should be enough for anyone’s Hall of Fame. But then he changed careers.

As an athletic director, among his coaching hires were soccer coach Colin Carmichael (two NCAA Elite Eights and six conference championships), Chris Young for women’s tennis (NCAA runner-up and a perennial top 10 program) softball coach Kenny Gajewski (three straight Women’s College World Series appearances and a Big 12 title), track and cross-country coach Dave Smith (three national championships) and Alan Bratton for men’s golf (2018 national championship).

From his hiring as athletic director in 2005 until his retirement in 2021, Oklahoma State opened the Sherman E. Smith Indoor Training Center, the Michael and Anne Greenwood Tennis Center, Neal Patterson Stadium for soccer, and O’Brate Stadium for baseball. OSU also undertook and completed the massive Boone Pickens

Stadium project, the construction of an outdoor track and launched work on what is now the America’s best place to run: the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course Coupled with the construction of Karsten Creek, Holder authored a complete transformation of an athletic department.

And he and Boone Pickens did something maybe even more important. They taught the legions of Oklahoma Staters that anything is possible. No dream is too big. It can happen here.

And in that spirit, under a new administration, OSU Athletics has announced plans to build on the foundation that Mike Holder and Boone Pickens laid. The vision plan announced in February brings the concept of the athletic village to the next generation. It is bold. It is visionary and it will a ect every student-athlete on the campus. We are dreaming big, just like the partnership of Holder and Pickens taught us.

Serious question: Is Mike Holder the greatest fundraiser in the history of college athletics? If he is not, the list of those ahead of him is very, very short — and probably non-existent.

Mike Holder has spent his entire adult life in Stillwater and more specifically, on the OSU campus. He and his wife, Robbie, began their lives together in the married student housing located just south of the cross country course. OSU and the Holders grew up together.

The next time you see Mike Holder, which could be on a treadmill at 6 a.m. if you are around, maybe say thanks to him for a lifetime of service to Oklahoma State Athletics. Thanks for what he has done and thanks for what we are doing now because of him.

But don’t ask for golf tips.

As a coach, administrator and fundraiser, Mike Holder has left an undeniable legacy at Oklahoma State.

POSSE MAGAZINE

NCAA Indoor

3000m champion

Fouad Messaoudi

SPRING 2023

POSSE Magazine Sta

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF / SENIOR ASSOCIATE ATHLETIC DIRECTOR KEVIN KLINTWORTH

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MEET THE NEW BOSS PHOTOBRUCEWATERFIELD

Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yorkmark spoke to an attentive group of Cowboy and Cowgirl student-athletes prior to the Feb. 14 OSU men's basketball game. Yormark's remarks touched on the future of the Big 12, including creating better systems for student-athlete success, along with his goal of enhancing entertainment value as part of his vision for a "younger, hipper, cooler" conference. The commissioner also took questions from the audience.

PAR ExCELLENCE

Oklahoma State women's golf swept both the team and individual titles at the Big 12 Championships at the Dallas Athletic Club, defeating runner-up Baylor by seven strokes while Maddison Hinson-Tolchard held o the field by a single stroke. Clemence Martin finished in a tie for third at 1-under, while Thitaporn Saithip (13th), Han-Hsuan Yu (21st) and Rina Tatematsu (34th) rounded out the scoring for the Cowgirls.

The victory marked the Cowgirls' 11th Big 12 title and their second in the last three years for Head Coach Greg Robertson.

PHOTOCHLOEHATFIELD

Story by Clay Billman

Photos by Bruce Waterfield and Ben Cohen

Alex Maier runs this town. Literally.

Training on the red dirt roads of rural Stillwater, the senior is campaigning to become one of the top distance runners in Oklahoma State history.

His platform is a podium. And his résumé boasts school records, conference crowns and All-America honors.

No longer a dark horse, the native of Flower Mound, Texas, has garnered a groundswell of attention over the last year.

At the 2022 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., Maier nearly captured the 10,000 meter title. With a blistering 55-second bell lap, Maier showed his stamina, finishing in a time of 28:12.68, just .38 seconds shy of the winner.

This past fall, he led the Cowboys to an agonizingly close runner-up finish at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, held on OSU’s immaculate home turf — the Greiner Family OSU Cross Country Course. Maier paced the Pokes, placing fifth overall over the 10K distance, as Northern Arizona took the team trophy in the only tie-breaker in meet history.

Two weeks after the cross country season ended, Maier barnstormed to Boston and smashed his own school record in the indoor 5,000 meters by 14 seconds with a time of 13.11.80.

Last year, Maier earned medalist honors at conference meets in Ames (two Big 12 indoor titles) and Lubbock (Big 12 Cross Country individual and team titles, as well as the 5,000 meter outdoor conference championship), along with

“

He’s got my vote,” says Dave Smith, OSU’s Director of Track and Field and Cross Country. “Alex is extremely competitive. He’s passionate. He wants to be the best.”

“It’s cool,” Maier says. “I don’t focus on the accolades too much. That’s just not how I’m wired, but it is fun. I don’t mind it.”

The electrical engineering major is indeed wired di erently. Maier built a homemade amplifier for his headphones when he was in high school. He says he recently hacked his Xbox 360.

“You can crack it open and solder a couple points on it so you can kind of glitch the system, like a reset,” Maier says. “It’s basically a way to get past the security on it to run unsigned code so you can do all sorts of cool mods and download games to play on it. I’ll do stu like that for fun.”

The Big 12’s fastest man on grass is also one of the smartest. Maier was named the conference Men’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete of the Year for 2022.

“He’s exceptionally bright,” Smith says. “Alex is incredibly comfortable in his own skin, and I can tell he’s never trying to impress anybody. He’s never doing something for what somebody else might think.”

Maier prefers to let his feet do the talking.

“The guys watch and see what he’s doing, but he’s never telling anybody what to do. He just kind of quietly does it, but people observe it and see. He speaks louder by saying nothing.”

During cross country season, Smith says Maier was in bed by 8 p.m. every night — and it rubbed o on his running mates.

being half awake. And you know, I think his leadership and his example pulled our average bedtime down from probably 11:00 to 9:30.”

As an underclassman, Maier says he looked up to former Cowboy Ryan Smeeton, whose track accolades include three top-four NCAA finishes in the steeplechase.

“Ryan is very much a lead-by-example type. He and I have kind of the same personality — quieter, not like a super rah-rah kind of guy.

“When I came in, I just watched him, his attitude and his approach, and the way he carried himself,” Maier adds. “Even when he was dealing with things like injuries or would have like a race that wasn’t great, he would never wear it on his sleeve and bring other people down. So I’ve tried to kind of mimic that sort of leadership style.

“My philosophy is that people who are really driven and dedicated don’t need people to push them to be that way. If you truly want to excel in this sport, you have to be a self-starter. My job as a leader is just to set the example.”

The Extra Mile

Smith says Maier is constantly honing his mental and physical abilities.

“He is a craftsman for sure. He is dedicated to his craft. He’s going to do it the best he can to perfect it. He’s leaving nothing to chance.

“I think Alex enjoys this journey to see how good he can

“He’s got almost zero social media footprint. He’s just not into that. If he’s got free time, he’s not on his phone. At our preseason camp this year, he would get up early in the morning, grab his yoga mat and disappear. Two hours later, he’d come back from the woods after doing yoga or reading a book or meditating. He’s taken up working on the mental side of his game.”

An avid reader, Maier finds inspiration from the insight of others.

“You know, there’s a great quote that says, ‘Confidence comes from being physically and mentally prepared,’ and that’s what training and practice are all about. So when you step on that line ready to perform at your best, you don’t have any doubts because you know you’ve controlled all the factors that you can. You just trust all the preparation.”

Before the starter’s pistol goes o , Maier has already run the race in his mind.

“I like visualizing a lot — that’s one thing I’m really big on,” he explains. “The night before a big race, I’ll lay down for 15-20 minutes and just kind of run the race in my head. That helps me feel mentally prepared as I go into the day of the race.

“There’s another great quote basically saying, ‘Your subconscious mind can’t tell the di erence between imagination and reality.’ So for me, if I’ve practiced running a race in my head leading up to a big race, and then I step on that line, I’m calmer. It’s like, ‘Oh, I’ve done this before.’ That’s one part of my routine that I really enjoy.”

The key to distance running, Maier says, is “you have to be comfortable being uncomfortable.”

“That’s kind of the nature of the sport,” he explains, “to be in that zone where you’re not feeling great. It hurts a little bit, but being able to not let those let those feelings and those thoughts overcome you … Just take it one lap, one mile, one section at a time and kind of go into that (mental) space where you’re thinking, ‘This is OK’ and breaking it down that way.

“I think any athlete, at any level, is kind of familiar with that,” he adds, “where you just learn to be present in the moment. My mantra for when I’m in races is, ‘Just breathe and focus.’ I try and key in on relaxing and focusing on my breathing, and that helps center me in the present. I think to compete at your best, especially as a distance runner, you need to be in the present, and you can’t be thinking, ‘I’m already feeling uncomfortable, and I still have 15 more laps to go’ or something like that. That gets very self-defeating very quickly. I know it sounds cliché, but you have to learn to take it one lap at a time.”

Maier’s mental toughness, combined with his physical abilities, have resulted in some unprecedented performances in OSU’s storied program.

“We did a workout on a dirt road course we’ve been using for 20 years,” Smith says. “It’s a 10-mile tempo run, and this course has been run literally thousands of times. Until last year, only one guy had ever broken 50 minutes. German Fernandez (2009 NCAA 1,500 meter champion) went 48:47 … In 2021, Maier went 47:17 — 90 seconds faster than German ever had and almost three minutes faster than anybody else ever had in our program!”

That amounts to a 4:44 mile pace.

“Dave has all the data of the guys who have run that exact same loop, which is cool because you can compare times and kind of see where you’re at,” Maier says. “I was going solo that day, and it just so happened that I was feeling really good. I wasn’t trying to go out and run a super-fast time.”

Maier typically logs about 120 miles per week on the campaign trail.

His training regimen stands out, Smith says, even at a program with a long history of talented runners.

“It’s definitely the highest (mileage) in our program and one of the highest ever,” he says. “Girma Mecheso, Ryan Vail, Shane Moskowitz … German might have had weeks higher than that. Usually if a guy gets to 100-105, that’s about as high as it gets.”

The miles have made Maier more resilient.

“Here in Oklahoma, the weather is not always ideal for running,” Maier admits. “Half the year, it’s super hot, and you can’t run past 9 a.m., plus it gets super windy — 20-30 mile an hour gusts. And it gets cold, too, with freezing rain and stu

me to build a toughness and resilience, just dealing with the external factors like that in general. Like I was saying, just being in situations where you’re uncomfortable. I think I excel in those elements.”

The OSU program has been polling well lately, thanks to Maier and his talented teammates. The quartet of Fouad Messaoudi, DeJuana McArthur, Hafez Mahadi and Ryan Schoppe broke the collegiate record in the Distance Medley Relay before capturing the NCAA title with Charlie Bartholomew and Juan Diego Castro plugging in for McArthur and Mahadi. This academic year, the Cowboys earned top-10 team rankings in all three disciplines: Indoor, Outdoor and Cross Country.

While track can seem like more of an individual sport, Maier says he enjoys the camaraderie of cross country.

That would be a huge thing.

“I was really happy with how cross season went, even though the ending was heartbreaking, obviously, being so close to winning a national title. But I think big picture-wise, just seeing how far the team has come since I was a freshman when we didn’t even make Nationals, it’s been really special. We’ve got great chemistry.”

“The way we do things in track and field is a little di erent,” Smith explains, “because it’s very individualized. If guys want to swing for the fences, that’s up to them. We talk about best strategies and ways to approach things, and Alex listens and is very coachable. But he’s got the freedom to call an audible at any time if he wants to ... There’s probably nobody out there who can run away from him. And if anybody goes out hard, Alex can match it.”

Alex is extremely competitive. He’s passionate. He wants to be the best.

— Dave Smith

Smith — along with the rest of the running world — saw the sophomore emerge as a breakout recruit on a powerhouse prep team in 2016, only to su er a series of setbacks the following season.

“As a sophomore, Alex was one of the best kids in the country,” Smith recalls, “but his junior year was a struggle. I think he dealt with some changes in his body and mechanics and other things he had to overcome. Then he was plagued with chronic sinus infections. At the time, it appeared unlikely that he would compete at an elite level in college. But I looked at him and thought, ‘Talent doesn’t go away.’”

“I think in high school it was kind of an amalgamation of things where I ran into some struggles, and then I really was hard on myself,” Maier explains. “I had these incredibly high expectations. I kind of had this pattern where I would set the bar really high, not hit it, and then beat myself up over it.

“I kind of overtrained myself, too, because my response to not running a time I wanted, or not running a race I was happy with, was to try twice as hard. I would just sort of put my head down and be like, ‘I need to do more. I need to run faster, work out harder.’ And I think I got into a cycle where I was just damaging myself after a certain point. Brute force is not the best approach. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really accomplish anything. So I think that kind of spun out of control for a bit, but I got back on track my senior year as I got more mature emotionally and understood myself better.”

During the recruiting process, Maier had shown interest in his home-state Longhorns, as well as the distance-running mecca of Boulder, Colo.

“I visited here, Texas and Colorado,” he recalls. “I met all three coaches. All of them are great coaches, but I vividly remember Dave sitting me down at a restaurant on my visit — at the time it was the start of my senior year, and I was still kind of dealing with those struggles I had in my junior year. Dave sat across from me at the table, and he basically said, ‘Look, I know you’re going through a tough period right now, but I don’t care about that. I look at you, and I see your attitude. I see your approach. I see your talent. I believe in that, and I know that you’re going to find your way out of this. And if you come here, you’re going to do big things.’

“At the time that gave me such a boost of confidence. Nobody was really in my corner, encouraging me in the way Dave was, just sitting and talking with me. Looking back, that moment is when I decided I was going to OSU.”

Maier’s senior season culminated in a Texas Class 6A state cross country title at Flower Mound, and his development has been trending up ever since. Half a decade later, a more mature Maier looks back on his formative years with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

“There’s a quote I really like that says, ‘We can’t always control what happens to us, but we can control how we respond to it.’ I think sometimes being such a perfectionist caused me to respond to adversity in a way that wasn’t the most healthy or beneficial.

“All of the times and marks and places and everything aside, that’s one thing I’ve been most proud of — my own personal development. I’ve stopped being my own worst enemy.”

Before every season, Maier writes down two sets of goals.

“There’s a set called ‘Process Goals’ and another set called ‘Outcome Goals,’” he explains. “Outcome Goals are your more traditional type: I want to be a national champion. I want to run a PR (personal record). I want to break 13 minutes in the 5K … They tend to be goals where there are external variables you can’t really control. For example, you get sick right before the race. You can’t really control that.

“Process Goals are the more day-to-day, immediate things you can control, like: I’m going to get 9 or 10 hours of sleep every night. I’m going to run X amount of miles a week. I’m going to be stretching this much. I’m going to be journaling, writing down my logs … If you control those things, it’s going to make those Outcome Goals more likely or more achievable.”

It’s primarily a race against himself, Maier says.

“It’s one thing to have goals, but you also have to think about the choices you’re going to make every single day to get you there. Each day I can make sure I’m taking these small steps to be better than I was.”

As for the constituents in Cowboy Country, the results are in: Maier is a winner.

Editor’s note: “Maier” is actually pronounced with one syllable — as in “Mare” — but don’t let that spoil the clever public relations spin.

Taylor Roe and Maier at the 2023 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships.

Big Time AT BIG 12

The Cowgirls captured the 2023 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championship for the first time with an outstanding all-around performance totaling 146 points, knocking o the heavily-favored and No. 1 ranked Texas Longhorns. Oklahoma State's scoring was led by individual champs Ariadni Adamopoulou (pole vault), Billah Jepkirui (mile), Taylor Roe (5,000m) and Gabija Galvydyte, Ansley Scott, Kaylie Politza and Jepkirui (DMR).

Roe (runner-up in the mile and third in the 3,000m) earned high-point scorer honors with 24 team points, while multi-event athlete Bailey Golden scored 21 with two silvers and a 4th in the pentathlon, long jump and high jump, respectively.

On the men's side, the Cowboys took second with 111 points as OSU tallied the most combined points among conference co-ed squads.

PHOTOSMASONHARBOUR

STORY BY WADE McWHORTER

PHOTOS BY BRUCE WATERFIELD and USA SOFTBALL

There was a time Kenny Gajewski questioned if Kelly Maxwell was good enough to pitch for Oklahoma State.

Today the Cowgirls’ head coach will tell you Maxwell is one of the top two or three left-handed pitchers in the world

So how exactly did we get from one extreme to the other?

A little bit of mechanics and a whole lot of competitive drive, work ethic and attitude.

Both Gajewski and Maxwell remember the meeting well.

Following Maxwell’s redshirt freshman season in 2019, the OSU coaching sta sat down with her to talk about the future, and Gajewski voiced his concerns about whether his young southpaw should continue her career in Stillwater.

“It wasn’t a bad conversation, but it went the way I thought,” Gajewski said. “It was, ‘You don’t think I’m good enough’ — that was how I perceived it, whether that’s what she thought or not. At that moment, she needed to get better. And she knew that.

“We talked about why I thought it could work. I said, ‘I’m all in, but you’ve got to be all in with me. If you’re not all in, this is a bad move.’”

The OSU boss brought up Florida State’s Meghan King, a left-hander like Maxwell who had redshirted before blossoming into one of the best pitchers in college softball.

“There’s not any reason why that can’t be the storyline for you, but it won’t be easy — it’s going to take work,” Gajewski told Maxwell.

As Gajewski anticipated and hoped, Maxwell took the conversation as a challenge. The thought of transferring never crossed her mind, and she sure as heck wasn’t about to quit.

“When he told me, ‘If you can’t make some of these changes, I’m not sure you’re going to be able to pitch here,’ I took that to heart and was like, ‘Well, that’s not going to happen — because I am,’” Maxwell said.

“When people hear those words and think, ‘Maybe I’m not wanted here, I’m going to transfer and leave,’ that’s not me. I’m not a quitter. I think way down the road. I just want to prove them wrong.”

That mindset is one that doesn’t surprise anyone who knows Kelly Maxwell.

Growing up, Maxwell wanted to be like her older brother, Cole, who was always into sports. She grew up in large family that included over a dozen cousins, with all those around her age being boys.

“Playing during the holidays was always tackle football so I had to learn how to be tough real quick,” Maxwell said. “I never wanted to not be a part of it, so I’d always join in. And they didn’t take it easy on me. That helped with my competitiveness and being how I am today.”

Maxwell says she was five years old when she first gravitated to softball, and her love of the sport and competitive nature took o , as did her a nity for being in the circle.

“I picked up a bat and a ball and started playing around the house, and my dad was like, ‘Huh, you may be pretty good!’” Maxwell said. “He put me in Little League, and I fell in love from the start.

“I loved to pitch because I always wanted the ball in my hands — I was the ball hog of the team.”

It didn’t take long for Maxwell’s talent and competitive nature to be noticed by those other than family members.

At the age of 12, Maxwell began working with a personal pitching coach, Kyla Holas, who is a former All-American pitcher and collegiate and professional softball coach.

“Even when (Maxwell) was young, she was always talked about — she was a big deal even though I don’t think she had the confidence that she has now to be that,” Holas said. “She could always spin the ball well and throw with a lot of speed. When she came in, I was really excited to see her grow and grow.”

Maxwell grew into an All-American at Clear Springs High School in League City, Texas, and arrived at OSU with an impressive résumé.

But after that first year in Stillwater in which she didn’t compete and had the “make-or-break” talk with Gajewski,

Bargfeldt’s old-school, detailed approach to pitching meshed perfectly with Maxwell, but most significant was Maxwell learning to pitch out of the glove to create deception and developing spin.

Under Bargfeldt’s tutelage, Maxwell became more of a north-south pitcher than an east-west one. Her previous changeup became her drop ball, and she developed a new changeup while establishing the rise ball as a strikeout pitch.

With the ability to throw di erent speeds with di erent movements allowing her to get ahead of hitters, the new version of Maxwell was ready to shine.

“She became deceptive in throwing the ball in a similar tunnel, and that makes it very di cult to see which way that pitch is going to break,” Bargfeldt said. “Having vertically moving pitches is the toughest thing for hitters to deal with.”

It didn’t take long to see the results of Maxwell’s labor.

In her first collegiate appearance on Feb. 8, 2020, Maxwell threw a five-inning perfect game against Florida A&M. A month later, she tossed a no-hitter against Missouri State.

The legend was born and starting to grow at a rapid rate.

no yelling, heck, even a slight smile is uncommon.

But that’s just Kelly being Kelly, the way she’s always been — it’s the Maxwell family way, if you will.

“When I was little, my mom got a call from the teacher. ‘Is your child okay? She doesn’t show any emotion,’” Maxwell said. “That’s just how we are. But it doesn’t mean that I’m any less competitive than someone who fist pumps or yells — I just kind of keep it to myself.

“I think it helps that the team knows I’m a Steady Eddie, whether I get a strikeout or I give up a home run, I’m still going to be the same and be a calming presence.”

Bargfeldt calls her “that quiet assassin.”

“She’s just the stoic, nothing-bothers-me type. That gives our team behind her so much confidence, that nothing rattles her,” Bargfeldt said. “She just stays in the moment, what’s next, very businesslike.”

“Kelly is very under control and keeps her emotions in check,” added Gajewski. “I can tell now when she’s pissed, but it took me a little time. I can tell when she’s happy — you get a smile. It’s not a jump up and down and fist pump, which is what I’ve always loved, but I’ve learned that emotion comes in

all in for this program.”

And this program is one in which Maxwell has become a superstar, one she has helped reached new heights as she rewrites the record books along the way.

Maxwell’s is a name that is now mentioned alongside Cowgirl greats like Michele Smith, Lauren Bay and Melanie Roche

“Those are women that paved the way for our program, set all those records,” Maxwell said. “I’m not looking to be a record-setter, I just want to leave the program better than when I came in.”

Mission accomplished — and she’s still going, having already committed to returning to Stillwater for the 2024 season.

With the trajectory of her career, that bodes well for both the Cowgirls and Maxwell.

OSU has made three consecutive Women’s College World Series appearances, and last season fell just one win shy of the championship finals.

The bar is set high, and the Cowgirls’ recent success has them convinced the goal of hoisting a national championship trophy is very real.

resources, we have the coaching sta , and we have the talent to do anything. We can do whatever we want if we put our minds to it and work for it.

“Being there (WCWS) the last three years, it’s not, ‘Oh, we’re trying to go for a fourth.’ We want to win it — and we can.”

If OSU adds that coveted NCAA trophy to its case, Maxwell’s performance in the circle will be a big reason why. Her numbers are simply astounding — and keep in mind, she’s still got more than a season to go.

• A career ERA hovering under 1.50

• A strikeout total that will soon surpass 600

• Nearly 50 wins and 20 shutouts

Maxwell is already in the top 10 in program history in shutouts, strikeouts and winning percentage. She has tossed three no-hitters and a perfect game, and she also counts a combined perfect game on her list.

“She is the definition of ace,” Gajewski said. “She’s a special talent, can do special things. She’s got a brain that’s a little di erent, and she can translate it into her body. She picks things up quickly, which is a gift.

“Amazing kid from an amazing family who prepared her for these moments. Very grounded, very disciplined, respectful — she’s all of that, along with being one of the best left-handers in the world. It’s pretty cool, and I’m sure glad she’s on our team.”

When Holas is asked what makes Maxwell so great, her answer is simple: “lefty and spin.”

“Her ball just does stu that people spend lots of money trying to get,” Holas said. “And not everyone can grasp that concept the way that she has. Then you add that lefty factor, and it’s just something that’s hard to do and hard to beat, and it makes you one of the best of the best when you can do it better than most people.”

Along with having a hand in it, Bargfeldt has enjoyed the up-close view of his star pupil over the last four years. He may call the pitches, but he trusts Maxwell fully to execute them or even shake him o if she’s not comfortable.

The result is a pitcher the likes of which Bargfeldt hasn’t seen in his more than two decades as a coach.

“It would be hard to say that there’s anybody better,” Bargfeldt said. “Were there a couple as dominant? Maybe. But you can’t say they were better.”

Maxwell admits she enjoys the fruits of her labor but shrugs o all the high praise.

“I just let it go in one ear and out the other, don’t let it get to my head much,” Maxwell said.

Humility and hard work are just a few of the reasons Maxwell enjoyed one of the most dominant seasons in school history as a junior in 2022.

Named a first-team All-American, she posted a 21-5 record that included a 1.22 ERA and 12 shutouts in 35 appearances. She tossed 20 complete games and struck out 313 in 189 2/3 innings.

Want more? She ranked second nationally with 11.6 strikeouts per seven innings and was fourth in the NCAA by allowing only 3.5 hits per seven innings.

If that wasn’t enough, over the summer Maxwell traded in her orange-and-black for the red, white and blue of USA Softball and tossed six scoreless innings with four strikeouts for Team USA during competition in Japan.

Maxwell’s 2022 performances at the collegiate and international levels only proved to Gajewski that praising his hurler as one of the best lefties in the world wasn’t just biased coach-speak.

“I wouldn’t back o that — she’s got to be in the top three without a doubt,” Gajewski said. “She’s done it in the best collegiate setting you could, she’s done it on the national stage, she’s done it on the international stage now. It’s so cool to watch her evolution from day one to now and what she has made herself into.”

Holas was on hand in Japan to see Maxwell vying to become the next left-hander in line to take the ball for Team USA and echoes the sentiments of OSU’s head coach.

“Kelly took that opportunity and soared,” Holas said. “To me, international is just completely di erent. You’re representing your country and playing teams who play the game a di erent way, so you’re having to be unique in how you approach things.

“Seeing her break in that door and take on that role and opportunity, I think that’s absolutely correct — she is one of the best left-handers in the world right now.”

Maxwell’s successful foray into international competition gave her another goal — while she’s unsure of pursuing a professional softball career, she is focused on playing for Team USA in the 2028 Olympics

Until that time comes, Maxwell will continue to shine in Stillwater, where along with being the ace of the Cowgirls, she is pursuing a master’s degree in health administration. She once pondered the field of anesthesiology but now isn’t sure, saying, “I just want to do something to help others.”

Whatever the future holds, be it trophies, records or individual honors, the story of Kelly Maxwell is one that will endure and inspire.

“You don’t know what’s inside until you actually coach people and you’re around them on a day-to-day basis,” Gajewski said. “Kelly is right up there with the biggest success stories I’ve been a part of. And when you see her get all the success and not change — she’s still the same Kelly — that’s an inspiration to everyone else.

“It’s an awesome story and one that we’re going to talk about for a lot of years. It’s one that we’re going to talk about when we go back to the next kid about redshirting. ‘Hey, we’re not giving up on you, we’re actually investing more. We’re investing another year of scholarship, another year of Alston money, another year of all the things that come with this, for you.’

“In any good relationship, there’s two people working together with a clear understanding of what the goal is and what the path is. Kelly has just stayed on track and done what she needed to do — in school, in softball, just in life.

“It’s the uniqueness about Oklahoma State and why these things can happen here.”

WALK OFF WINNERS

Freshman Nolan Schubart's RBI single in the ninth inning lifted Oklahoma State to a seriesclinching 4-3 victory over Texas at O'Brate Stadium. Reliever Isaac Stebens earned the win on the mound as he pitched out of a huge jam in the eighth after the Longhorns loaded the bases with no outs.

PHOTOBRUCEWATERFIELD

Story by Hallie Hart

Photos by George Bulard and Greg Bullard

Nineteen years after competing on Lewis Field together, Tatum Bell and Josh Fields nearly crossed paths at Oklahoma State again.

Bell, who rushed for more than 4,000 yards during his Cowboy football career, was driving home to Texas when he received a call from his college teammate. Fields, a former star quarterback and infielder at OSU, wondered if Bell was still in Stillwater.

“I just left,” Bell replied, not knowing why Fields had been in Stillwater as well.

Then Fields delivered the surprising news. The two former football players had returned to their college town for the same reason. Only a few hours apart on Dec. 17, 2022, Bell and Fields walked in their caps and gowns in Gallagher-Iba Arena during fall commencement. Although they didn’t catch each other in person, they shared the bond of finishing their bachelor’s degrees at the university where they started.

Fields and Bell were pivotal figures in the OSU football renaissance of the early 2000s. They helped lead the 2002 Cowboys to a Houston Bowl win over Southern Miss. It was Oklahoma State’s first bowl victory since 1988 and helped propel the program to the lofty status it has now occupied for nearly two decades.

“We talked a good minute on the way home,” Bell said.

Bell noted the parallels between his and Fields’ stories. OSU was the launchpad for their professional athletic careers. Bell received his opportunity with the Denver Broncos in the second round of the 2004 NFL Draft, while baseball opened a door for Fields, who was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the first round of that year’s Major League Baseball Draft.

Bell and Fields each had professional careers in sports. Then they entered the workforce. They started families.

And those families — their wives, and especially their children — steadily motivated the former Pokes to circle back to college and obtain their degrees in university studies while continuing to work.

“I knew I would because I had committed too much time,” Fields said. “Also, I wanted to complete it because I have three kids, and it would be kind of hard for me to set a good example for them, ‘Set goals and try to go after them,’ if I didn’t complete mine.”

It wasn’t a question. Fields and Bell were determined to graduate, but they had to find the right time. After balancing work and family life with their online class schedules, they reached the final step of the journey that brought them to Oklahoma State in the early 2000s.

They were ready to step across the stage.

Finishing What You Start

A youthful voice suddenly piped up as Tatum Bell spoke during a phone interview.

Bell paused to answer his child, and that impromptu interaction fit the theme of his message.

The kid in the background of the call was one of Bell’s major inspirations for going back to college. Actually, he had four: Talor, Tatum Jr., Nova and Titan, all of his children.

Talor, 16, wants to pursue a career as a civil rights attorney. Tatum Jr., 14, dreams of playing sports at the next level.

“The two little ones, they’re not even worried about it right now,” Bell said.

Forgive them for not planning their college years yet — Nova is 6, while Titan is only 2. But their time will come, too, and Bell said he couldn’t be the last person in his household without a degree.

“I wanted to make a point to have it and have my kids see me walk across the stage,” Bell said. “Show the importance of, ‘Once you start something, you finish it.’”

As their father sat down to work, Bell’s teenage children learned about the rigor of college assignments. He had to shift into student gear again, but it was sort of like hopping onto a

bicycle for the first time in years. After he wrote one paper, the rest were “pretty easy,” he said.

The bigger adjustment revolved around navigating the virtual classroom. Online courses were just popping up when Bell started college, and they hadn’t taken o in popularity.

Nearly two decades later, when he returned for his final 18 hours of coursework, he could do everything online.

Bell, originally from DeSoto, Texas, told his wife, Nina, he wanted to complete his degree when they moved from Colorado to Texas in 2020. But it was a stressful time for the family as the COVID-19 pandemic set in, and they lived with Bell’s parents for several months until they could tour houses.

In 2022, the timing worked for Bell, an entrepreneur who balanced college coursework and management of his trucking business from home. He joined class discussion threads with current OSU football and basketball players, gaining a sense of anonymity as most students didn’t mention his athletic career.

But his Cowboy stardom hadn’t been forgotten. Bell said several professors sent him messages to say they were fans when he played football.

“It was pretty cool that they remembered me,” Bell said. “It was pretty sweet.”

Some aspects of the OSU experience hadn’t changed.

Scouting, Schooling

Fields could have enrolled in college courses elsewhere.

In 2010, the former Cowboy was playing baseball for the Kansas City Royals, but his career hit a bump when he had to undergo hip surgery. He turned his attention to college again, and Major League Baseball had partnerships with online universities that could have eased the process — yet Fields didn’t apply for those schools.

He didn’t want to just finish what he started. Fields, like Bell, wanted to finish where he started, so he made sure he took his online classes at OSU.

Fields’ Stillwater roots trace back to the late 1970s, before he was born. Rhonda (Kite), his mother, became the first female athlete on a full scholarship at OSU when she played basketball for the Cowgirls.

A Stillwater High School graduate, Fields takes pride in his mom’s accomplishment. No matter how much time passes, it’s a record that cannot be surpassed or undone, he pointed out.

He also blazed a unique path at OSU. As a teenager, Fields jetted from the classroom to the football field to the baseball diamond, fortunate his parents lived in town so they could provide meals amid his hectic schedule.

“I probably should go back and apologize to some of my teachers because I definitely slept a couple times during classes,” Fields laughed, “but I was physically there. It was tough, and having my parents close by really did help a lot because my schedule was quite a bit di erent from all the other students’ schedules, and then it was even quite a bit di erent from my teammates’ schedules.”

With Stillwater influencing so many aspects of his life, Fields forever considers the community home. So, when he decided to go back to school, he realized he needed to reach out to a familiar, encouraging mentor.

He contacted Marilyn Middlebrook, OSU’s associate athletic director for academic a airs.

“She’s Mom to everyone, so I had to text message Mom to basically figure out where I needed to start and what I needed to do to get going,” Fields said. “For everything that she has going with the current athletes, she did not have to give me any time, but she did.”

Just as he did as an 18-year-old college kid, Fields had school and baseball. After playing professionally, he started scouting for teams, sometimes traveling for nearly a third of the year and knocking out a few hours on his degree sheet when he could. Later, he returned home and started an insurance agency.

He also embraced another responsibility: fatherhood.

Fields and his wife, Ashleigh (Tweed) — a former Cowgirl softball player — have three children. Kaden is 13, Jackson is 8 and daughter Karleigh is 5.

“They had to sacrifice some things, too, because there were nights I had to go break away from the family cartoons in the evening to go study and then take a test or something like that,” said Fields, who lives in Edmond. “So they got to be a part of it and see it. Hopefully, that’s something that will stick with them, that they can see I did get the degree, but they also saw some of the stu it took to get there.”

“Pick a field that you can stand out in (in) your field, and try to find a niche in it,” Bell said, “or be an entrepreneur like myself and make your own business. You’ve got options. Just take advantage of whatever OSU has to o er you and build connections.”

On graduation day, Bell was reminded of many of those connections. Friends from many phases of Bell’s life — high school, college, the NFL — congratulated him in group chats. Fields said he thinks Middlebrook was as proud of the former Cowboys as their families were.

And another connection resurfaced, though the men didn’t see each other in person. During Fields’ ceremony, some OSU security o cers congratulated him and said they watched Bell graduate earlier in the day.

Fields hadn’t expected to hear that, but when he did, he knew who to contact.

On the way home from Texas, Bell picked up the phone.

“(It was) really cool,” Fields said. “Made us both laugh a lot. And it was just so random how after all these years and everything, we ended up graduating on the same day.”

The Walk

The wave of emotions surprised Fields as he reached the finish line in Gallagher-Iba Arena.

The milestones were happening soon after he turned 40 — he was finally a man, he joked. Fields could hear his name called, receive his diploma and turn his tassel.

The graduation ceremony meant even more than he had imagined it would.

“In the end, it was something that I was kind of holding on to … that tied me back to Stillwater and Oklahoma State,” Fields said.

“It was the end of a — it wasn’t even an era. It was the end of two decades of me holding on to hours that I still had.”

Earlier in the day, Bell went through a similar experience as his wife, children and his mother, Terry, watched him graduate. The significance of the moment sank in for him, too, as he stood in front of the sea of students who had all gathered for the same reason, regardless of age or the paths that brought them to their diplomas.

Bell documented the journey on Twitter, sharing a selfie in his graduation regalia alongside the caption, “Almost time.”

“I just felt a relief,” Bell said. “Excitement. I had a lot of emotions, to be honest with you.”

Bell said he always dreamed of playing football. He did that, and in December, he achieved another dream. His advice for current student-athletes is to finish college and capitalize on every opportunity.

CAPITOL COWBOYS

A dozen student-athletes traveled to Oklahoma City to meet with legislators and advocate for Oklahoma State, as part of the OSU Alumni Association's "Capitol Cowboys" day in April.

Front: Johnna Orange (track & field), Hayley Ledford (soccer), Ashton Begley (golf), Summer Cha n (soccer), Caroline Nielson (equestrian), and Kylee Munson (soccer).

Back: Sam Sherrer (wrestling), Jake Henry (football), John Wild (golf), Crayton Shaw (track & field), Aden Kelley (football), and Bennett Sherrer (wrestling).

PHOTOCHLOEHATFIELD

OSU ATHLETICS POSSE 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 three points per $100 donation. Planned (deferred) gifts in the new Leave a Legacy Endowment Campaign will receive one 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 carry 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.

PHOTO CAULEN SPENCER

PHOTOS BY ROBIN HERROD, CHRIS LEE, LUIS MEJIA, AND TODD ROSENBERG

Story by Photos by GAVIN LANG BRUCE WATERFIELD and COWBOYS IN THE COMMUNITY

There is no shortage of people who want to help others. There is, however, a shortage of people who actually do it.

Count Mark Moore and a group of former Oklahoma State football players among the doers.

Moore’s Tulsa-based group is called Cowboys in the Community, and it is making the kind of local impact that many aspire talk about, but few accomplish.

Though the group partners with established organizations such as the Tulsa Dream Center and Special Olympics, it’s not always that formal. Sometimes members of the group will assist the elderly. Other times, it’s helping someone unable to do or pay for yard work.

Moving furniture, bathrooms makeovers — you name it.

THE EARLY DAYS

The original idea was sparked in 2019 by Moore, a Cowboy All-America defender, and his wife, Holli, when the two were brainstorming on how they could make a di erence.

Moore then reached out to a handful of OSU teammates, including Melvin Gilliam, Kenny Breath, Scott Henderson and Rich Thompson. The group met at a Tulsa restaurant to come up with a road map and with that, Cowboys in the Community was born.

“That first meeting was just guys catching up like ‘What’s been going on?’,” Gilliam said. “At the very end of it, we said ‘let’s see how we can help some people.’ We hadn’t seen each other in so long. It was perfect and now we’re doing some great things.”

“If anyone gets requests for those who need help, we discuss it, form a plan and then act,” Moore said.

It sounds so basic, but the basic ideas can be the ones with the greatest room for sustainability and growth.

“It started as a novelty thing with a small handful of guys and then it took o ,” Moore said. “At each meeting, we’d ask the guys to invite a new teammate and it grew from there.”

SERVING OTHERS

Speaking separately, Moore and Gilliam both used the word “rewarding” when talking about what it is to be part of Cowboys in the Community and specifically highlighted the Special Olympics as an example.

Gilliam said he and other members of the group are helping coach Special Olympics flag football teams and training them for upcoming competitions.

“The practices are the best because (the Special Olympics athletes) are so excited to be there and see new people,” Gilliam said. “We try to get them in di erent positions. We may only have about four plays that we run over and over, two up the middle and a toss sweep to the left and to the right. They love it and we love being with them.”

It doesn’t always come without hazards, though.

“With old guys like us, we think we can run the 40, but sometimes when we’re out there on the field with them, we may pop a hamstring because we can’t do it anymore,” Moore said. “I’ve had that experience practicing with them. We relive the glory days.”

Cowboys in the Community at the 2021 Jenks Christmas parade.

distribute more than 2,000 toys in advance of Christmas last year.

“It’s work to do the fundraising, but it doesn’t seem like work when you’re doing community service with the guys,” he said.

THE BROTHERHOOD

Cowboys in the Community is built to serve others, but there is a fellowship element as well.

“We all played under Pat Jones at Oklahoma State and he instilled in us that after football we have to stay in touch with the guys we played with,” Moore said.

This group took that to heart.

“ This is family ,” Moore said. “We have our thread on Messenger of guys in the group. It’s people checking in. One recently had knee surgery and we had so many comments in the chat supporting him and checking in. That kind of caring and interaction are part of why we want to grow it.”

Gilliam said when teammate Mahcoe Moore passed away in the summer of 2022, Cowboys in the Community helped his sister, who lives in Los Angeles, organize the funeral and several of the members went to the gravesite.

The brotherhood extends beyond state lines. Gilliam said Cowboys in the Community has members in California, in the south and elsewhere who will conference into meetings.

“They’re not here in Tulsa, but both Thurman (Thomas) and Barry (Sanders) have sent us things for use in silent auctions,” Gilliam said. “Thurman sent us an autographed Hall of Fame poster and an autographed trading card for us to auction o for the Tulsa Dream Center, so he’s part of this as well.”

Jones has also assisted the cause by having members of the group on his popular radio show to share updates.

“We love Coach Jones,” Gilliam said. “The last time we got together to celebrate his birthday, we had about 25-30 guys show up and we had a great time.”

Moore said the brotherhood is real and one of the greatest lessons he has learned through the process is that he can depend on others.

“My wife kills me all the time about I want to do it all myself,” Moore said. “I learned I can give responsibility to other guys, and they are invested in it just like I am. The first year was challenging because I wanted everything perfect. I was trying to do way too much. I felt like it had to be perfect because it was my baby. I learned I can give some of the load to others and they are just as passionate.”

Gilliam said communication within the group flows on a near-daily basis and the re-kindling of the Cowboy Football brotherhood is special to him.

“This has given us a reason to stay connected,” he said. “It might be that we are in more regular communication now than when we were in college. That’s been a great part of this whole thing.”

Moore shared a similar sentiment.

“This helps us check in with one another,” he said. “We are concerned with our brothers and sisters. We felt like this was something that if you are an OSU Cowboy, this is what you do.”

It’s taken on a life of its own. We started slowly but built momentum year over year.

-MARK MOORE

WHAT’S NEXT

O cially certified with non-profit 501(c)(3) status, Cowboys in the Community is eyeing expansion, with an Oklahoma City chapter in the works.

“I’m really passionate about this, Moore said. “I expect so much from the guys and they now have high expectations too. It’s taken on a life of its own. We started slowly but built momentum year over year. In year one, we raised $3,000 for the Tulsa Dream Center. This past year, we raised $10,000.”

Moore said the group’s main focus currently is to give more each year to the Tulsa Dream Center and to do more with the Special Olympics, but Cowboys in the Community wants to continue to grow and partner with other people and organizations.

“As long as we can find ways to raise money and help people, that’s our main thing,” he said. “That’s why we need di erent people and di erent ideas. We want to explore di erent avenues and fundraisers. We want people to know we can take the burden o them. There are guys willing to clean up your yard, chop down trees, move furniture. We have already done these things.”

Moore said part of his expansion plan for Cowboys in the Community is to not limit the group to just former football players. Cowboys and Cowgirls from all sports are welcome to join the group.

“It is as simple as emailing me or getting in touch with anyone in Cowboys in the Community,” Moore said. “We meet at Tally’s Restaurant once per month for a couple hours. We’d love to have more women involved in what we’re doing — that would really make my wife happy. We’d love to have anyone. It doesn’t have to be just limited to football players.”

For more details or to get involved, email markmoore568@gmail.com or Facebook message Cowboys in the Community.

Cowgirl Equestrian’s Jojo Roberson and Cowboy Football’s Tom Hutton were recognized as OSU Senior Scholar-Athletes of the Year.

MAKING A SPLASH PHOTOMARYELIZABETHCORDIA

Head Coach Larry Sanchez gets doused with water during the 2023 Big 12 Equestrian Championship trophy presentation. Competing at their home facility, the Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center, the Cowgirls claimed their third-straight conference title with a 12-8 win over TCU. The win marks the program's ninth conference crown.

Cowgirls Sydney North and Riley Hogan were named to the All-Big 12 Fences team while Claire McDowall and Jojo Roberson earned All-Big 12 Horsemanship honors.

WORLD BEATERS

Cowboys Ryan Schoppe, Juan Diego Castro, Charlie Bartholomew and Fouad Messaoudi won the Distance Medley Relay at the 2023 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships March 10.

Earlier this season, OSU set a collegiate — and world — indoor DMR record with a time of 9:16.40 in the event that features relay legs of 1200, 400, 800 and 1600 meters. That race included DeJuana McArthur and Hafez Mahadi, along with Messaoudi and Schoppe.

PHOTOMASONHARBOUR

When OSU announced its scholarship endowment initiative, the athletic program was last in the Big 12. Now, more than halfway through the 10-year program, OSU leads the conference.

Baseball 10.25

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

Dennis and Karen Wing (2) | Hal Tompkins

Sandy Lee | Jennifer and Steven Grigsby

Mike Bode and Preston Carrier (2)

David and Julie Ronck

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Sally Graham Skaggs

OSU awards 229 full scholarships to student-athletes each year at a cost of $4.5 million. Each dollar freed up through endowed scholarships goes back into our programs. Better equipment. Better facilities. Better support. Each dollar has a direct impact on the lives of our student-athletes.

This is the list of all the generous supporters who have helped to provide a bright Orange future.

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Bryant and Carla Coffman

David and Grace Helmer | Jill Rooker

Martha Seabolt | Dr. Scott Anthony

John and Beverly Williams

Richard and Lawana Kunze

Equestrian

1.25

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

Baloo and Maribeth Subramaniam

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

David and Gina Dabney

Football

33.0

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

Bob and Kay Norris

Bryant and Carla Coffman / The Merkel Foundation

David LeNorman | Dennis and Karen Wing (2)

Dr. Mark and Beth Brewer

Ike and Marybeth Glass

Jack and Carol Corgan

Jim Click | John and Gail Shaw

Ken and Jimi Davidson | Leslie Dunavant

Mike and Kristen Gundy

Mike and Robbie Holder

Ron Stewart | Ross and Billie McKnight

Sandy Lee | Tom and Sandra Wilson

Wray and Julie Valentine

James and Mary Barnes

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Cindy Hughes | Donald Coplin

Doug Thompson | Ed and Helen Wallace

R. Kirk Whitman | Greg Casillas

Jim and Lynne Williams / John and Patti Brett

Mike and Judy Johnson | Sally Graham Skaggs

State Rangers | Tom Naugle | Nate Watson

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Al and Martha Strecker

Arthur “Andy” Johnson, Jr.

Arthur Couch | Barry and Roxanne Pollard

Bill and Ruth Starr | Brad and Leah Gungoll

Brian K. Pauling

Bridgecreek Investment Management LLC

Bryan Close | David and Cindy Waits

David and Gina Dabney | Dr. Berno Ebbesson

But we’re not finished yet.

They are our Honor Roll.

PHOTO BRUCE WATERFIELD

Dr. Ron and Marilynn McAfee

Eddy and Deniece Ditzler | Flintco

Fred and Janice Gibson | Fred and Karen Hall

Howard Thill | James and LaVerna Cobb

Jerry and Lynda Baker | John P. Melot

Jerry and Rae Winchester

John S. Clark | Ken and Leitner Greiner

Kent and Margo Dunbar | Paul and Mona Pitts

Randall and Carol White | Shelli Osborn

Roger and Laura Demaree

Steve and Diane Tuttle

Tony and Finetta Banfield

General

1.25

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

Terry and Martha Barker

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

David and Judy Powell

Kenneth and Susan Crouch

Sally Graham Skaggs

Graduate Athlete

0.75

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Bob and Joan Hert | Neal Seidle

Tom and Cheryl Hamilton

Men's Basketball

23.5

FULL SCHOLARSHIP

Baloo and Maribeth Subramaniam

A.J. and Susan Jacques

Bill and Marsha Barnes

Brett and Amy Jameson

Calvin and Linda Anthony

Chuck and Kim Watson

David and Julie Ronck (1.25)

Dennis and Karen Wing (2)

Douglas and Nickie Burns

Griff and Mindi Jones

James and Mary Barnes | Jim Vallion

Ken and Jimi Davidson

Kent and Margo Dunbar | KimRay Inc.

Sandy Lee | Mitch Jones Memorial

HALF SCHOLARSHIP

David and Julie Ronck

Dr. Mark and Susan Morrow

Jay and Connie Wiese | Sally Graham Skaggs

Stan Clark | Billy Wayne Travis

Holloman Family

QUARTER SCHOLARSHIP

Dr. Scott and Lynne Anthony

Gary and Sue Homsey

Michael and Heather Grismore

Rick and Suzanne Maxwell

Robert and Sharon Keating

Steve and Suzie Crowder

Terry and Donna Tippens

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Story by Clay Billman

Photos by Bruce Waterfield AND RYAN SCHROEDER

The Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center sits atop a hill o McElroy Road, about a mile west of the Oklahoma State University campus, where the school’s deep agricultural roots are planted.

Bordered by pipe and cable fencing, the 15-acre complex is comprised of the Atherton Family Arena, Nielson-Vargo Team Building, Vargo Locker Room, saddling barn, coaches’ o ces, horse barn and wash racks, as well as shelters for pasture horses and storage areas for hay and equipment.

It is also home to the defending national champions

The Cowgirls captured the 2022 National Collegiate Equestrian Association trophy last April at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Fla.

Most of the aforementioned facilities didn’t exist a decade ago — and if they did, they were makeshift accommodations that left something to be desired.

But head coach Larry Sanchez never made excuses. As a cowboy, he did what he knows how to do: pull your hat down tight and keep working.

At the helm since OSU launched the varsity equestrian program in 1999, Sanchez quickly built and maintained one of the nation’s top teams in both the western and hunt seat disciplines. An expanded trophy case is currently being built to house six NCEA western titles and eight Big 12 Conference championships to go along with last year’s grand prize.

The fact that the Pedigo-Hull Center is now one of the top overall collegiate equestrian facilities in the country is a not a testament to riding results … but to friendship.

FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

Kristin Hull and Kendall Pedigo grew up half a country apart. Hull hails from Ligonier, Ind., while Pedigo calls Vancouver, Wash., home. In 2014, the out-of-state student-athletes joined the Cowgirl Equestrian squad. As elite competitors in the English (Hunt Seat) disciplines, each arrived in Stillwater with championships under their belts, but the two didn’t know each other prior to becoming teammates.

“Kendall participated up and down the West Coast, and Kristin competed on the East Coast,” Sanchez says, “but it was Oklahoma State that brought those two families together.”

Key word: families

Supporting their daughters as proud parents are prone to do, the Hulls and Pedigos forged a fast friendship.

“Our first time meeting was the girls’ freshman year at Coach Sanchez’s house when he held a get-together for the team,” recalls Rick Pedigo. “A bunch of other parents were there. Coach Sanchez had presented his vision for a new facility that he wanted to build. At the end of the event, John Hull and I ended up in the kitchen with a few cocktails. Larry introduced us and said, “You guys have something in common. Both of you have family businesses.’

“We hit it o right away. That was our first time to meet and spend some time together.”

Hull is the president of Mission 1 Communications, a family-owned company that installs towers for wireless communications throughout the United States. Based in Indiana since the 1940s, the third-generation company also has o ces in Kentucky, Michigan and Texas. As a member of the NCEA national advisory board, Hull was instrumental in getting the national championships moved to Ocala, which provided an enhanced experience for all participants.

Pedigo serves as the CEO of Pedigo Products, a medical supply company founded in 1947 by his father and grandfather. Their manufacturing facility located within the Portland, Ore., metropolitan area provides stainless steel medical devices for hospital operating rooms, ERs and physician o ces worldwide.

The newfound friends — including spouses Terri Pedigo and Kaye Hull — would end up spending lots of time together, as equestrian competitions can last the better part of a Saturday. To make for a more enjoyable spectator experience during the downtime, John decided to kick things up a notch

“Their freshman year I took a truck out there to Stillwater and left it, so when we flew in from out of town we would have a vehicle rather than have to get a rental,” John explains.

That was the first obstacle to clear.

“Then once you have a truck, you know you’ve got to get your cooler and all that stu to keep in it. We started tailgating at the very first one. I think it spilled over from our days of college football games …

“I never wanted to ask for help, because I felt like it showed weakness or showed that I couldn’t do it myself,” Sanchez admits. “It wasn’t until Rick and John basically sat me down and said, ‘Coach, how do we know what you need if you don’t tell us. How do we know how we can help you if you don’t ask?’ And I had never looked at it that way because I have the mindset of, ‘What can I do for you?’ But even if people have the means to help you out, they won’t know what you need unless you tell them, so that really opened my eyes.”

“Fundraising wasn’t necessarily Larry’s passion,” Pedigo says. “Realizing that, both John and I, as parents in the program, looked at that and said, ‘Maybe we can help.’”

And help they have — in big and small ways.

“John Hull and Rick Pedigo have given a sizable amount — enough to merit naming the entire facility after them,” Sanchez says.

Prior to their involvement, OSU’s equestrian complex was “sub-par,” according to the coach.

“We’ve never had a master plan with this facility, because it was always considered a temporary home for Oklahoma State equestrian,” Sanchez says. “But after many years, we needed to start making improvements here to really make it what it can be. My vision is to continue to improve on this facility. It works very well. We have very good, practical facilities. We’re definitely in that upper tier of quality facilities around the country. It provides everything we need to be competitive and successful.”

That wasn’t always the case, as the freshman class of 2014 can attest.

“Our old locker room didn’t have running water, and we had a porta-potty out back,” Sanchez recalls. “It was the initial gift from the Pedigos and Hulls that allowed us to put in a locker room.”

More space has been a priority, and a recently constructed team building will allow for proper meetings and meals, along with expanded locker facilities and a nutritional bar/kitchen.

“We’ve been so fortunate since I got here to have a good marriage with the Animal Science department, because where we sit was their property. We’d use the classroom in front of the Totusek Arena for team meetings, pre-game meals … but as you might imagine, they also have classes that they teach and judging practice, so we were hit-and-miss when we could actually use it.

“Sometimes we’d have our meetings on the floor in the barn. Our team would be sitting on the floor, eating their pre-game meal right where we saddle the horses. I remember sitting there thinking, ‘We’ve got to do better than this.’”

“There are a lot of things over the years that we’ve done just because we knew they needed it,” Hull says. “I can remember one year they needed new English saddles. I called

Rick and said, ‘We need to buy five saddles,’ so we did. It’s just one of those things where we love the program and wanted to help OSU grow and succeed. We want the best of everything for them, so that’s why we continue to do it.”

OSU’s recently announced vision plan for athletic facilities includes more upgrades to the Pedigo-Hull Equestrian Center.

“What we need next is more stalls for the horses,” Hull says. “We don’t have enough for all the show horses, so I think that’s going to be a top priority going forward. I don’t know what Larry’s campaign goal is right now, but double whatever he says it is.”

Sanchez says he’s become more transparent with supporters about what the program needs.

“I still don’t consider myself a really good fundraiser, but now I’m not afraid to tell people what we’re needing and to put it out there, you know. I’m appreciative of the smallest gift as much as the largest gifts that come in.”

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Hull says the Sanchez family provides a home away from home for student-athletes.

“Larry and Julie literally took those kids in when they were hundreds of miles from home,” Hull says. “They gave them a good foundation and were always there to lean on. I couldn’t say enough about the two of them as kind of parents away from home to watch after our kids and help mold their future. He’s had great assistant coaches, and the whole group is like a family.”

“All the girls from that class have stayed connected,” Rick says. “The girls are constantly going to fellow teammates’ weddings and things like that, and they’ve kept in touch, which is really neat to see.”

Kristin earned a degree in business management in 2018. These days, she’s back in Indiana, working at Mission 1 as head of human resources. Kendall also joined the family business, taking her OSU MBA home to Vancouver where she handles digital marketing duties for Pedigo Products.

It’s such a small world, and I think you find that as you get older, the type of people you like to associate with are just nice, down to earth people.

-RICK PEDIGO

“The Pedigos and Hulls basically transformed the equestrian complex out there and will continue to help us for the foreseeable future,” says Larry Reece, OSU’s Senior Associate AD for Development. “What’s been amazing is the way they basically became entrenched in the OSU family because of their daughters. They just love it here.”

It’s not just about equestrian, notes Reece. Both families have become involved in all aspects of OSU Athletics, including season tickets at Boone Pickens Stadium.

“Even if they can’t make it to every football game, they still love coming here. When they leave, they can’t wait to come back. They tell me that all the time.”

Reece says Rick and John will often text him during televised games.

“They really pay attention to our entire program, even though they didn’t go to school here. It’s like they’re alumni.

“One story I like to tell,” Reece adds, “is that Rick went to Cal State Fullerton, and John graduated from Purdue and is a

big Notre Dame fan, but they wear more orange than any of those other colors. They’ll tell you that they feel closer to Oklahoma State than they do to those schools because of their daughters, and because of the people around here.”

That was evident when the Cowboys squared o against the Fighting Irish at the 2022 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl

“John was wearing OSU colors at the Fiesta Bowl and having a blast, happy that the Cowboys won.”

“My daughter Kelsea was upset with me,” Hull laughs. “She wore her green, sitting in the orange section.”

The Pedigos’ two other children, Lauren and Chad, are Boise State alumni, so when the Pokes played the Broncos in recent years, Rick was more diplomatic.

“At the first game in Stillwater, the first half I wore OSU, the second half I wore Boise,” he says. “We (BSU) got our butts kicked by the Cowboys. And then for the game in Boise, I had a shirt that was half-and-half, blue and orange.”

The Cowboys won that game as well.

Hull family at the 2022 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

“It’s just kind of remarkable,” Reece says. “Even though their daughters have graduated, they have stayed involved and continue to give … They’re just do-anything-for-you, shirt-o -their-back kind of guys.”

“It’s about relationships,” Pedigo says. “It’s such a small world, and I think you find that as you get older, the type of people you like to associate with are just nice, down to earth people.”

Getting their names on a building was never the goal.

“For us, that was a total afterthought,” Pedigo says. “I think John feels the same way. We were committed to advancing the program and doing whatever it took. John and I were already in and doing things for the four years our girls were there, and then when the big arena project came about, we knew we needed more. That’s where the Athertons came in, along with other parents who contributed for other needs.”

“It’s just a great story of families getting involved because of their daughters, but staying involved because you love the place,” Reece says. “They’ve become VIPs and great supporters, and I think they will be forever.

“They’re all in.”

Pedigo family at Oklahoma State versus Boise State.

LEGENDS ON THE LINKS

Oklahoma State football alums Clint Chelf, Brayden Stringer, Justin Blackmon, Josh Cooper, Colton Chelf and Deion Imade joined nearly 200 other Cowboy legends for a reunion on Orange Power Weekend. Friday Activities included a lively social gathering at Boone Pickens Stadium following a golf scramble at at Stillwater Country Club. The former players also met with current Cowboys and the coaching sta , watched spring drills and participated in the fan meet-and-greet.

PHOTOBRUCEWATERFIELD

Oklahoma State is strengthening its position within the national landscape of college athletics with the recent unveiling of the athletics facilities vision plan.

The plan focuses on student-athlete success across all programs and improving the fan experience through the creation of a unified and connected athletic village unrivaled in college sports.

For more information, please visit okstate.com/allin or scan the QR code.

In December Oklahoma State University announced its new Human Performance and Nutrition Research Institute with the goal of impacting every community in Oklahoma. Due to available space and to maximize e ciencies, the institute headquarters will share a roof with the new operations home of Cowboy Football and will be located adjacent to the existing practice fields and the Sherman E. Smith Training Center.

The Wrestling Training Facility concept proposes an addition to the existing facilities, which would support the ongoing success of OSU Wrestling — the most successful program in the history of the NCAA, regardless of sport. This addition will increase the size of the wrestling room, allowing for additional mat space and championship-level team amenities. The training facility will also house o ce and meeting spaces for the coaching sta .

OSU Cowboy and Cowgirl basketball programs have a rich history of success, and a new Basketball Training Facility is essential in helping both programs recruit, develop and train student-athletes to compete championships. The Athletics Vision Plan proposes an addition on the south side of the arena, which will feature two practice courts, and other championship-caliber training spaces.

The Athletics Vision Plan includes a new Softball Complex partially located on the former site of Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. The new home of Cowgirl Softball will provide modern amenities suitable for a premier collegiate softball program and will include championship caliber player-development areas. In addition, typical chairback seating, tailgating corrals, and family friendly areas to enhance the fan experience are planned.

The OSU men’s and women’s Track and Field programs support over 100 student-athletes, requiring year-round training and competition space. The vision plan proposes an Indoor Track and Field Facility south of the existing outdoor complex. Plans call for a 200 meter banked track, indoor field event space, spectator seating, athletic training rooms, team meeting/theater spaces, locker rooms, player lounges, and o ces for coaching sta .

ACE AD

Athletic Director Chad Weiberg threw out the first pitch at O'Brate Stadium before the Cowboys' home opener vs. California Baptist on Feb. 21 Weiberg tossed a strike across the plate, while four Poke pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter!

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