Saina finishes sweep of Big 12 Championships

Redshirt senior Betsy Saina crosses the finish line in her 5,000-meter race during the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships on Saturday, Feb. 23, at Lied Recreation Athletic Center. Saina won her race with a time of 16:07.19.

Daily Staff

Betsy Saina finished her trifecta, winning the women’s mile run and 3,000-meter run on Sunday after winning the 5,000-meter run on Saturday at the Big 12 Championships at Lied Recreation Athletic Center in Ames.

Saina won the mile run in 4:44.68, almost a full three seconds ahead of Texas’ Marielle Hall, who finished second.

Three seconds was all Saina needed in the 3,000-meter race, where she won by that margin for her second-straight Big 12 title in the event. Teammate Meaghan Nelson finished second in the event.

On Saturday, Saina defended her title in the 5,000-meter race, beating out Nelson by three seconds to claim the title.

With the wins, Saina has now tallied a total of five indoor Big 12 titles, having won the 3,000- and 5,000-meter races at last season’s conference meet.

Check back to iowastatedaily.net for more coverage of the Big 12 Championships.