LINCOLN, Neb. – If it could go wrong, it did for the ISU men’s and women’s track teams at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships last weekend in Lincoln, Neb.

During a weekend that saw the Texas Longhorns take both the men’s and women’s championships, the Cyclone men took an 11th-place finish with 26 points and the women took last place with 19 points. The meet had both teams looking forward to the outdoor season, in which they felt they could compete better.

“We’re really disappointed in where we ended up,” said men’s coach Steve Lynn.

“We’re certainly not going to dwell on this. We’re going to remember it though, and make it better. We’re a better team outdoors, we have been and we will be again this year.”

One example of what went wrong was Friday night when jumper Tony Douglas had a first jump of about 7.78 meters in the long jump, which would have earned him second or third place. A foul was called, however, and Douglas did not place.

“It felt like the Seattle Seahawks playing,” Lynn said. “His first jump in the long jump looked like it was legal.”

Douglas rebounded by coming back to place second in the triple jump on Saturday, with a jump of 15.39 meters.

“It was my best jump this year,” Douglas said. “I wish it could have been a little bit farther, but it was second place, so I’ll definitely take that.”

David Rotich took the third-fastest time in Big 12 history in the 1000-meter run, with a time of 2:22.8, but it was only good enough for third place. Rotich was coming strong at the end before getting bumped on the final lap.

“Another runner was doing a good job and blocked him off and kept him from being able to make that move,” Lynn said. “That’s really fast. He should be really confident going into next weekend for the mile to get qualified for the NCAA [championships].”

Another disappointment was Neil Hines’ competition in the heptathlon, in which he finished seventh.

“He has not had that in multi-events; his first day is usually really good,” Lynn said. “He responded by coming back and having his best second day ever. If he puts his first day and his second day together, he’s got a shot at being All-American.”

Chase Madison and Kendall Fogle both expected to have good meets in the weight throw, although they weren’t able to earn any points.

“They went a little too hard and weren’t able to capitalize on the situation, so we came away not with the performance we wanted,” said throws coach Dan O’Mara.

The men placed in the Distance Medley, as well, along with the 4×400-meter run and the 400-meter dash with a fifth-place finish by Elijah Braimah.

The women’s team has been hurt by injuries and sickness, which coach Dick Lee said was the primary reason for the low team points.

“Hopefully outdoors we’ll get everybody back healthy that we’re missing,” Lee said. “At this meet, we should be able to score another 20 points or more than what we did here.

Overall I thought our kids did a great job – our seniors did a great job of competing, being great leaders.”

The team saw a photo finish in the 800-meter run, with Ada Anderson tying with Texas Tech’s Althea Chambers for first with a time of 2:06.94. To break the tie, officials went to the thousandth of a second to determine Chambers the winner.

“At the end I tightened up again, so I need to work on that aspect of my race,” Anderson said. “I put my best effort in today that I could, and I’m looking forward to the next two meets and nationals; keep bringing my time down and going for All-American again.”

The other highlight for the women was Erica Lynn’s third-place finish in the pentathlon, followed by an eighth-place high jump.

“Erica [Lynn] had a heck of a track meet, getting third in the pentathlon, and to come back and get eighth in the high jump the next day, she did a great job,” said jumps and vaults coach Ron McEachran.

The women also placed in the long jump, where Jummy Alowonle took sixth, with a jump of 5.9 meters.

“That was a surprise,” McEachran said. “She never placed indoors before and she did great for her.”

Rebecca Williams also placed eighth in the 60-meter hurdles.

Before the outdoor season, both teams will send competitors to the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships with a qualifier in Ames on Saturday.