Sooners Win Three More Titles At Drake

April 29, 2000

DES MOINES, Iowa - It was a great day for the University of Oklahoma track and field teams at the Drake Relays and it came very close to being a phenomenal day.

The victories started when the women's 400-meter relay, made up of Janel Hayes, LaToyia Hinds, Jimyria Hicks, and Staneshia Bell, won with a season-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 44.62. Then, Jennifer Fontenot won the women's special 400-meter dash with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 53.50. The last Sooner to win, Michael Blackwood, won the men's special 400-meter dash and missed an NCAA automatic qualifying mark by .08 seconds. The time was a season best for Blackwood and was .05 seconds off his career best.

LaBoris Bean had started the Sooner victory parade with a win in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles (and NCAA provisional qualifying time) on Friday.

The men's 1,600-meter relay team, composed of Raoul Harvey, Joey Scott, LaBoris Bean and Michael Blackwood, finished second with a 3:05.72. That time broke the NCAA provisional mark for the Sooners for the first time this season and was a season best for OU in the event. The Sooners cut more than two seconds off its preliminary time and beat the provisional mark by almost two seconds. The women's 1,600-meter relay, made up of Bell, Alicia Emanuel, LaKisha Robinson and Fontentot, finished fourth with a 3:36.80. That time was another NCAA provisional mark for the quartet and dropped the season-best time by nearly six seconds. The women's 3,200-meter relay, which included Angie Prescott, Corrie Hussar, Aisha Stringer and Alaina Dearman, finished fifth with an 8:56.53, the fifth-best time in OU history.

Other Sooners who placed on the final day included Michael McNamara who was seventh in the pole vault, Bell who was fourth in the 100-mer dash, the women's sprint medley relay team which finished 10th, Hayes who was 10th in the long jump, and Lindsay Harris, who finished 18th in the special pole vault.

The Sooners will travel to Austin, Texas, next Saturday for the Texas Invitational.

Drake Relays
OU Results

Men's Final

Special 400-Meter Dash -- 1. Michael Blackwood, OU, 45.48

1600-Meter Relay -- 1. Baylor, 3:05.33 (NCAA provisional), 2. OU (Raoul Harvey, Joey Scott, LaBoris Bean, Michael Blackwood), 3:05.72 (NCAA provisional)

Pole Vault -- 1. Jeff Dutoit, Arizona, 17-9, 7. Michael McNamara, OU, 16-10.75

Women's Finals

100-Meter Dash -- 1. LaQuinta Manahan, Texas-Arlington, 11.62, 4. Staneshia Bell, OU, 11.79

Special 400-Meter Dash -- 1. Jennifer Fontenot, OU, 53.50 (NCAA provisional mark)

400-Meter Relay -- 1. Oklahoma (Janel Hayes, LaToyia Hinds, Jimyria Hicks, Staneshia Bell), 44.62 (NCAA provisional time)

1600-Meter Relay -- 1. Nebraska, 3:33.84, 4. Oklahoma (Staneshia Bell, Alicia Emanuel, LaKisha Robinson, Jennifer Fontenot), 3:36.80 (NCAA provisional)

Sprint Medley Relay -- 1. Kansas State, 3:50.62, 10. Oklahoma (LaToyia Hinds, Jimyria Hicks, LaKisha Robinson, Aisha Stringer), 3:58.26

3200-Meter Relay -- 1. Missouri, 8:34.76, 5. Oklahoma (Angie Prescott, Corrie Hussar, Aisha Stringer, Alaina Dearman), 8:56.53

Special Pole Vault -- 1. Kellie Suttle, Nike, 12-11, 18. Lindsay Harris, OU, 11-5.25

Long Jump -- 1. Brandi Bentley, Michigan, 20-3, 10. Janel Hayes, OU, 18-8