Completed Event: Track and Field at Battle on the Bayou on April 3, 2026 ,
Final
Track and Field
at Battle on the Bayou
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooner Track & Field Send 13 To NCAA Championship
May 26, 2000 | Track and Field
May 26, 2000
NORMAN, Okla. - A total of 13 University of Oklahoma student-athletes were notified late Thursday of their invitations to the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship, scheduled to begin Wednesday in Durham, N.C. The Sooners had one relay and two individuals beat the automatic qualifying standards while two other relays and two individuals had to wait for invitations based on national rankings. Duke University is serving as the host school for the meet.
Senior Michael Blackwood will lead the OU contingent. He will take the top qualifying time in the country into the meet. Blackwood's time of 44.69 currently is the best in the world for this year. He recorded that mark on Sunday on his way to winning the Big 12 400-meter dash title.
Sophomore Michael McNamara earned his automatic mark on May 11 when he won the pole vault title at the Abilene Christian Classic. McNamara ranks fifth heading into the meet.
The men's 1600-meter relay team (Raoul Harvey, Michael Jackson, LaBoris Bean and Blackwood) got its automatic time on Sunday at the Big 12 Championship in Columbia. The quartet's time of 3:03.58 ranks third heading into the meet and was good for second place in the conference meet. Moses Washington will go as the alternate.
Sooners who were invited to the meet with provisional marks included Michael Westlund, whose best of 17-11.25 ranks 12th in the nation, Bean, whose best of 50.61 in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles ranks 20th, Jennifer Fontenot, whose best of 53.10 in the 400-meter dash ranks 18th, the women's 400-meter relay (Janel Hayes, LaToyia Hinds, Jimyria Hicks and Staneshia Bell) whose best of 44.62 ranks eighth, and the women's 1600-meter relay (Bell, Alicia Emanuel, LaKisha Robinson and Fontenot) whose best of 3:34.93 ranks ninth. Hicks will serve as the alternate for the 1600 relay while Fontenot will be the alternate for the 400 relay. Westlund, Fontenot and both women's relays recorded their season-best times at the Big 12. Westlund was second in the pole vault, Fontenot was fifth in the 400, the 400-meter relay was third and the 1600-meter relay was fourth at the conference meet. Bean recorded his best time at the Texas Invitational on May 6 with a second-place finish.
The women's 400-meter relay will open the competition for the Sooners with the first race scheduled for 5:50 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday. Bean also will compete on Wednesday with his first race scheduled for 6:10 p.m. The pole vaulters get into action on Thursday with competition scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Blackwood and Fontenot will compete in the 400-meter semifinals on Thursday at 6:55 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. respectively. The men's 1600-meter relay will compete at 8:25 p.m. and the women's 1600-meter will follow at 8:40 p.m.
The 400-meter final will be on Friday at 6:10 p.m. with the 400-meter IH final set for 6:20 p.m. The men's 400-meter final is set for 6:45 p.m. Saturday followed by the women's 400 final at 6:55 p.m. The men's 1600-meter relay final is scheduled for 9:15 p.m. Saturday with the women's 1600-meter relay final to follow at 9:30 p.m.
The men's 1600-meter relay, Blackwood, Fontenot, Westlund and McNamara all qualified for the NCAA Indoor. The quartet of Harvey, Jackson, Bean and Blackwood finished second to TCU and earned All-America honors.
Saturday, June 13
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 10
