Sooners Ready For NCAA Track And Field Finals

June 2, 2000

DURHAM, N.C. - Jennifer Fontenot and friends stuffed wedding invitations for her summer wedding. Michael Blackwood and LaBoris Bean shot some hoops. Alicia Emanuel, Raoul Harvey and Michael Jackson got treatment for nagging injuries and the rest of the Sooners took it easy on their off day at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. The meet will conclude Saturday at Wallace Wade Stadium on the campus of Duke University.

Blackwood, who will be the first Sooner to hit the track on Saturday, will take the fastest prelim time into the 6:45 p.m. (ET) final. He will then anchor the men's 1600-meter relay team which will run its final at 9:15 p.m. followed by the Sooner women in the 1600-meter relay at 9:30 p.m.

The Sooner men were ranked third heading into the meet and the women were ranked ninth. Blackwood had to the top time in the NCAA before the meet started.

Eight entries advanced to the finals and the top eight earn All-America honors, providing they finish the race. With Michael Westlund's tie for eighth-place in the pole vault on Thursday, the Sooners should add10 All-Americans to a list that exceeds 240. That would be the most in an outdoor season since 1997 and the most for current co-head coaches Rodney Price and Jill Lancaster.

The last time OU won an outdoor national individual or relay championship was in 1994 when Kay Gooch took the 3,000-meter title. The last Sooner man to win a title was Tim McMichael in the pole vault in 1989.

With the weather in Durham on Friday (high 90s and matching humidity), the Sooners may have been quite fortunate to have the day off. A red flag ozone alert was issued for the Durham area Friday morning but a cold front is expected through the area on Saturday which should improve the conditions.

"Last night (Thursday) was an almost perfect night for runners, " said Price. "I just hope the rain comes in early or holds off until after we run."

Blackwood won the Big 12 title in the 400 on May 21 with a 44.69 on May 21, edging Brandon Couts of Baylor. That time was the fastest in the world and set up a battle between the top three ranked runners, Blackwood, Couts and LSU's Derrick Brew. While Couts did his part in the semifinal, Brew failed to qualify for the final, setting up another meeting between Blackwood and Couts, a challenge that Blackwood looks forward to.

"I look forward to running with Brandon again," Blackwood. "He brings out the best in me. I want to run a 44 on Saturday and if I do that, it will take care of itself. Once the 400 is over, I will turn my attention to the relay."

His Sooner teammates look to Blackwood to be their closer. Harvey, who runs the first leg of the relay, uses his height and speed to get OU a quick start. "It's my job to get us out in front, to get us out of the traffic. I like running outdoor better because everyone has to hold his own, hold your own ground in the opening leg of the relay when you have to stay in the lane."

Harvey hands it off to Jackson, who calls himself "blessed" to be running at this point of the season. An injury shortly after the outdoor season-opening meet at LSU put him on the sideline and limited his training to jogging and stretching. He also missed the entire 1999 track season because of an injury. "I didn't get to train much and I am so blessed to be running this well with so little training. I want to come through, to not let anybody down, and I have been blessed to be able to do that."

As the second leg, Jackson must run first in the assigned lane, then be able to break into a single lane. According to him, that's what makes him good as a second runner. "I'm bigger than most quarter-milers and they just can't move me around. The second leg gets cluttered and I want to get out quicker on Saturday. I need to be out of the pack at or shortly after the break so I can start my kick without having to work through the other runners. I want to make my move off the curve so I can start my kick earlier."

Bean takes the third leg and his job depends on where OU is in the race. "I just try to stay relaxed. It's my job to do whatever it takes to win, maintain the lead or regain the lead. I have to go all out and hand off to Michael in first place."

Blackwood has a time in his mind that he would like to see the Sooners post. "I think we can post a 3:00 flat. If we do that, we will win the title. After what happened to us at the indoor NCAA, I want this one really bad, we all want it."

At the NCAA Indoor in March, Baylor had the fastest time coming into the final. An injury forced the Bears to withdraw before the final, leaving OU, with the same four runners who will compete for the title Saturday, as the top-ranked relay. TCU won the title following a protest from the Sooners who believed that a TCU runner had fouled on the third leg of the relay, a serious bump that pushed Bean from the track momentarily.

The Sooners' 3:03.28 on Thursday, a season best, was the third fastest in qualifying and ranks as the seventh fastest in OU school history. Seven of the eight qualifers posted time of 3:02.02 or better in the semifinal, setting up a fast final for Saturday.

"We are in good shape going into the final," Price added. "Arkansas has a good relay, better than the one we saw in the indoor, but we just have to take care of business. I really think it is anybody's race and if we take care of business, we have as good an opportunity to win it as any other team in the race."

For the Sooner women, there was one goal -- to get senior Fontentot a final All-America certificate. And that's exactly what OU did on Thursday.

"We did it all for Jennifer," Staneshia Bell, OU's opening running on the relay, said. "She's been there for us every day, every race. We knew this was her last opportunity and we came together to do it for Jennifer. It was a near perfect race on Thursday. We did a great job of getting the stick around the track. We knew we had to finish second to automatically qualify.

"It's my job to get us a strong start. I gave the runner from South Carolina a good run. I think we can do even better on Saturday. I know I can cut time from my split and the others think they can as well. There's no limit to what we can do."

Bell hands the baton to a freshman, a freshman who didn't know how nervous her first NCAA would make her. "After I handed it off, I couldn't watch until Alicia (Emanuel) handed it to Jennifer. I just kept my head down and prayed. I kept hearing people talk about being an All-American but I didn't understand what it meant. Now I do know how important it is and how good it feels. I also understand the expectations are higher now for all of us.

"When I saw Staneshia coming in so strong, I just knew I could do it. I timed the break perfectly and was in good shape. I ran hard but stayed relaxed. I just kept telling myself to keep my head up and get it to Alicia in good shape. This has been a tough year and I couldn't have imagined I would be here, getting ready to run in the national final. We have the hunger, especially to do it for Jennifer. She's always motivating us, pushing us and we want to give back to her for all she's given to us."

Robinson also is taking a different approach to her pre-race routine. "More water, less chips, a lot of praying and getting focused -- that's what I will be doing to get ready."

For the Sooners' third leg, sophomore Emanuel, the trip to the final proves her critics wrong. "A lot of people didn't think I should be the third leg and I had to prove myself. We knew coming in that there were great teams but then I noticed that even the great teams made mistakes. I knew if we could run without mistakes that we had a great chance to qualify. People may have expected us to fail but we weren't intimidated. And we had to do it for Jennifer. She puts it all on the line for us every day. We wanted her to go out as an All-American and we have done that. Now we have to beat two other teams to get Jennifer a plaque (given to the top six finishers)."

Emanuel kept the Sooners close to the goal. "I knew if I kept up with the runner from South Carolina that I would give the race to Jennifer in good shape. We knew the times from the first heat were good and we knew that the only guarantee was to finish in the top two. We have made huge improvements this season and there is no limit to what we can do. Before, getting to the NCAA was a dream. Now, it is a reality and it will become the standard.

"And we all wanted to be on next year's media guide cover (the Sooners feature returning All-Americans on the cover of the annual brochure)."

Without question, the leader of this quartet is Bartlesville senior Fontentot. She earned All-America honors as a sophomore and will end her career with another All-America certificate. Fontenot literally put her relay in the final, running a career-best split of 52.2 on the anchor leg. Her performance gave OU a second-place finish in the heat with a 3:33.65, a season-best time by more than a second and the fourth-best time in school history. And she believes OU can drop that time even more.

"We've cut a second or more off our time for the last three weeks. I think we can drop our time another second or two," Fontenot explained. "I can go better than a 52 and I think the others can drop their times as well. Still, the race on Thursday was incredible. I knew we had to finish second and I had to get around the runner who was second. I tried to pass her once, then decided to shoot off her shoulder on the back stretch. Once I got around her, I was going after the South Carolina runner. I didn't catch her but I gave her a run.

"I've been so blessed. My family is here to support me and my teammates are great. We have worked so hard to get here and now we have an opportunity to do something very special. I'll be happy to be a two-time Sooner All-American and now we're going for the plaque."

Price knows Saturday could be a very special day for the Sooners. "Last year, we took several men to the NCAA Outdoor, no women and we had no All-Americans. We already have one and we will add nine more on Saturday, barring some unforeseen circumstance. And we have the opportunity to bring home a national champion. I think you'd have to say this has been a successful trip for OU.

"It's great for our seniors to end their careers with All-America honors, running in the finals. The competition we see week in and week out in the Big 12 prepares us for the NCAA. We believe we have seen the best competition by what we see in our conference and we know we can compete. My job on Saturday will be to make sure everything is in order, then get out of their way."

It was a low key day before these Sooners compete, some for the last time as Sooners.

And Jackson may have summed up everyone's feelings. "I came to nationals as a freshman and I am going out as a senior at nationals. It's been a great career and it's a great way to end your career."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Ready For NCAA Track And Field Finals

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