Sooners Head To Sixth Annual Big 12 Track and Field Championships

Feb. 20, 2002

NORMAN, Okla. - The Sooner track and field teams will travel to Lincoln, Neb., for this weekend's Big 12 Championship. This is the sixth annual indoor meet for the conference and marks the third time for Nebraska to host the indoor meet. Nebraska is the defending team champion on the men's and women's side. Only two schools have produced Big 12 indoor team champions. Nebraska has won four of the five men's titles and three of the five women's titles. Texas has one men's and two women's titles to its credit.

The Sooner team and staff left Wednesday afternoon for Lincoln and will return immediately after the meet on Saturday.

The Schedule
The men's heptathlon and the women's pentathlon are the first events on the schedule. Action in the heptathlon's seven events begins at 10 a.m. Friday. The five-event pentathlon's first event is at 10:45 a.m. Friday. Field event finals begin at 2:45 p.m. on Friday and there are five finals scheduled. Running events begin on the track at 2 p.m. and include prelim, semifinal and final action. A total of four finals will be held on Friday. The combined events will conclude on Saturday. Action begins at 10 a.m. Field event finals take the spotlight beginning at 1:30 p.m. Running event finals begin at 3 p.m.

A complete schedule with OU's entries is included in this release.

OU's History in the Meet
The Sooner men finished sixth in the 1997 meet, the first year for the Big 12 to host an indoor championship. Since then, the OU men have been eighth three times and 11th once. The Sooner women finished seventh last year and tied for seventh in 1998. OU has also finished ninth, eighth and 11th.

The Sooner program has produced eight Big 12 Indoor champions including junior Michael Westlund, who is the defending pole vault champion. Other Big 12 indoor champions who wore crimson and cream included Staneshia Bell, 60-meter dash-2000; Janel Hayes, long jump-2001; Roxbert Martin, 400-meter dash-1997; Michael Blackwood, 400-meter dash-2000; Ryan Kite, 600-yard run-1997; the men's 1600-meter relay - 1997; and Justin Conkling, heptathlon, 2001.

Last Year
The Sooners produced three conference individual champions in the 2001 meet, the highest number of individual champions for OU since the Big 12 started competition in 1997 (in 1997, OU had a relay and two individuals win titles). It also marked the first year that the Sooners produced a combined event Big 12 champion and that the other individual titles all were in the field events.

The 2001 meet also produced a number of Sooners who were in the top four in their events. That list includes LaKisha Robinson, fourth in the 600; the women's 1600-meter relay, fourth; Sand Swaby, third in the high jump; Leslie Dunlap, third in the pole vault; Lindsey Harris, fourth in the pole vault; LaBoris Bean, second in the 600; oey Scott, third in the 60 hurdles; and the men's 1600-meter relay. In addition to Westlund, the Sooners also return Robinson, Swaby and Dunlap from last year's top four finishers.

One of the Best
The Big 12 Conference has long been known as one of the nation's strongest in track and field and this week's Trackwire top 25 poll proves it once again. The Texas men are ranked seventh and the Sooners are ninth in the men's poll. Other conference teams that are ranked in the men's poll include Nebraska (10th), Missouri (12th) and Kansas (18th). Conference women's teams in the top 25 include Colorado (11th), Texas (14th) and Iowa State (25th).

Last year's Big 12 Indoor produced 12 NCAA automatic qualifying marks for individuals and one relay. A total of 70 NCAA provisional qualifying marks for individuals and one relay were also met. In two events, the women's 60 dash and the women's 60 hurdles, an NCAA provisional qualifying time was required just to finish in the top five. More evidence of the strength of the conference is shown when you realize that two NCAA automatic and 40 NCAA provisionals marks were posted in the semifinals and prelims.

Conference Rankings
Several Sooners are at or near the top of the best of the Big 12 in the final ranking list issued before the conference championhsips. Those ranked in the top 10 heading into the meet include L'eron George, fourth in the 60 and seventh in the 200; Edwin Jones, eighth in the 60; Jason Stanley, third in the 60 hurdles; Aldwynn Sappleton, first in the 600 and fourth in the 800; Moses Washington, third in the 600 and 10th in the 800; Raoul Harvey, 10th in the 800; Michael McNamara, second in the pole vault; Michael Westlund, third in the pole vault; Austin Landreth, sixth in the pole vault; Robin Hanna, ninth in pole vault; Devon Brabham, ninth in the triple jump; Aisha Stringer, third in the 600 and fourth in 800; Kim Thomas, fourth in the 600 and 10th in the 800; LaKisha Robinson, ninth in the 600; Kelli O'Rourke, fifth in the 1000; Leslie Dunlap, first in the pole vault; Lindsey Bourne, sixth in the pole vault; and Jamie Lillie, 10th in the pole vault.

The Last Time Out
Redshirt freshman Aldwynn Sappleton ran a 1:50.55 to win the 800-meter run and break the NCAA provisional qualifying standard by .25 seconds in Saturday's Sooner Indoor, the final home meet of the 2002 indoor season.

Junior L'eron Georgeput his name in the OU records books, finishing fourth in the 60-meter dash in a school-record time of 6.78. George's time broke the record of 6.79 set by Shomari Wilson in 1999.

Two facility records, nine meet records, one NCAA automatic mark and 10 NCAA provisional marks were posted in the meet.

OU's pole vaulters continued their successful ways with senior Michael McNamara and sophomore Leslie Dunlap winning their events. Both cleared NCAA provisional heights but have automatic marks already to their credit. McNamara won the men's event with a 17-0.75, outjumping Kansas' Vadim Gvozdetski, who also cleared 17-0.75 but had more misses. Dunlap continued her battle with Texas A&M's Erica Boren. Both cleared 12-10 but Dunlap was declared the winner with fewer misses. The pair have met three times this season with Boren winning at Iowa State on Feb. 8 and Dunlap winning the other two meetings.

Sooner freshman Amanda Warehime registered a career best with her winning throw in the shot put, 46-0.5, and junior Megan Crystal was just behind in second place with a 45-8.5, a season best for her.

A total of 25 season best marks were posted by the Sooners at Saturday's meet and at least half of those were OU career best marks as well.

Sooner Honorees -- Big 12 Athlete of the Week
Sooners have earned Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors four times this season and sophomore Leslie Dunlap has been selected twice. Dunlap earned the honor Jan. 14 and again on Feb. 4. Other Sooners who have been honored include Michael McNamara (Jan. 21) and Jason Stanley (January 7).

NCAA Update
The Sooners have two automatic qualifiers for the 2002 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Ark. Michael McNamara became OU's first automatic qualifier when he cleared 18-0.5 at the Oklahoma Track Classic. Leslie Dunlap moved from provisional to automatic with her effort at the J.D. Martin Invitational.

OU has eight provisional qualifiers. Freshman Jason Stanley got an NCAA provisional in the 60-meter hurdles in his first collegiate meet on Dec. 1, then dropped his mark to 7.79 on Feb. 9. Junior Michael Westlund improved his provisional mark to 17-10.5 at the J.D. Martin and freshman Austin Landreth cleared 17-0.5 to join the provisional list. The men's 1600-meter relay (Moses Washington, Ernest Lewis, Aldwynn Sappleton and Brontez Steele) got its 3:10.32 at the ISU Invitational Feb. 9. Sappleton became a provisional qualifier in OU's final home meet of the season with a 1:50.55 in the 800-meter run on Feb. 16.

Next Up
Next weekend marks the final time that student-athletes may post marks to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Decisions will be made following the conference meet about where OU student-athletes will go. The NCAA Indoor Championships are scheduled for March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Ark.

2002 Big 12 Conference Indoor Championships
Schedule of Events -- Sooner Entries by Event
All Times are Central and subject to change -- Entries Subject to Change
Feb. 22-23, 2002 | Bob Devaney Sports Center | Lincoln, Nebraska
FRIDAY, Feb. 22, 2002

COMBINED EVENTS:
10:00 a.m. 60 Meters (heptathlon) Dan Strong, Ben Winter
10:45 a.m. 60-Meter Hurdles (pentathlon)Chaundra Allard, Taylor Cates
10:45 a.m. Long Jump (heptathlon)Dan Strong, Ben Winter
11:30 a.m. High Jump (pentathlon)Chaundra Allard, Taylor Cates
11:45 a.m. Shot Put (heptathlon)Dan Strong, Ben Winter
1:15 p.m. High Jump (heptathlon)Dan Strong, Ben Winter
1:15 p.m. Shot Put (pentathlon)Chaundra Allard, Taylor Cates
2:15 p.m. Long Jump (pentathlon)Chaundra Allard, Taylor Cates
3:40 p.m. 800 Meters (pentathlon) Chaundra Allard, Taylor Cates

FIELD EVENTS:
2:45 p.m. 35-Pound Weight ThrowM
4:00 p.m. Pole Vault Lindsey Bourne, Leslie Dunlap, Jamie Lillie, Mary Waytula
4:00 p.m. Long Jump Sand Swaby
5:45 p.m. 20-Pound Weight ThrowW
6:00 p.m. Long Jump Devon Brabham, Elvin Frempong

RUNNING EVENTS:
2:00 p.m. 60-Meter Hurdles (prelims)Tiffany Davis, Sand Swaby
2:15 p.m. 60-Meter Hurdles (prelims)Jason Stanley, Brontez Steele
2:30 p.m. 60 Meters (prelims) Alicia Emanuel, Briana Hope
2:45 p.m. 60 Meters (prelims)Elvin Frempong, L'eron George, Edwin Jones, Quentin Morgan
3:00 p.m. Mile (prelims) Jackie Dubois
3:20 p.m. Mile (prelims) M
3:40 p.m. 800 Meters (pentathlon) Chaundra Allard, Taylor Cates
3:50 p.m. 60-Meter Hurdles (semis)W
4:00 p.m. 60-Meter Hurdles (semis)M
4:10 p.m. 60 Meters (semis) W
4:20 p.m. 60 Meters (semis) M
4:30 p.m. 600 Yards (prelims) Sara Justice. Michelle Thomas, Amanda Wedel
4:50 p.m. 600 Yards (prelims) Aldwynn Sappleton
5:10 p.m. 400 Meters (prelims) LaKisha Robinson, Lameisa Thomas, Krystle Williams
5:30 p.m. 400 Meters (prelims) Andrew Crabbe, Raoul Harvey, Ernest Lewis, Brontez Steele
5:50 p.m. 1,000 Meters (prelims)Kelli O'Rourke
6:10 p.m. 1,000 Meters (prelims)M
6:30 p.m. 800 Meters (prelims) Aisha Stringer, Kim Thomas
6:50 p.m. 800 Meters (prelims) Moses Washington
7:10 p.m. 200 Meters (prelims) Tiffany Davis, Alicia Emanuel, Briana Hope
7:30 p.m. 200 Meters (prelims) L'eron George, Cory Morris
7:50 p.m. 5,000 MetersW
8:15 p.m.5,000 MetersDarren Hutchins, Brandon Kissack
8:40 p.m.DMRKelli O'Rourke, Aisha Stringer, Kim Thomas, Amanda Wedel
9:00 p.m.DMRJoey McNair, Aldwynn Sappleton, Brontez Steele, Moses Washington

SATURDAY, Feb. 23, 2002
COMBINED EVENTS:
10:00 a.m. 60-Meter Hurdles (heptathlon)Dan Strong, Ben Winter
10:45 a.m. Pole Vault (heptathlon)Dan Strong, Ben Winter
1:30 p.m. 1,000 Meters (heptathlon)Dan Strong, Ben Winter

FIELD EVENTS:
1:30 p.m. Triple Jump W
2:00 p.m. High Jump Veronica Clayborne, Kelsey Moore, Sand Swaby, Mary Waytula, Sheena Werling
2:15 p.m. Shot Put Wes Sims
3:00 p.m. Pole Vault Robin Hanna, Austin Landreth, Michael McNamara, Michael Westlund
4:00 p.m. Triple Jump Devon Brabham
4:30 p.m.High JumpKyle Blair
4:45 p.m.Shot PutMegan Crystal, Amanda Warehime

RUNNING EVENTS:
3:00 p.m. 60-Meter Hurdles (finals)W
3:05 p.m. 60-Meter Hurdles (finals)M
3:10 p.m. 60 Meters (finals) W
3:15 p.m. 60 Meters (finals)M
3:25 p.m. Mile (finals) W
3:35 p.m. Mile (finals) M
3:45 p.m. 600 Yards (two-section final)W
3:55 p.m. 600 Yards (two-section final)M
4:05 p.m. 400 Meters (two-section final)W
4:15 p.m. 400 Meters (two-section final)M
4:25 p.m. 1,000 Meters (finals)W
4:35 p.m. 1,000 Meters (finals)M
4:45 p.m. 800 Meters (finals) W
4:55 p.m. 800 Meters (finals) M
5:05 p.m. 200 Meters (two-section final)W
5:15 p.m. 200 Meters (two-section final)M
5:25 p.m 3,000 Meters (two-section final)Jackie Dubois
5:55 p.m. 3,000 Meters (two-section final)Jimmy Buchanan, Brandon Kissack, Joey McNair, Cecil Rose
6:30 p.m. 4x400-Meter Relay (two-section final)Alicia Emanuel, LaKisha Robinson, Aisha Stringer, Kim Thomas (alternates: Michelle Thomas, Lameisa Thomas, Krystle Williams)
6:45 p.m. 4x400-Meter Relay (two-section final)Raoul Harvey, Ernest Lewis, Aldwynn Sappleton, Moses Washington (alternate: Brontez Steele)

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Head To Sixth Annual Big 12 Track and Field Championships

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