OU Sends Three to NCAA Indoor T&F Championships

March 12, 2003

NORMAN, Okla. - Three Sooner student-athletes have been invited to compete in the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships this weekend in Fayetteville, Ark., at the Randal Tyson Track Center.

OU will be represented by DaBryan Blanton (60), LaVerne Jones (60 and 200) and Aldwyn Sappleton (800). The trip marks the first to the NCAA Indoor for Blanton (a true freshman) and Jones (a juco transfer) while Sappleton (a sophomore) qualified in 2002 in the 800 and as a member of the 1600-meter relay. He earned All-America honors last year as the anchor leg of the Sooners' sixth place 1600-meter relay. He finished 13th in the prelims of the 800 and did not advance to the final in 2002.

The Schedule of Competition
The Sooners will leave Wednesday for Fayetteville. The first event featuring an OU runner will be the preliminaries of the men's 800 which are scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Friday. The prelims in the women's 60 are at 5:45 p.m. followed by the men's prelim in the 60 at 6 p.m. The prelims in the women's 200 are set for 6:50 p.m. with the final in that event set for 8:20 p.m. Friday. The final in the men's 800 is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Saturday with the final in the women's 60 set for 7:05 p.m. followed by the men's at 7:15 p.m.

The National Ranking
According to the final invitation list, DaBryan Blanton is ranked 13th in the country in the 60 heading into the meet. Aldwyn Sappleton is ranked ninth in the 800 and LaVerne Jones is 10th in the 60 and 14th in the 200.

When They Got Their Marks
LaVerne Jones got her season best time in the 60 (7.43) at the Big 12 Championships. She got her season best mark in the 200 (23.60) on the second day of the Big 12 meet. DaBryan Blanton's best time in the 60 (6.68) also came at the Big 12 on the first day of action. Aldwyn Sappleton's best mark in the 800 came at the ISU Qualifier on March 8. He ran a 1:48.43 to move from 23rd to ninth on the national list. A complete breakdown of their season performances follows.

The Last Time Out
Aldwyn Sappleton stepped a bit closer to a return trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships, posting a season best 1:48.43 to finish second in the 800-meter run at the Cyclone Qualifier Meet. The time missed an automatic qualifying mark by just .13 seconds. Sappleton established a career best by .38 seconds and lowered the OU school record by .22 seconds. Sappleton also ran a leg on OU's 1600-meter relay which posted a season best by more than 12 seconds but missed the NCAA provisional time by just .12 seconds. Joining him on that relay, which finished ninth overall, were Dwayne Duhaney, L'eron George and Robert Smith. Two Sooner women also traveled to Ames hoping to improve already posted NCAA marks but neither did. Tiffany Davis finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.61. Her best time in the meet was an 8.51 in the semifinals but she already had a season best mark of 8.41 which is an NCAA provisional mark. Aisha Stringer finished eighth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:09.21, well below her previous season best of 2:08.81 which is an NCAA provisional mark.

The Sooner pole vaulters who traveled to Baton Rouge, La., for the LSU National Qualifier also failed to post NCAA qualifying marks. Junior Leslie Dunlap, a 2002 NCAA Outdoor All-American and two-time NCAA Indoor participant, won the women's division with a vault of 12-5.50. That mark was nearly three inches less than her season best of 12-8.25 and well short of the NCAA provisional mark. Seniors Robin Hanna and Michael Westlund and sophomore Austin Landreth, tied for first in the men's vault with a 16-4.75. The mark was well under the NCAA provisional qualifying mark and brought an end to a season that saw each of the men battle injuries that kept them from reaching their previous best marks. For Westlund, a string of six consecutive trips to the NCAA Championships, indoor and outdoor combined, was broken.

Other National Rankings
A total of six Sooner student-athletes posted NCAA provisional marks for the 2003 NCAA Indoor Championship and of those, three were invited to the meet. Other Sooners who had provisional marks and their final ranking included Jason Stanley, tied for 20th in the 60-meter hurdles; Tiffany Davis, tied for 33rd in the 60-meter hurdles and Aisha Stringer, 40th in the 800-meter run.

How They Have Done in 2003

DaBryan Blanton
60-Meter Dash
Oklahoma Track Classic (1-18): Did not compete
Radio Shack/MSSC Invitational (1-24/25): Did not compete
J.D. Martin Invitational (2-1): Did not compete
Iowa State Classic (2-14/15): 6.75 (third); 6.80 (prelims)
Sooner Indoor (2-22): 6.76 (fourth); 6.82 (prelims)
Big 12 Indoor (2-28/3-1): 6.76 (third); 6.68 (semifinals); 6.71 (prelims)

Aldwyn Sappleton
800-Meter Run
Oklahoma Track Classic (1-18): Did not compete
Radio Shack/MSSC Invitational (1-24/25): Did not compete
J.D. Martin Invitational (2-1): Did not compete
Gator Invitational (2-9): 1:50.92 (third)
Iowa State Classic (2-14/15): 1:49.21 (sixth)
Sooner Indoor (2-22): Did not compete
Big 12 Indoor (2-28/3-1): 1:49.97 (second)
ISU Cyclone Qualifier (3-8): 1:48.43 (second)

LaVerne Jones
60-Meter Dash
Oklahoma Track Classic (1-18): 7.41 (first); 7.46 (prelims)
Radio Shack/MSSC Invitational (1-24/25): 7.54 (first); 7.56 (prelims)
J.D. Martin Invitationa (2-1): 7.36 (second); 7.45 (prelims)
Iowa State Classic (2-14/15): Did not run in final; 7.47 (prelims)
Sooner Indoor (2-22): Did not compete
Big 12 Indoor (2-28/3-1): 7.35 (second); 7.32 (semifinals); 7.42 (prelims)

200-Meter Dash
Oklahoma Track Classic (1-18): 24.41 (first)
Radio Shack/MSSC Invitational (1-24/25): Did not compete
J.D. Martin Invitational (2-1): 24.16 (first)
Iowa State Classic (2-14/15): 23.94 (first)
Sooner Indoor (2-22): Did not compete
Big 12 Indoor (2-28/3-1): 23.60 (third); 23.88 (prelims)

bold indicates NCAA qualifying mark
underline indicates OU school record

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Sends Three to NCAA Indoor T&F Championships

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