OU Throwers Head to Denton

March 12, 2003

While three of their teammates are competing at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday, March 14, several Sooner throwers will head south to Denton, Texas, to open the 2003 outdoor season.

Assistant coach Ed Wade will take Chaundra Allard, Katie Blue, Renea' Burns, Megan Crystal, Jessica Pekah, Kyle Bookout and Dan Strong to the North Texas Invite on Friday.

Events Schedule
Katie Blue, Megan Crystal and Jessica Pekah will open competition in the shot put at noon and will compete in the women's discus once they are finished in the shot. Chaundra Allard is scheduled to compete in the shot put, the javelin and the 100-meter hurdles. Renea' Burns is scheduled to join Allard in the javelin while Kyle Bookout (discus) will return to competition after battling injuries for more than a year. Dan Strong will compete in the discus, javelin and 110 high hurdles.

The Rest of the Team
Most of the rest of the Sooner team will open the 2003 outdoor schedule March 22 at the Texas A&M Relays. Dan Strong and Chaundra Allard will compete in the combined events at the A&M Relays on Thursday and Friday, then will be joined by 26 other Sooners for Saturday's competition.

A number of other Sooners will not begin competition until the Texas-Arlington Invitational (March 29) or the Texas Relays (April 3-5). Sooner coaches are juggling competition schedules since the outdoor season has been extended two weeks with the addition of a regional meet to qualify for the NCAA.

Bookout Back
While most Sooners are anxious to get back outside for competition, senior Kyle Bookout may be the most excited. It has been more than a year since the senior from Stroud, Okla., has competed. He lost all of last year to a shoulder injury. Following that experience, he and Ed Wade, OU's throwing coach, decided he should concentrate on the discus, the better of his events, which then kept him on the sideline for the 2003 indoor season.

Bookout also is looking forward to younger brother, Kevin, currently a starter for the Sooner basketball team, joining the OU track and field squad. The younger Bookout, who will compete in the shot and discus, is scheduled to join the Sooners following the completion of the OU hoop season.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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