Jones Earns All-America Honors At NCAA Indoor Championship

March 14, 2003

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Junior LaVerne Jones had the best meet of her young Sooner career on the biggest stage possible, the 2003 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday night.

The end result was an eighth place finish in the women's 200-meter dash, All-America honors, a new school record in the 200 and the 60 and a spot in the 60-meter dash final on Saturday.

Jones, known as a 400-meter specialist while competing in the junior college ranks, ran a 23.16 in the 200 prelims, lowering the school record that she set on March 1 by .44 seconds. Just 75 minutes later, she ran a 23.53 to finish eighth in the final, one of eight running finals held on the first day of the meet.

She opened her day with a 7.30, another school record, in the 60-meter dash. The time was the eighth fastest, advancing her to Saturday's 7:05 p.m. final.

"We are very happy with what happened today," said sprints coach Shanon Atkinson. "She really surprised me with that 23.16. I really thought she would run around a 23.30 in the prelim. I really think the key to her performance was that on Thursday we worked only in lane 6 and she happened to draw lane 6 in the prelims. For her to post a time like that from that lane on a 5-foot banked track is really amazing. She is just a great competitor.

"We'll look at the tape tonight and see what we can improve in the 60," Atkinson added. "I thought her first step out of the blocks was a bit sluggish so we will work on that in the hallway here at the hotel. You don't have any room to make mistakes in a race as short as the 60. She will need to PR again tomorrow to finish in the top five."

One of Atkinson's other sprinters, freshman DaBryan Blanton, learned exactly what happens when you make a mistake in the 60. He tied for eighth in the 20-man preliminary but lost a trip to the final when the tie was broken by carrying out the time to three digits. Mardy Scales of Middle Tennessee, running in the third heat, posted a 6.663 to Blanton's 6.669 in the second heat to advance to Saturday's final. Blanton will still earn All-America honors as one of the top eight Americans in the race.

"It was just a freshman mistake," Atkinson said. "He didn't run through the finish line. He eased up about two meters out and it cost him a chance to run tomorrow. It's a valuable lesson to learn and I don't think he will make that mistake again."

Aldwyn Sappleton, OU's final competitor tonight, ran 1:52.86 to finish 16th in the 800 and did not advance to Saturday's final. The time was nearly four seconds slower than his previous season best as the redshirt sophomore struggled through the final 400 meters. He ran with the leaders through the first half of the race and was in fourth at the 400-meter mark before dropping to eighth in his heat on the bell lap.

"He was running great through the first half of the race and then he developed breathing problems," explained middle distance coach Rodney Rothoff. "He was trying so hard and running so well. He is really disappointed but we will move on from this and see what we can do to keep these problems from becoming an issue during the outdoor season."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Jones Earns All-America Honors At NCAA Indoor Championship

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