OU Sends Track and Field Athletes to a Pair of Meets

March 6, 2003

NORMAN, Okla. - In the final weekend that marks may be posted for consideration for the 2003 NCAA Indoor Championships, the Sooner track and field teams are sending athletes to a pair of meets in hopes of posting and/or improving qualifying marks.

OU will send four pole vaulters, Leslie Dunlap, Robin Hanna, Austin Landreth and Michael Westlund, to Baton Rouge for competition on Friday at the LSU NCAA Indoor Qualifier. Action in the women's pole vault begins at 3 p.m. Friday with the men's vault to follow.

Meanwhile, Tiffany Davis, Dwayne Duhaney, L'eron George, Aldwyn Sappleton, Robert Smith and Aisha Stringer are headed to Ames, Iowa, for the Cyclone National Qualifier on Saturday. Davis is entered in the 60 hurdles, Stringer in the 800-meter run and Sappleton in the 800. Sappleton will join Duhaney, George and Smith on the 1600-meter relay. Running events in Ames begin at 10:25 a.m. and continue through 4 p.m.

The National Lists
OU has six athletes who have met NCAA provisional standards in seven events. They include (with event and current ranking heading into this weekend's meets): DaBryan Blanton, 60-meter dash, 14th; Aldwyn Sappleton, 800-meter run, 23rd; Jason Stanley, 19th in the 60-meter hurdles; LaVerne Jones, 60-meter dash, 12th, and 200-meter dash, 13th; Tiffany Davis, 60-meter hurdles, 32nd; and Aisha Stringer, 800-meter run, 34th. At this point, Blanton and Jones stand the best chance of advancing to the meet next weekend in Fayetteville, Ark. Only four automatic times have been posted in the men's 60. Seven automatic times have been posted in the women's 60 and nine have been posted in the women's 200. This weekend's qualifier meets mark the final opportunity to post marks and the final invited list will be released on Monday evening.

While Stanley has met the provisional mark, he is nursing an injury he suffered at the ISU Classic Feb. 14. His status is day by day.

The Last Time Out
Aldwyn Sappleton finished second in the 800-meter run by the narrowest of margins, .02 of a second, as the Sooners competed in the seventh annual Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend. His time of 1:49.97 was an NCAA provisional mark.

LaVerne Jones produced 14 points for the Sooner women, finishing second in the 60-meter dash and third in the 200-meter dash. Both times were NCAA provisional marks for the junior. Jones finished second in the 60 by just .03 seconds.

The Sooner women finished ninth in the team standings, up from 12th a year ago, while the Sooner men finished 11th. The OU men, battling injuries to key performers, failed to score any points in the pole vault and were disqualified in the 1600-meter relay, traditionally two events that produce points for the Sooners. OU's top 400-meter runner, David Coombs, went down with a hamstring injury in mid February causing a rearrangement of the relay and OU's vaulters have been battling various injuries throughout the season.

There were some strong individual performances for the Sooners. In addition to Jones' double, senior L'eron George, who posted a pair of season bests on Friday, finished eighth in the 60 and seventh in the 200. Freshman DaBryan Blanton, who posted an NCAA provisional mark and a school record with a 6.68 in the 60 on Friday, finished third in the 60 with a 6.76. OU also got points from Tiffany Davis, who finished fifth in the 60-meter hurdles with an NCAA provisional qualifying time; Jimyria Hicks, who was sixth in the 60; Alaina Dearman, who was seventh in the 1000-meter run; and Aisha Stringer, who was third in the 800. Stringer also ran the second leg of OU's eighth place 1600-meter relay. Joining her on that relay were Terrika Warren, Kim Thomas and Lameisa Thomas. Junior Leslie Dunlap cleared 12-4 to finish third in the pole vault during first day action. Dunlap was the defending champion in the event.

The bulk of OU's first-day points came in the women's pole vault. In addition to Dunlap's third place showing, the Sooners got points from Mary Waytula and Lindsey Bourne, who tied for eighth. The women also finished seventh in the distance medley relay. That quartet included Dearman, Kim Thomas, Lameisa Thomas and Nicola Maye.

The Sooner men got their points from a fourth place finish in the distance medley relay. The Sooners posted a time of 9:52.25, one of the best times in more than a decade for the OU men in this event. Joe McNair, Dwayne Duhaney, Sappleton and Jimmy Buchanan combined for the finish.

Next Up
Sooners who post automatic marks or who are invited with provisional marks will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Indoor Championships March 14-15. The rest of the team will begin preparing for the outdoor season opener, the Texas A&M Combined and Relays, March 20-22.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Sends Track and Field Athletes to a Pair of Meets

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors