Sooner T&F Teams Head To Penn, Drake Relays

April 23, 2003

NORMAN, Okla. - One week after one of their best weekends of the season, the Sooner track and field teams will be sending student-athletes to two of the most prestigious meets in the country -- the 109th annual Penn Relays in Philadelphia and the 94th annual Drake Relays in Des Moines.

Scheduled To Compete
The majority of those traveling this weekend are heading to Philadelphia. Two coaches and nine student-athletes left Wednesday while two more coaches and 13 student-athletes will leave Thursday. Heading to Penn are co-head coaches Jill Lancaster and Rodney Price, assistant coaches Rodney Rothoff and Shanon Atkinson as well as Jimmy Buchanan (5,000), Alaina Dearman (distance medley relay), Natasha Franklin (sprint medley relay), Darren Hutchins (10,000), Nicola Maye (distance medley relay), Joe McNair (5,000), Kelsey Moore (high jump), Aisha Stringer (distance medley and sprint medley relays), Terrika Warren (distance medley and sprint medley relays), DaBryan Blanton (100, sprint medley and 400-meter relays), Joe Butler (high jump), Veronica Clayborne (triple jump), David Coombs (1600-meter relay), Cory Crosby (long jump), Tiffany Davis (100 hurdles), Dwayne Duhaney (1600-meter and sprint medley relays), L'eron George (sprint medley and 400-meter relays), LaVerne Jones (100 and sprint medley relay), Lucretia Rimmer (triple jump), Aldwyn Sappleton (1600-meter and sprint medley relays), Robert Smith (triple jump and 1600-meter relay) and Sean Williams (400-meter relay).
Later on Thursday, assistant coaches Ed Wade and Tom Williams will head to Des Moines with the following student-athletes -- Lindsey Bourne (pole vault), Kevin Bookout (shot put), Kyle Bookout (discus), Renea' Burns (javelin), Megan Crystal (shot put), Blake Culp (3000 steeplechase), Leslie Dunlap (pole vault), Robin Hanna (pole vault), Austin Landreth (pole vault) and Michael Westlund (pole vault).

The Schedule
Competition for the Sooners at the Penn Relays begins on Thursday while the OU competitors at the Drake Relays will begin action on Friday. Both meets will conclude on Saturday.

The Last Time Out -- Michael Johnson Classic
Sooner track and field athletes had one of their best days of the year at last weekend's Michael Johnson Classic, winning eight events and recording 13 NCAA regional qualifying marks on Saturday.
The winners included Tiffany Davis in the 100-meter hurdles, Kyle Bookout in the discus, Kevin Bookout in the shot put, Kelsey Moore in the high jump, Leslie Dunlap in the pole vault, Austin Landreth in the men's pole vault, Aisha Stringer in the women's invitational 800 and Aldwyn Sappleton in the men's invitational 800-meter run.
First-time regional qualifiers included Renea' Burns in the javelin, Lindsey Bourne in the women's pole vault, DaBryan Blanton in the 200 and Sappleton in the men's 800. Blanton had already qualified in the 100 and Sappleton had met the standard in the 400.
It was a day that produced a total of 22 OU collegiate career bests. It also was a day that several Sooners made their mark on school career performance lists. For Kyle Bookout, his effort of 190-9 is the second best in OU history. Younger brother Kevin's effort in the shot put, 58-3.75, ranks as the fifth best mark in school history. Bourne's mark in the pole vault (12-6) is the second best in school history and Burns' mark in the javelin (140-3) is the fifth best in school history.
On Friday, Sooner freshman Blake Culp won the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the meet. It was Culp's first time to compete in the steeplechase collegiately. Culp finished with a 9:36.85, nearly 11 seconds ahead of second place.
The only other Sooner to compete on Friday was Barbara Phillips. The Sooner sophomore finished third in the hammer throw. Phillips threw the hammer 136-4. The mark was a career best for the Sooner and ranks as the second best throw in school history.

The Last Time Out -- Mt. Sac Relays Multi-Events
The second day of the Mt. Sac Multi Event proved to be just as big a challenge as the first for Sooners Dan Strong and Chaundra Allard.
Strong recorded no height in the pole vault, one of his best events in the 10-event decathlon, and finished 17th with 5,218 points. Allard pulled a muscle while warming up for the long jump, the first event of the second day of the heptathlon, and was forced to withdraw.
Strong's time in the 1500, the final event of the competition, was a 4:55.55, a career best in the event in decathlon competition by more than a second and nearly five seconds better than his best effort in the 1500 in the decathlon last year.

Big 12 Honoree
OU freshman Kevin Bookout became the third Sooner, and second Bookout, to earn Big 12 Track and Field Male Athlete of the Week Honors this spring on Monday, April 21. He earned the honor for the week ending April 20.
Bookout won the shot put event at the Michael Johnson Classic last Saturday in Waco, Texas. The Oklahoma native is now unbeaten in the shot put this season and overall in his career going back to his high school days at Stroud High School. This was the third collegiate meet that Bookout has competed in since joining the track and field team after the Sooner basketball season ended. Bookout threw 58-3.75 to give him a third consecutive NCAA regional qualifying mark and ranks fifth on the all-time OU career list. Bookout also competed in the discus and finished eighth with a mark of 156-6.
His older brother, Kyle Bookout, was the first honoree of the season, winning the award on March 24. The third Sooner winner this spring was DaBryan Blanton, who was honored March 31.

Women's Cross Country Team Honored
The 2002 University of Oklahoma women's cross country team has been named an Academic All-America team by the Women's Intercollegiate Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Sooner women received special recognition for posting a team grade point average above a 3.25. Al teams with GPAs above 3.25 were named "With Distinction." To be eligible for the award, teams had to have a 3.00 cumulative grade point average and compete in the NCAA Regional Championship.

Up Next
The Sooners will head back south next weekend, traveling to Austin for the Texas Invitational. It will be OU's second of three trips to UT this spring. The Big 12 Championship will be in Austin May 17-19. 2

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooner T&F Teams Head To Penn, Drake Relays

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