Landreth Wins Pole Vault Title And Automatic Trip To NCAA

OU's Austin Landreth was perfect through four heights to win the NCAA Midwest Regional pole vault title during the final day of competition at Ed Weir Stadium. With the win, he earns a trip to the NCAA Track and Field Championships in two weeks.

The Elk City sophomore passed on the first two heights, then cleared on his first attempt at the next four heights to beat Geoff Fairbanks of Southwest Texas. Landreth finished with a 17-7, a season best by nearly three inches after missing three attempts at 18-1. Had he cleared that height he would have set an Ed Weir Facility Record, breaking the mark set by Tim McMichael in 1989.

The mark for Landreth is just shy of the career best (17-7.5) he posted last year on his way to earning a ticket to the NCAA Championships as the only true freshman in the field.

Freshman Kevin Bookout opened the competition with his best effort, 60-6.75, then watched all but one other competitor fall by the side. The mark was good for second place and a guaranteed spot in the upcoming NCAA meet. The mark is the second best all-time in school history and was a season best for Bookout by nearly eight inches.

Senior Michael Westlund came back from an injury plagued senior season to win a jump off for fifth place in the pole vault to earn another trip to the NCAA Championships. For Westlund, it marks the fourth consecutive year for him to earn a spot in the NCAA Outdoor field. He was credited with clearing 16-7.25 but won the jump off with a 16-11.

Junior Laverne Jones, who earned indoor All-America honors in two events in March, finished third in the 200 to earn a spot in the field in the outdoor meet. She finished with a 23.55. Jones was seventh earlier in the day in the 100 and will have to wait for an at-large invitation for that event.

Other Sooner competitors on Saturday included Nicola Maye, who was sixth in the 800; Kelsey Moore, who tied for 14th in the high jump with a career best 5-7.25; Robin Hanna who finished 18th in the pole vault with a 15-7.25; the women's 1600-meter relay that finished 18th and the men's 1600-meter relay that finished 13th.

Minnesota won the men's title and the Sooners were tied for 13th. Nebraska won the women's team title and OU was 22nd.

Several Sooners await at-large invitations to the NCAA meet including DaBryan Blanton, who posted the best time in the nation in the 100 on Friday but did not run on Saturday because of a minor injury. Blanton should earn at-large invites in the 100 and 200 as should Kyle Bookout in the discus. Junior Aldwyn Sappleton is also a possible addition in the 800. Final at-large selections will be announced on Monday.

The NCAA Championships are set for June 11-14 in Sacramento, Calif. After the top five individuals and top three relays from each regional are placed in the meet, the field will be filled with at-large entries from the national performance ranking lists. The at-large entries will be announced Sunday with the final field set to be announced on Monday.

2003 NCAA Midwest Regional
Ed Weir Stadium
Lincoln, Neb.

OU Results only
Men's Pole Vault -- 1. Austin Landreth, 17-7; 5. (tie) Michael Westlund, 16-7.25 (won jump off to break the tie with a 16-11): 18. Robin Hanna, 15-7.25 Men's Shot Put -- 2. Kevin Bookout, 60-6.75 Women's High Jump -- 14. (tie) Kelsey Moore, 5-7.25 Women's 100 Meter Dash -- 7. Laverne Jones, 11.75 Women's 800 Meter Run -- 6. Nicola Maye, 2:09.64 Women's 200 Meter Dash -- 3. Laverne Jones, 23.55 Women's 1600 Meter Relay -- 18. Oklahoma (Natasha Franklin, Aisha Stringer, Lamesia Thomas, Nicola Maye), 3:54.22 Men's 1600 Meter Relay -- 13. Oklahoma (Dwayne Duhaney, Robert Smith, L'eron George, Aldwyn Sappleton), 3:10.45

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Landreth Wins Pole Vault Title And Automatic Trip To NCAA

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