Blanton, Jones Lead Sooners at Big 12 Indoor Track and Field

The first day of the eighth annual Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championship was one for Sooner sprinters as LaVerne Jones and DaBryan Blanton posted the fastest times in the preliminary and semifinal rounds of the 60-meter dash to lead the way into Saturday's final.

Blanton's time of 6.57 in the 60 semifinal is the second fastest time by an American this year and improves his previous season best by .07 seconds. It ranks as the second fastest time on the NCAA qualfying list as well. Blanton's attempt to double in the 200 was stopped when he was disqualified in his heat of the 200 Friday evening.

Not to be outdone, Jones posted a school record with her 7.27 in the 60 semifinal. The time is an automatic qualifying mark for the NCAA Indoor and broke the meet record of 7.29 she had tied in the prelims. Jones later posted the second fastest qualifying time in the 200 with a season best mark of 23.31, also an NCAA automatic qualifying mark.

Colorado leads the men's team standings with 23 points after four events. Kansas State is second with 22 and the Sooners are seventh with 14. On the women's side, Nebraska leads after six events with 78.50 points. Missouri is second with 28 and OU is 11th with 6.50.

The Sooners got points in the first day of competition in the men's long jump, the men's distance medley relay, the women's pole vault and the women's distance medley relay. Junior Robert Smith recorded a season best 24-3.5 in the long jump. The mark improved his previous season best by nearly a foot and earned him a fourth place finish. Senior Cory Crosby finished sixth in the long jump with a 23-11.75.

Senior Leslie Dunlap finished tied for sixth in the pole vault with a 12-7.5. Four vaulters went out at that height with two tying for fourth with one miss and two tying for sixth with two misses.

The men's distance medley relay finished third with a 9:53.03, also a season best. The women's distance medley relay finished fifth with an 11:39.81.

Jones and Blanton will have company in the finals on Saturday as five other Sooners advanced from Friday's preliminaries. Aldwyn Sappleton posted the best time in the prelims of the 800 with a 1:52.45. Catherine Odell had the best qualifying time in the 1000 with a season best of 2:51.67, a best by more than five seconds. Salah Hussein will compete in the men's 1000 after posting the eighth best time in the 1000 with a 2:24.93, a season best by more than four seconds.

In the women's 800, Jessica Eldridge recorded the seventh best qualifying time with a 2:11.62 and Nicola Maye had the eighth best time with a 2:12.02.

Junior Dan Strong is in seventh place after four events of the men's heptathlon. He will have the 60 hurdles, pole vault and 1000 meter run on Saturday.

In the women's pentathlon, LaDonna Moore finished ninth with 3,516 points, just 17 points out of the scoring. Veronica Clayborne finished 11th with 3,407 points. Both marks are OU career bests for the duo. Moore's score ranks second on the all-time OU list while Clayborne's total is seventh. In the men's 5000, Silverus Kimeli finished ninth with a 14:36.69.

Action will resume on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with the heptathlon's 60 hurdles. Field event finals are scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. with running event finals scheduled to start at 3 p.m.

Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships
Friday Results (Final and Preliminaries -- OU Results only)

Men's Team Standings: 1) Colorado, 23; 2) Kansas State, 22; 3) Baylor, 20; 4) Iowa State, 17; T-5) Nebraska and Texas A&M, 16; 7) Oklahoma, 14; 8) Texas, 9; T-9) Kansas, Texas Tech, and Missouri, 5; 12) Oklahoma State, 4
Finals
5000-Meter Run: 9. Silverus Kimeli, 14:36.69; Blake Culp and Jimmy Buchanan, did not finish
Long Jump: 4. Robert Smith, 24-3.5; 6. Cory Crosby, 23-11.75
Distance Medley Relay: 3. Oklahoma, 9:53.03
Weight Throw: 17. Evan Kerrane, 52-11.50
Heptathlon: 7. Dan Strong, 2,694 after four events
60-meter dash: 14. Strong, 7.62 (675)
Long Jump: 9. Strong, 20-10 (664)
Shot Put: 4. Strong, 42-2.75 (659)
High Jump: T-4. Strong, 6-2 (696)

Prelims
60 meter dash: 1. DaBryan Blanton, 6.65 (NCAA automatic qualifying time); 20. Josh Scott, 7.12
60 meter semifinals: 1. Blanton, 6.57 (NCAA automatic qualifying time) (advances to the final)
60-meter hurdles: 10. David Wright, 8.34; 12. Jason Stanley, 9.07 (neither advanced to final)
200 meter dash: 17. Scott, 22.33; Blanton, disqualified
400 meter dash: 9. Dwayne Duhaney, 48.36; 21. Caleb Turner, 51.58 (neither advanced to the final)
600 yard dash: 11. Dax Thomas, 1:12.40 (did not advance to the final)
800 meter run: 1. Aldywyn Sappleton, 1:52.45 (advances to the final)
1000 meter run: 8. Salah Hussein, 2:24.93 (advances to the final)
Mile: 11. Joe McNair, 4:12.01; 12. Jason Coleman, 4:12.80 (neither advances to the final)

Women's Team Standings: 1) Nebraska, 79.50; 2) Missouri, 28; 3) Kansas State, 24; 4) Texas, 18; 5) Colorado, 17; 6) Texas A&M, 16; 7) Baylor, 14; 8) Oklahoma State, 11; 9) Texas Tech, 8; 10) Iowa State, 7; 11) Oklahoma, 6.50; 12) Kansas 5

Finals
Distance Medley Relay: 5. Oklahoma, 11:39.81
Pole Vault: T-6. Leslie Dunlap, 12-7.50; 10. Lindsey Bourne, 12-1.50; 17. Devon Fox, 11-7.75; 20. Jennifer Plank, 11-1.75
Weight Throw: 16. Barbara Phillips, 41-2.25
Long Jump: 16. Kelsey Strecker, 17-9.75; Lucretia Rimmer, foul
Pentathlon: 9. LaDonna Moore, 3,516; 11. Veronica Clayborne, 3,407
60-Meter Hurdles: 2. Moore, 8.67 (980); 11. Clayborne, 9.34 (840)
High Jump: T-3. Clayborne, 5-5.75 (818); 11. Moore, 5-1 (678)
Shot Put: 6. Moore, 34-11.25 (572); 14. Clayborne, 29-11.25 (472)
Long Jump: 2. Moore, 18-3.75 (723); 9. Clayborne, 17-0.75 (614)
800-Meter Run: 13. Clayborne, 2:32.38 (663); 14. Moore, 2:40.85 (563)

Prelims
60 meter dash: 1. LaVerne Jones, 7.29 (ties meet record; NCAA automatic qualifying mark); 13. Yolanda Goff, 7.60 (both advance to semifinals); 20. Ashley Freeman, 7.93
60 meter semifinals: 1. Jones, 7.27 (meet record; NCAA automatich qualifying mark); 15. Goff, 8.37 (did not advance to final)
60 meter hurdles: 13. Cicely Williams, 8.88; 16. Melissa Shipley, 9.59
60 meter hurdles semifinals: 14. Williams, 8.92; 16. Shipley, 9.62 (neither advances to the final)
200 meter: 2. Jones, 23.31 (advances to final); 21. Ashley Freeman, 26.09; Yolanda Goff, did not start
400 meter: 13. Terrika Warren, 58.54; 14. Jessica Talton, 58.83; 18. Natasha Franklin, 1:00.55 (none advance to the final)
600 yard: 10. Kristi Cook, 1:26.09; 15. Shipley, 1:28.32; 17. Michelle Thomas, 1:28.73 (none advance to final)
800 meter: 7. Jessica Eldridge, 2:11.62 (advances to final); 8. Nicola Maye, 2:12.02 (advances to final)
1000 meter: 1. Catherine Odell, 2:51.67 (advances to final)
Mile: 9. Eldridge, 4:50.22 (did not advance to final)