Completed Event: Track and Field at Battle on the Bayou on April 3, 2026 ,
Final
Track and Field
at Battle on the Bayou
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Send Athletes to Final Regular Season Meets
April 22, 2004 | Track and Field
With the eighth annual Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships just a week away, most Sooner student-athletes will stay in Norman this weekend to train. Several others left today for the North Texas Invitational in Denton while another small group will head to Tulsa Saturday for the Golden Hurricane Invitational.
The Travel Plans
Many of the field event competitors are headed to Denton for today's North Texas Twilight Invite. Originally scheduled for Saturday, the meet was moved to Thursday with competition starting at 1 p.m. Traveling to Denton are Lindsey Bourne, Lauren Duel, Leslie Dunlap, Myria Houlihan, Kelsey Moore, Jennifer Plank, Katie Blue, Renea' Burns, Veronica Clayborne, Cale Drumwright, Kris Glenn, Scott Martin, Jon McMillian and Jake Williams. The women's pole vaulter open competition at 1 p.m. with the women high jumpers starting at 2 p.m. The women's discus starts at 2 p.m. followed by the men's pole vault at 3 p.m. and the women's shot put and men's high jump at 5 p.m.
On Saturday, five Sooners will head to the Golden Hurricane Invitational. Jason Coleman and Philip Cain are scheduled to run in the 800 while Jackie Dubois is entered in the 1500 and the 5000. Emily Leonard and Shannon Wilson will run in the 5000 only.
The Last Time Out
The weather finally cooperated with the OU track and field teams and the Sooners did not waste the opportunity, combining good weather and strong competition to add seven NCAA Regional qualifiers Saturday at the Michael Johnson/SBC Invitational.
Cale Drumwright won the javelin with a career best 181-8 and DaBryan Blanton won the 200 with a regional qualifying mark of 20.75 to lead the Sooner efforts at the meet. Blanton's time in the prelims also was a regional qualifying mark. Blanton had already qualified for the regional meet in the 100.
Other first time regional qualifiers included Laverne Jones in the 200; Lucretia Rimmer in the triple jump; Cory Crosby and Robert Smith in the long jump; Lindsey Bourne in the pole vault and the women's 400-meter relay.
Jones had already qualified for the regional meet in the 100 and the 400. Her time of 23.16 in the 200 Saturday was a career best by .10 seconds and set an OU school record in that event.
Several other Sooners, who have already qualified, beat the regional qualifying mark again in the meet including Renea' Burns in the javelin, Jon McMillian in the high jump; Leslie Dunlap in the pole vault and Scott Martin in the pole vault. Martin's mark in the pole vault, 17-4.5, is a season best while the others have better marks on the books.
The meet was especially sweet for the long and triple jumpers who qualified. Crosby had beaten the regional mark three times in the long and triple jump this season but each time saw the mark ruled out for regional qualifying because of the wind. Rimmer had beaten the regional mark at the John McDonnell Invitational but it was not a valid outdoor qualifying mark because bad weather had forced the jumpers inside. Smith, too, had seen regional marks wiped out by weather conditions this spring.
Meanwhile Jessica Eldridge added her name to the NCAA Regional qualifiers in the 1500 at the Mt. Sac Relays. Eldridge recorded a time of 4:27.89 in the 1500 to finish 29th out of 103 in the women's university/open division.
The Sooner freshman qualified in the 800 at the John McDonnell Invitational. She has already participated in the NCAA Cross Country Championship and the NCAA Indoor Championship as a true freshman.
Her time ranks as the seventh fastest in school history.
Another Sooner freshman, Salah Hussein, missed the qualifying mark in the 1500 by one second, finishing with a time of 3:49.38. The mark is a season best for Hussein and ties for 10th on the all-time OU list.
Catherine Odell finished 57th in the women's university/open 1500 with a 4:34.77 and Jason Coleman recorded a 3:55.14 in the men's university/open division of the 1500.
Trackwire Rankings
After being ranked the first two weeks, the Sooners fell out of the top 25 in the third week of the outdoor Trackwire power ranking that was released April 20. The OU men were ranked 21st in the first ranking of the season and were tied for 22nd in the second ranking.
Two Sooners individuals continue to rank in Trackwire's Dandy Dozen. The Dandy Dozen is selected using quantitative values that measure performances in past major competitions (such as conference championships, national championships and Olympic competition), durability and freedom from injuries, demonstrated ability to compete well in multiple rounds of competition, ability in other events, head-to-head competition with other top athletes, and personal or seasonal bests. Sophomore DaBryan Blanton is ranked first in the country in the 100 in the Dandy Dozen. Senior Laverne Jones is ranked sixth in the 100 and eighth in the 200 on the women's Dandy Dozen list.
Next Up
The Sooners will host the first meet on their newly renovated home track, the John Jacobs Field, when the eighth annual Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships come to Norman April 30-May 1.
Saturday, June 13
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 10
