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
Sooner Track and Field Teams Head to Arkansas
April 09, 2004 | Track and Field
Originally scheduled to be at home this weekend for the annual John Jacobs Invitational, the Sooner track and field teams will instead head to Fayetteville, Ark., for the annual John McDonnell Invitational.
Action begins for the Sooners at 9 a.m. with the women's hammer throw and continues throughout the day. The final event on the track is the men's 1600-meter relay, set for 7:20 p.m.
A total of 26 women and 22 men are scheduled to compete for the Sooners in Fayetteville. This weekend marks the final weekend until the Big 12 Championships April 29-May 1 for the Sooners to send teams to one meet.
The Field
Joining Oklahoma and host Arkansas on the track will be Bacone College, Barton County CC, Butler County CC, Cloud County CC, Harding, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Monroe, Missouri Southern, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma State, Oral Roberts, Pittsburg State, Rhode Island, Southwest Missouri State and Tulsa. The Arkansas men are currently ranked third in the country while the OU men are 21st in the Trackwire ranking. On the women's side, 12th-ranked Arkansas is the only team listed in the top 25 of the Trackwire ranking.
The Last Time Out
The Sooners sent more than 20 athletes to the 77th annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin from Wednesday through Saturday. Another 27 Sooners headed north to the Emporia State Relays on Saturday. In both meets, the Sooners fared quite well.
DaBryan Blanton won the 100-meter dash at the Texas Relays and posted a 10.22 in the final to beat the NCAA Regional qualifying mark by .28 seconds. His was the only victory in Austin but several other Sooners had strong performances in the meet.
The quartet of Catherine Odell, Ashley Johnson, Kristi Cook and Jessica Eldridge set a school record in the distance medley relay. The time of 11:31.14 beat the old record by more than 10 seconds. Laverne Jones finished fourth in the women's 100 with a regional qualifying time.
Other regional qualifiers for the Sooners included Austin Landreth (pole vault), Jon McMillian (high jump), Leslie Dunlap (pole vault) and Scott Martin (pole vault). All the qualifiers from Austin had previously met the regional standard but several improved their marks including Martin, Dunlap and Jones.
In Emporia, Jennifer Plank improved her career best in the pole vault by nearly 15 inches to post an NCAA Regional qualifying mark. She cleared 12-3.5 to finish fourth in the field. She was OU's only regional qualifier in Emporia but several Sooners won their events including Cicely Williams, 100-meter hurdles; the women's 1600-meter relay; David Wright, 110-meter hurdles; and Cory Crosby, long jump. Crosby also finished second in the triple jump.
Trackwire Rankings
The first Trackwire power ranking and Dandy Dozen list of the outdoor season was released on April 6 and the Sooner men are 21st in the power ranking. The OU men were ranked every week but one of the indoor season in the Trackwire 25.
The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualifying competitions across the country. This projection is generated by scoring the Dandy Dozen, a power ranking of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event.
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 eighth in the 100 and seventh in the 200 on the women's Dandy Dozen list.
Big 12 Track and Field
Work continues at the John Jacobs Complex in preparation for the eighth annual Big 12 Track and Field Championships to be hosted by OU April 29-May 1. Credential requests are being accepted now. The form will be available on the OU web site and may be requested by contacting Debbie Copp.
Next Up
The Sooners will send athletes to the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco, Texas, next Saturday while other Sooners head west to the Mt. Sac Relays.
Saturday, June 13
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 10
