Sooners Head to Three Different T&F Meets

After hosting a very successful Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship and taking a week off from competition for final exams on the Norman, the OU track and field teams are returning to competition this week, sending athletes to three different meets. Those competing have already qualified for the NCAA Midwest Regional or are close to qualifying. These meets are the final competitions scheduled for OU before the regional meet May 28-29.

The Travel Plans
Nine athletes and three coaches left early Wednesday afternoon for the Texas A&M All-Comers meet. That meet is scheduled to begin at noon Thursday and will be held at the site of the upcoming NCAA Regional meet. Traveling to College Station were Veronica Clayborne, Dwayne Duhaney, Ashley Freeman, Yolanda Goff, Laverne Jones, Josh Scott, Robert Smith, Kelsey Strecker and David Wright. Coaches traveling with the group headed to A&M included Jill Lancaster, Rodney Price, Shanon Atkinson and Sand Swaby.

A second group left later Wednesday for Abilene, Texas, and the ACU Invite. That meet also starts at noon Thursday and continues throughout the day. Traveling to the ACU meet are coaches Tom Williams and Michael Westlund and athletes Lindsey Bourne, Leslie Dunlap, Kris Glenn, Austin Landreth, Scott Martin, Jon McMillian and Jennifer Plank.

The third traveling group will leave Thursday morning for Atlanta, Ga., and the Georgia Tech Invitational. Athletes traveling to that meet include Jason Coleman, Blake Culp, Jessica Eldridge, Salah Hussein and Catherine Odell. Coach Rodney Rothoff is traveling with that group. The Georgia Tech meet opens Friday night and continues through Saturday.

The Last Time Out
Jessica Eldridge became a first time champion and DaBryan Blanton repeated as a Big 12 champion during the eighth annual Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Eldridge came from behind in the final 100 meters to win the 800-meter title while Blanton took control early, then held on for the win after experiencing a slight hamstring injury. Following the 100, the decision was made to hold Blanton out of the 200 because of the tightness in his hamstring.

The Sooner men finished seventh in the meet while the OU women were eighth.

Blanton's repeat made him only the second OU student-athlete to win back-to-back titles in Big 12 competition. He also has now won the last two 100-meter titles and the 2004 indoor 60-meter title in Big 12 competition.

Eldridge's win was the first by a Sooner woman in a running event in the eight-year history of the outdoor Big 12. Her victory in the 800 also was OU's first in that event in conference competition since former Sooner All-American Annette Campbell won the 800 in 1984. Eldridge's prelim time of 2:06.86 ranks as the fourth fastest in school history and the fastest all-time by a Sooner true freshman. Eldridge would later prove her versatility and strength as a runner, coming back 45 minutes after the 800 final to finish fifth in the 5000 with a regional qualifying time.

Other top performances were posted by Laverne Jones, who finished second in the 100 and 200 and ran the second leg of OU's third place 400-meter relay. Her 200 time was a career best for the Sooner senior and breaks her own school record. Scott Martin finished second in the pole vault in his first Big 12 Outdoor meet, clearing a career best of 17-5.

The Sooners also got points from Dan Strong, who finished seventh in the decathlon; Chaundra Allard, who tied for seventh in the heptathlon; Catherine Odell, seventh in the 1500; the women's 400-meter relay which finished third; Leslie Dunlap and Jennifer Plank, who finished sixth and eighth in the pole vault respectively; Lucretia Rimmer, fourth in the triple jump; Josh Scott, sixth in the 200; Dwayne Duhaney, seventh in the 400; Salah Hussein, sixth in the 1500; David Wright, seventh in the 110-meter hurdles; Blake Culp, fourth in the steeplechase; the men's 1600-meter relay which finished eighth; Cory Crosby, fifth in the long jump; Robert Smith, seventh in the long and triple jump; Austin Landreth, seventh in the pole vault; Renea' Burns, eighth in the javelin; and Jon McMillian, who was third in the high jump.

A total of 10 season best marks were recorded by OU athletes in the meet, the first to be held on the redone John Jacobs Field. OU also added three regional qualifiers including Josh Scott in the 200, Odell in the 1500 and Eldridge in the 5000. Sooners who improved previous qualifying marks included Jones in the 200, Blanton in the 200, Eldridge in the 800, Rimmer in the triple jump, and the women's 400-meter relay.

Eldridge Named Big 12 Outstanding Freshman Performer
Jessica Eldridge became the second Sooner track and field athlete in as many years to be named the Big 12's outstanding freshman outdoor track and field performer of the year three days after the meet. Eldridge became the first Sooner woman to earn the award. She follows Sooner sprinter DaBryan Blanton, who earned the award last spring.

While the award is for the entire outdoor season, Eldridge's performance at the Big 12 Championship helped earn her the votes by conference coaches. The Broken Arrow freshman won the 800-meter run with a time of 2:07.62, then came back 45 minutes later to finish fifth in the 5000-meter run with a 16:46.08. It marked her first collegiate race at that distance and she broke the NCAA Regional qualifying standard by 10 seconds.

Eldridge had the fastest qualifying time in the 800 in the prelims with a 2:06.86 and that time ranked second in the Big 12 in the 800 and second in the Midwest Region. She also ranks 16th nationally in the 800.

She has recorded NCAA Regional qualifying marks in the 800, 1500 and 5000 and is one of only two student-athletes to post qualifying times in those three events as of May 4. Junior Kassi Anderson of Brigham Young is ranked 44th in the 800, 30th in the 1500 and ninth in the 5000. Eldridge ranks 86th in the 1500 and is 63rd in the 5000 on the national list. Anderson also has the best time in the country in the 3000-meter steeplechase.

Eldridge is ranked 15th on the Midwest Regional list in the 1500 and is ranked ninth in the 5000 on the regional list.

Her success outdoors continues an amazing year for the OU freshman. She became the first true freshman at OU to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships since 1994 when she advanced to that meet last November. She competed in the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 800-meter run in March.

She currently holds the best 800-meter junior time in the USA with a 2:06.33, an indoor time she recorded on Feb. 7.

Blanton became the first male to receive the Freshman of the Year award for the Sooners when he picked up the award in May 2003.

Trackwire Rankings
After returning to the top 25 in the fourth week of the outdoor Trackwire power ranking (May 4), the Sooner men fell out of the top 25 in week five (May 11). The OU men were ranked 21st in the first ranking of the season, were tied for 22nd in the second ranking, dropped out of the poll in week three and returned to the poll, tied for 25th, in week four.

Three 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 third in the country in the 100 in the Dandy Dozen that was released May 11. Senior Laverne Jones is ranked sixth in the 100 and seventh in the 200 on the women's Dandy Dozen list while freshman Jessica Eldridge remained 11th in the 800 for the second consecutive week.

Academic All-big 12 Honorees
Nominated by each institution's director of student-athlete support services and the media relations offices, the track and field academic all-league squads consisted of 204 first-team members combined with 53 on the second team. First-team members consist of those who have maintained a 3.20 or better GPA, while the second team are those who have a 3.00 to 3.19 average.

To qualify student-athletes must maintain a 3.00 or higher GPA either cumulative or the two previous semesters and must have participated in 60 percent of her/his team's scheduled contests. Freshmen and transfers are not eligible in their first year of academic residence. Senior student-athletes who have participated for a minimum of two years and meet all the criteria except percent of participation are eligible.

Seven OU men and seven Sooner women were named to the first team while seven men and women were named to the second team.

OU first-team honorees included Jimmy Buchanan, Sr., health and sports science, Toronto, Ontario; Philip Cain, Jr., finance/marketing, Bartlesville, Okla.; Kris Glenn, Jr., journalism, Healdton, Okla.; Darren Hutchins, Jr., math, Choctaw, Okla.; Robert Smith, Sr., human relations, Atlanta, Ga.; Aldwyn Sappleton, Jr., international business/economics, James Hill, Clarendon, Jamaica; Dan Strong, Jr., English, Enid, Okla.; Jackie Dubois, Jr., meteorology, Lawrence, Kan.; Emily Leonard, Jr., finance, Plano, Texas; Kelsey Moore, Jr., health and sports science, Yukon, Okla.; Jennifer Plank, So., psychology, Bethany, Okla.; Michelle Thomas, Sr., microbiology, McAlester, Okla.; Amanda Wedel-Bryce, Sr., communication, Lexington, Okla.; and Cicely Williams, Jr., chemical engineering, Oklahoma City, Okla.

Second-team honors went to Austin Landreth, Jr., construction science, Elk City, Okla.; Blake Culp, So., management, Bartlesville, Okla.; Joe McNair, Jr., history, Bartlesville, Okla.; Renea' Burns, Jr., finance, Ardmore, Okla.; Leslie Dunlap, Sr., finance, Choctaw, Okla.; Barbara Phillips, Jr., sociology/criminology, Cherokee, Okla.; and Nicola Maye, So., health and sports science, Summerfield, Clarendon, Jamaica.

This marks the third time to be selected for the track and field all-academic team for Glenn, Hutchins, Dunlap and Thomas. It marks the second selection for the track and field all-academic list for Buchanan, Sappleton, Strong, Dubois, Moore, Williams, Landreth, McNair and Phillips.

Next Up
Those Sooners who qualify will travel to the NCAA Midwest Regional May 28-29. Heading into action this weekend, Sooners have qualified for 19 individual events and one relay.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Sooners Head to Three Different T&F Meets

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