Sooners Head to NCAA T&F Midwest Regional

A total of 20 University of Oklahoma track and field student-athletes left for College Station, Texas, on Wednesday to prepare for the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships, scheduled to begin at noon Friday. The two-day meet will held at the Anderson Track and Field Complex on the campus of Texas A&M University.

The Regional Makeup The Midwest Region includes a total of 39 Division I track and field programs from the states of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. Eleven of the Big 12 schools are in the Midwest Region with Missouri competing in the Mideast Regional. This marks the second year of a two-year trial with the regional qualifying format for outdoor track and field. An announcement will be made later this summer concerning qualifying for future NCAA outdoor meets.

The Schedule of Events Freshman high jumper Jon McMillian will be OU's first competitor. His event is scheduled for noon on Friday. The women pole vaulters, Lindsey Bourne, Leslie Dunlap and Jennifer Plank, will open competition at 4 p.m. Friday with running events also scheduled to start at 4 p.m. On Saturday, Renea' Burns (javelin), the men's pole vaulters (Austin Landreth and Scott Martin) and Robert Smith (triple jump) will start competition at 3 p.m. Running events begin at 6 p.m. Saturday.

What the Regional Means The top five individuals in each event from each of four regionals to be held this weekend will advance to the NCAA Championships which are scheduled for June 9-12 in Austin, Texas. Additionally, the top three relay teams from each of the four regionals will advance to the NCAA meet. After all regional qualifiers have been placed in the national field, at-large entries will be added from the ranking list to get the total number of competitors to the allowed mark of 544. This process allows a second chance for highly ranked athletes who don't advance from regional action. Last year, Sooner sprinter DaBryan Blanton went to the NCAA meet as an at-large entry in the 100 after suffering an injury during the prelims of regional action.

Leading the Way Senior Laverne Jones leads the Sooner qualifiers, ranking as the top declared competitor in the region in the 100 and 200. She also is scheduled to run on OU's 400-meter relay. Jones also had a qualifying time in the open 400 but will not compete in that event. Freshman Jessica Eldridge is ranked first in the region in the 1500, the only race she is scheduled to run after posting qualifying marks in the 800, 1500 and 5000.

The Sooner Qualifiers and Their Ranking Sooner qualifiers and their rank in the region heading into the meet include Jones, first in the 100 and the 200; Eldridge, first in the 1500; McMillian, tied for third in the high jump; Blanton, third in the 100; Cory Crosby, fourth in the long jump; Salah Hussein, sixth in the 1500; Martin, sixth in the pole vault; the women's 400-meter relay (Ashley Freeman, Yolanda Goff, Kelsey Strecker, and Jones), sixth; Austin Landreth, tied for seventh in the pole vault; Lucretia Rimmer, seventh in the triple jump; Robert Smith, ninth in the long jump and 16th in the triple jump; Dunlap, 10th in the pole vault; Josh Scott, 12th in the 200; Catherine Odell, 14th in the 3000 meter steeplechase; Blake Culp, 15th in the 3000 meter steeplechase; Burns, 18th in the javelin; Bourne, tied for 19th in the pole vault; and Plank, tied for 19th in the pole vault.

A Defending Champion Austin Landreth is the defending champion in the men's pole vault, winning the initial regional title last May in Lincoln, Neb., with a vault of 17-0.

The Last Time Out For awhile, it looked like the stormy spring weather was going to halt any Sooner efforts to improve qualifying marks. A meet at College Station on May 13 was cancelled completely without the teams every leaving the hotel. Another meet at Abilene Christian, also on May 13, was delayed twice. After starting competition and sitting through the second weather-related delay, all but one Sooner athlete packed up and returned to Norman. One of the athletes affected by the College Station cancellation competed in Manhattan, Kan., on Saturday and the Sooners who went to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech Invitational had great weather on Friday and Saturday. Following is a recap of the results from those meets.

ABILENE CHRISTIAN OPEN -- Three pole vaulters and a high jumper represented OU in the weather-delayed Abilene Christian Open. Kris Glenn finished fourth in the high jump, clearing 6-4. Leslie Dunlap was eighth in the pole vault with a vault of 11-9.75. Lindsey Bourne also cleared 11-9.75 but was awarded 10th place based on the number of misses in the competition. Jennifer Plank did not clear a bar in the meet. All other Sooners who were scheduled to compete did not because of the weather conditions. The start of the meet was held up by storms, then the meet was postponed again later in the day because of another round of thunderstorms.

GEORGIA TECH INVITATIONAL -- Four Sooners met NCAA Regional qualifying marks on the first day of the Georgia Tech Invitational. Three were first-time qualifiers in the event they competed in while Jessica Eldridge improved her season-best time in the 1500 in the final weekend to qualify for regional action. Eldridge came close to breaking the school record in the 1500, an event she had already qualified in, finishing fifth with a time of 4:18.30. It's the second best time in school history and a career best for the freshman by nearly nine seconds. Catherine Odell, running in the first 3000-meter steeplechase of her career, qualified for regionals with a 10:54.79. She finished seventh overall with that time, also the second best mark in school history. On the men's side, Salah Hussein, who just barely missed in the 1500 two weeks earlier at the Big 12, got his regional qualifying mark with a time of 3:44.77. That lowered his career best by five seconds and is the second-best mark in school history. He finished 10th overall while Jason Coleman finished with a career-best mark of 3:51.77. Blake Culp took another five seconds off his career best, finishing seventh in the 3000-meter steeplechase with a regional qualifying time of 9:06.97. That mark is the sixth best in school history and give the sophomore a first-ever trip to the NCAA Regional meet.

On Saturday, the Sooners came up just short of adding names to the list or improving their regional times in the 800. Hussein recorded a season best with a 1:51.73 but missed the qualifying time in the 800 by one second. He finished 10th overall in the event. Jason Coleman finished with a 1:54.92. Eldridge already had a regional qualifying mark in the 800 but did not improve that time, finishing 12th overall with a 2:08.40.

WARD HAYLETT INVITATIONAL -- Senior Robert Smith had battled the weather throughout the spring, losing three regional qualifying marks in the triple jump to excessive wind and then having a competition cancelled because of stormy weather. While he had recorded an NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the long jump, he was attempting to double in the triple jump. Finally, on the next to last day to qualify for regional competition, Smith got his mark on his final jump. The Atlanta, Ga., senior recorded a career-best jump of 49-8.50, a legal season best by more than 17 inches to finish fourth in the meet. That mark was well over the regional qualifying standard. It also stands as the fifth best mark in school history.

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) and remained just on the outside of the top 25 in week six (May 18). 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 are ranked 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 18. Freshman Jon McMillian is listed eighth in the high jump after entering the rankings for the first time on May 11. Senior Laverne Jones is ranked eighth in the 100 and sixth in the 200 on the women's Dandy Dozen list.

Graduation and Academic Honors for Sooner Track and Field The end of the academic year has brought academic honors and degrees for a number of current and former Sooner track and field/cross country student-athletes.

OU's graduating Class of 2004 included 18 representatives from the men's and women's track and field/cross country teams. Earning undergraduate degrees as part of the Class of '04 were Renea' Burns, Joe Butler, Philip Cain, Megan Crystal, L'eron George, Trevor Gillum, Edwin Jones, Brandon Kissack, Amanda Luksetich, Aldwyn Sappleton, Lameisa Thomas, Amanda Wedel Bryce, Kristen Whitnack, and Krystle Williams.

Four former Sooners, Andrea DeLozier Larabee, Jimyria Hicks, Jessica Longfors and Cecil Rose, earned master's degrees during commencement ceremonies.

Several athletes from the track and field/cross country programs have received academic honors from various areas of campus in the final weeks of the semester.

Those awards include Sappleton, Athletic Director's Leadership Award; Sara Francis, Jay Myers Award from the OU Athletics Council and the Harriet Harvey Memorial Scholarship from the OU Foundation; Jason Coleman, the Jay Myers Award; Michelle Thomas, the Athletic Council's Achievement Award; Ashley Harris, Emily Leonard, Sappleton, Robert Smith and Terrika Warren, the Athletic Council's Service Award; Jessica Eldridge (November) and DaBryan Blanton (March), Athletic Student Life Student of the Month; and Tiffani Johnson, the PACE Award from OU's University College.

The Athletic Director's Leadership Award is given annually to student-athletes who demonstrate extraordinary leadership in representing the University of Oklahoma and his/her team. The Jay Myers Award is given annually to the freshmen student-athletes who best combine excellence in scholarship with potential excellence in his/her chosen field of athletic endeavor. The Athletics Council Service Award honors student-athletes who have overcome great personal, academic, and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics. The Athletics Council Service Award is given to student-athletes who have made important contributions to the community through their commitment to service.

The Harriet Harvey Memorial Scholarship honors one of the most distinguished persons to hold a professorship at OU. It is given annually and is awarded for demonstrated scholastic ability and the student's exhibited capability of succeeding in his/her chosen field of study. The PACE Award is given by OU's University College to recognize outstanding freshmen students on the Norman campus. The award is given to the top 1 percent of the current freshman class. It requires a minimum 3.25 grade point average and the award recognizes Participation, Achievement, Community and Excellence.

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, Jr., health and sports science, Toronto, Ontario; Philip Cain, Sr., 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, Sr., 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 Championships in Austin, Texas. That meet is scheduled for June 9-12 on the campus of the University of Texas.

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Sooners Head to NCAA T&F Midwest Regional

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