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
Eldridge Set to Compete in World Junior Championship in the 1500
July 15, 2004 | Track and Field
NORMAN, Okla. -- OU sophomore-to-be Jessica Eldridge will compete in the 1500 meter run semifinal Friday at the 10th International Association of Athletics Federations at the Olympic Stadium in Grosseto, Italy.
Eldridge has the seventh best time in the field when comparing times recorded in 2004 and the eighth best time when career best times are compared. Eldridge ran a 4:18.30, her career best in the event, at the Georgia Tech Invitational in mid May. The time was the second best in school history and the best time in a 1500 for a Sooner freshman in school history.
Eldridge won the U.S. Junior National title in the 1500 on June 27, making her the first Sooner to compete in the Junior Worlds as the U.S. national champion. She ran a 4:21.13 to win the national title by more than two seconds. She also won the 1500 at the NCAA Midwest Regional on May 29 with a 4:24.33.
Both the NCAA Midwest Regional and the USA Junior Track and Field Championships were held on the campus of Texas A&M University.
The semifinal of the 1500 is scheduled for 10:25 a.m. in Italy. The top four in each semifinal heat plus the next four fastest times qualify for the final which is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Sunday.
Her trip to Italy and the World Junior meet cap off an incredible freshman year that saw her earn All-Big 12 and All-NCAA Midwest Regional honors in cross country on her way to the NCAA Championships, the first Sooner freshman to qualify since 1994. She then qualified for the NCAA Indoor in the mile after finishing seventh in the Big 12 Indoor in the 800. She competed in the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1500 after posting qualifying times in the 800, 1500 and 5,000. She won the Big 12 outdoor title in the 800 in early May. That win made her the first Sooner woman to win a Big 12 outdoor title in a running event and was OU's first conference title in the 800 since 1984 when former Sooner All-American Annette Campbell won the 800 in the Big Eight meet.
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