Sooners Open Indoor T&F Season

After several months of training, the 2005 indoor track and field season opens Friday as the Sooners compete in the Arkansas Invite in Fayetteville. The first event is set to begin at noon with the men's shotput. The women's high jump begins at 1 p.m. and events continue throughout the afternoon and evening.

All action is set for the Randal Tyson Track Center, the host site of the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships scheduled for March 11-12.

The Arkansas Invite Field
Joining host Arkansas and Oklahoma in the field are Kansas, Mississippi and Texas A&M. Other teams may be added before the meet begins on Friday. A total of 51 Sooner student-athletes are scheduled to make the trip to Arkansas.

A First Time
This marks the first time for the Sooners to participate in the Arkansas Invite. Traditionally, OU opens the indoor season with the OU Classic but the calendar added a week to the indoor season giving the Sooners a chance to compete again at the same facility that will host the NCAA Indoor.

OU is scheduled to return to Fayetteville for the Tyson Invite on Feb. 11-12.

A Quick Look at the Sooners
While the Sooner roster is more geared for the outdoor season, OU should make some noise during the indoor season.
The first name that comes to the top is junior sprinter DaBryan Blanton. Blanton won the Big 12 indoor 60-meter title as a sophomore and added the NCAA title in that event two weeks later. He is a two-time All-American in the indoor 60. He missed the NCAA outdoor regional meet with an injury but is fully recovered as the 2005 indoor season opens.

Austin Landreth, the 2004 Big 12 indoor pole vault champion, is ready to close out his Sooner career in style. The senior struggled with injuries during the 2004 outdoor season after just barely missing a trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships in March 2004. Another Sooner back from injury is Aldwyn Sappleton. Sappleton, a multi-time Sooner All-American, won the Big 12 title in the indoor 600 in 2003 and was forced to redshirt with an injury during the 2004 outdoor season. He, too, just missed a trip to the NCAA Indoor meet.

Newcomers to watch for on the men's roster this season include Jason Baird, long and triple jump; Ty Barrington in the pole vault; Brayon Brown in the sprints; Chason Lane in the sprints; Tydree Lewis, long and triple jump; Tony Francis in the hurdles; Marcus Pugh in the sprints; and Shea Selby in the high jump.

For the women, Kelsey Moore (high jump) and Lindsey Bourne (pole vault) will need to step up as senior leaders. Terrika Warren (sprints and relays) and Jennifer Plank (pole vault) will be keys for the Sooners. Returning sprinters Ashley Freeman and Yolanda Goff will help the women fill the gap left by the graduation of multi-time All-American Laverne Jones

New names who could make an impact this season include Kari Barnes, pole vault; Stephanie Graves, long and triple jump; Lindsey Harris, pole vault; Kerri-Ann Mitchell, sprints and jumps; Nicole Moore, long and triple jump; T.J. Newton, sprints and relays; and Savita Spellmon, jumps and sprints. For Mitchell, this week's meet is a return to the place she started her collegiate career as she transferred to OU from Arkansas at the end of the 2004 spring semester

Not all the Sooners on the roster will be in action this weekend. Four-time NCAA qualifier Jessica Eldridge, who competed in the 2004 NCAA Cross Country Championship, is being held out of the meet while other Sooner competitors continue rehab from injuries, finish intersession classwork and continue the adjustment to indoor track.

At Stake
The will be the first opportunity Sooner competitors have had to qualify for the 2005 NCAA Indoor Championships. As the season opener, there could be some jitters and there are 10 women and nine men competing in a Sooner uniform for the first time Friday. That includes true freshmen, redshirts and transfers. With just seven weeks in the schedule before the NCAA meet, the Sooners will need take advantage of all the competition opportunities they have to get qualifying marks.

Next Up
The Sooners will return home to host the OU Track Classic on Saturday, Jan. 22. Action will begin at Mosier Indoor Facility at 10 a.m.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Related News

Related Videos

Sponsors