Track Signs Five to End Early Period

NORMAN, Okla. University of Oklahoma head track and field coach Martin Smith announced the signing of five student-athletes for the 2006-07 season Tuesday after receiving all of the National Letters of Intent from the NCAA's early signing period which concluded last week.

“I believe all of the individuals that we signed early will help us take very positive steps in the right direction,” Smith said. “I trust all five will help us steadily improve both the men's and women's programs.”

Joining the Sooners next fall will be Jacob Boone (Lee Summit, Mo.), Kristen Keith (Southlake, Texas), J.B. Lagos (Flower Mound, Texas), Scottesha Miller (Port Orange, Fla.) and junior college-transfer Matt O'Connor (San Mateo, Calif.).

“I think you can systematically work through each individual and see that this level of athlete is going to be able to immediately assist our improvement at the conference level. Beyond that, it's primarily just a function of time and development.

“As a staff, we think that a common denominator among all five is that they were the type of people that we want to build the program around well-grounded, good students with good athleticism. They all wanted to be part of the mission that we had articulated to them through the recruiting process which was fundamentally this: our program is at this level; our goal is to methodically, year-by-year, take steps toward improvement and we're looking for the people who will enjoy being part of that process.”

The class, Smith's first at Oklahoma, features two distance runners, one pole vaulter, one sprinter/long jumper and one decathlete all hailing from different states. Of the four in their final year of high school, three are ranked among the top 100 in their specialty by DyeStat.com.

Highlights of Oklahoma's 2006 early-signing class:

JACOB BOONE
Cross Country/Distance | Lee's Summit, Mo. | North HS
No. 74 in the nation in outdoor 3200 (9:16.79)
No. 81 in the nation in outdoor 1600 (4:15.94)
2005 Missouri State High School Outdoor 3200 Meters Champion (Class 4)
Placed 14th at 2004 & 2005 Missouri State High School Cross Country Championships
Placed fourth in the 1600 at the 2005 Missouri State High School Championships

KRISTEN KEITH
Pole Vault | Southlake, Texas | Carroll HS
No. 25 in the nation in indoor pole vault (11-10.0)
No. 49 in the nation in outdoor pole vault (12-1.5)
Placed second at 2005 AAU National Junior Olympic Games
Placed third at UIL (Texas) State High School Championships

JAMES BENJAMIN (J.B.) LAGOS
Cross Country/Distance | Flower Mound, Texas | Flower Mound HS
No. 25 in the nation in three-mile cross country (14:59)
No. 167 in the nation in 5K cross country (15:34)
Placed fifth at the 2005 Texas State High School Cross Country Championships
Finished fourth or better in every regular-season meet, was the district champion and region runner-up

SCOTTESHA MILLER
Sprints/Long Jump | Port Orange, Fla. | Atlantic HS
No. 27 in the nation in the 200 meters (23.99)
No. 70 in the nation in the 100 meters (11.89)
No. 89 in the nation in the long jump (18-9.75)
2005 Florida State High School Championships 200 Meters Runner-Up
2005 USATF Youth Outdoor Championships 100 Meters Runner-Up
2005 USATF Youth Outdoor Championships 200 Meters Runner-Up
2005 USATF Youth Outdoor Championships Long Jump Champion

MATT O'CONNOR
Decathlon | San Mateo, Calif. | College of San Mateo (Serra HS)
Posted third best junior national score in 2005 (6658 points)
Coast Conference Champion in high jump and long jump
Placed third in decathlon at California Community College Championships
During championships, placed first in 100 and 400, second in long jump and 1500, and third in high jump and javelin

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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