Martin Finishes Fourth in the NCAA in the Pole Vault

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Sophomore Scott Martin cleared 18-0.5 on his final attempt at the height to finish fourth in the pole vault in the first day of action at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championship. The meet is being held at the Randal Tyson Track Center on the campus of the University of Arkansas.

The vault tied for the second best in school history and is a career best for Martin, improving his best by 3.25 inches. Three vaulters went out at 18-0.5 and the places were decided by number of misses.

Junior DaBryan Blanton recorded a season best in the preliminaries of the 60-meter dash, running a 6.58, to win his heat by a 10th of a second. The time is one 100th of a second off his career best and OU school record, 6.57, a time he posted in the semifinals of the Big 12 Championships last year. The time is a season best for Blanton.

Aldwyn Sappleton, who had the best time in the country in the 800 for three weeks, kept his undefeated string in the 800 alive to advance to the final in that event. Sappleton ran a 1:49.25 to win his heat.

OU's final competitor on Friday, sophomore Jessica Eldridge, missed advancing to the final in the mile run by .19 seconds. She finished 11th in the preliminaries and the top 10 advanced to the final.

Martin cleared the opening height, 16-10.75, on his first attempt, then needed two attempts to clear the next two heights, 17-4.50 and 17-8.50. Three vaulters tied at 18-0.5 but Martin had four misses before the final height. The second place vaulter had two misses heading into the final height and the third place finisher had three misses.

“We were very pleased with the performance tonight,” said Tom Williams, OU's vaulting coach. “We thought Scott was ready to clear the 18-0 bar based on what he has been doing in training. He has matured so much as a jumper. He has always had the competitive spirit and the will. Now, he has added the strength, speed and technique.

“We knew coming in that there weren't many vaulters who would jump higher than Scott could. He cleared a height that he had never cleared before and it was the second best height cleared in the competition. He really proved tonight that he was a competitor -- putting it all together when it counted on the third attempt at 18-0.5. He came through when it was on the line.”

Martin becomes the first Sooner vaulter to earn All-America honors in the indoor meet since 2002 and only the fourth vaulter in school history to clear 18-0 or better.

Blanton took a huge step toward defending his 60-meter national title with his performance in the prelims tonight. Blanton had a great start and, by his fourth step out of the blocks, had the lead. His winning time was the best recorded in the prelims and he will have lane number four for the 7:25 p.m. final on Saturday. The only runner to beat Blanton in a race at 60 meters this season, Dusty Stamer of Nebraska, finished fifth in the heat and was the last qualifier for the final. Freshman Walter Dix of Florida State won the first prelim with a time of 6.60.

“We decided to tweak some things after we got back from the Big 12,” said Shanon Atkinson, OU's sprint coach. “We watched the tape of the Big 12 and saw some things we could change. DaBryan has been ready to run a time like this and his workouts have been good for the last two weeks. We changed a couple of things about his start after the Big 12 and, after making those changes, he was really happy with the results.

“At the NCAA, it's a different field, a different feeling. Sometimes you make one or two little changes and it affects the whole race. Now, it's a matter of DaBryan being consistent and staying with the plan. He even did that with the false start in his heat (a runner from Tennessee, who was in the lane next to Blanton, was disqualified for a false start). While we were in the warmup area, I told DaBryan that a false start was possible and then it happened in his race. We talked about not letting a false start interfere with his focus. When the runner next to him jumped, DaBryan just stood up, saving his legs for the race,” Atkinson added.

“We are going to follow the same routine tomorrow and not change a thing. If DaBryan puts together his race and has a consistent performance, he will be hard to beat.”

Including the two top finishers in the heat, five of the eight qualifiers in the 60-meter final came from the heat that Blanton won.

Sappleton is now unbeaten in four races this season at 800 meters. He won the 800 at the Cyclone Classic with a career best time of 1:47.43, won his heat at the Big 12 and won the Big 12 title at 800 two weeks ago. His time was the sixth best in the prelims and Sappleton advanced as a prelim winner.

It took a quick sprint in the final 50 meters to get Sappleton to the top. Sappleton was sixth when the final lap started. He made his move to the outside and, eventually the win, between the final two curves.

“The biggest hurdle when you get to this meet is getting out of the preliminaries,” explained middle distance coach Rodney Rothoff. “Aldwyn still hasn't lost a race at this distance this year. He has run against all of the people who are in the final and he has beaten them. He's got a great lane assignment and he has shown he can handle this kind of competition.”

Sappleton's final is set for 6:45 p.m. Saturday.

Eldridge was making her fifth appearance in an NCAA Championship since arriving on the OU campus in the fall of 2003. She started in a good position, then fell back to the back of the pack as the runners began to bunch up. The last runner to advance to the final passed Eldridge on the final backstretch and the Sooner sophomore couldn't make up the gap.

“I'm disappointed for Jessica because she came so close this year to making the final,” Rothoff said. “However, I am pleased with her effort. We can see the progress she has made from this time last year and she will continue to grow from here. It's just a matter of her learning how to handle the gifts she has been given as a runner. It's a process and tonight she moved another step closer to being able to compete with the best.”

Sooner sophomore Jon McMillian will be the first OU athlete to compete on Saturday. The high jump final is set to begin at 4:45 p.m.

NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, OU results only

Finals
Men's Pole Vault -- 4. Scott Martin, 18-0.50 (5.50)

Preliminaries
Men's 60-meter dash -- 1. DaBryan Blanton, 6.58
Men's 800-meter run -- 6. Aldwyn Sappleton, 1:49.25 (won his preliminary heat)
Women's Mile -- 11. Jessica Eldridge, 4:46.63

Martin Finishes Fourth in the NCAA in the Pole Vault

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Martin Finishes Fourth in the NCAA in the Pole Vault

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