Sooners Head to National Competitions

NORMAN, Okla. -- While the NCAA collegiate season is over, several current, former and future Sooner student-athletes are competing this weekend in the United States Junior and Senior Nationall Championships in Carson, Calif., while two Sooners have returned to Jamaica to compete in the Jamaican Senior Nationals in Kingston.

DaBryan Blanton, the three-time Big 12 champion in the 100-meter dash, headlines the group heading to California for the USA Track and Field Championships presented by Visa. The meet begins Thursday at the Home Depot Center in Carson. Blanton opens competition in the 100 with the first round on Friday at 6:40 p.m. (PDT). He will be joined in the 100-meter field by former Sooner All-American Shomari Wilson. The semifinal in the 100 is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. Saturday with the final scheduled at 2:52 p.m. Saturday.

Another former Sooner All-American, LaBoris Bean, is entered in the men's 400-meter intermediate hurdles. The first round of that event is set for 4:10 p.m. Friday. The semifinals are on Saturday with the final set for Sunday.

Current Sooner All-American Kevin Bookout just missed the automatic qualifying standard in the shot put.

The USA Junior National Track and Field Championships will be held at the same time as the senior meet. Athletes competing in the junior nationals must have been born before Dec. 31, 1985.

Sophomore-to-be Brayon Brown qualified in the 800 and he will open competition at 3:15 p.m. Thursday. The final in that event is set for 5:40 p.m. Friday. Donald Gies, who redshirted during the 2004-2005 academic year, qualified for the meet in the steeplechase and will run in the final of that event at 3:55 p.m. Saturday. Marcus Pugh, another sophomore to be, met the qualifying mark in the 100 and 200 but will be competing in the 200 only. His first race is scheduled for 2:55 p.m. Friday. The final in the 200 is scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday.

A future Sooner, Amy Backel, of Dillsburg, Pa., is qualified in the javelin. The final for that event is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Saturday. Backel will join the OU team in the fall after being one of the top ranked javelin competitors in the country this year.

The senior national meet is a selection meet for the US team for the IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland, Augsut 6-14. The junior national meet is a selection meet for the US team for the Pan American Junior Championships, scheduled for July 28-31 in Windsor, Ontario.

Nicola Maye, a junior to be in the fall, will be competing in the 1500 at the Jamaican Senior Nationals. She will be joined in that meet by Aldwyn Sappleton, who just completed his Sooner career. Sappleton will enter the 800 in the Jamaican championships that serve as a selection meet for future competitions.

Another pair of Sooners, Kerri-Ann Mitchell and Salah Hussein, are continuing to train in preparation for the Canadian Senior Nationals which are scheduled July 15-17 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Mitchell will run in the 100 and Hussein is scheduled to run the 1500. The meet is also a team selection meet for the IAAF World Championships.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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