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
Track Begins Season at Arkansas
January 13, 2006 | Track and Field
NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma men's and women's track and field teams begin their first season under new head coach Martin Smith Friday, Jan. 13, at the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
Smith, who has coached five national championship teams during his 26-year tenure on the NCAA Division I level, begins his mission to turn the Sooners' track and field program into a Big 12 Conference championship contender and national powerhouse.
The Sooners face competition from individuals from 16 other colleges and universities, including league rivals Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.
The men's shot put kicks off the day beginning at noon at the Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center of the University of Arkansas campus. Running events begin with the women's unseeded 3,000-meter run at 3 p.m.
Live scoring is available at Flashresults.com. A full recap will be available on SoonerSports.com shortly following the event's conclusion.
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GENERAL INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Jan. 13, 2006
Time: Field Events begin at 12 p.m. CT
Running events begin at 3 p.m. CT
Site: Randal Tyson Indoor Track Center
University of Arkansas | Fayetteville, Ark.
Live Results: Flashresults.com
THE RANDAL TYSON TRACK CENTER
The Randal Tyson Track Center, which was dedicated on February 12, 2000, is one of the newest facilities on the University of Arkansas campus.
In its first year of operation, the $6.5 million facility hosted the Tyson Invitational, was a stop on the Golden Spike Tour and hosted the 2000 Southeastern Conference Championships and the 2000 NCAA Indoor National Championships. The Randal Tyson Center will serve as the host for the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2006.
The track itself is a 200-meter, 60-degree banked track that has 55m straightaways running the entire length of the facility. It also includes men's and women's jumping runways and pits. The surface of the track is red and gray Mondo.
With all of the big name events that are held in the facility, the Tyson Track Center was built to handle the demands for the many media outlets. The press box is two-tiered offering 50 seats and has an announcer's booth, timing and scoring area and a camera position that can be used as a television announcer's booth. There are four elevated camera positions located around the track. A media room is also available in the north concourse.
WHO TO WATCH...THE NEWCOMERS
The Sooners will travel eight newcomers who are expected to make a significant impact on this year's team.
Five women multi-events competitor Amy Backel (Fr.), pole vaulters Jessica Brown (Fr.) and Joan Brown (Fr.), sprinter Leslie Cole (Fr.) and sprinter/jumper Toni Smith (Jr.) and three men sprinter Ronnie Pines (Jr.), multi-events competitor Dermillo Wise (Jr.) and sprinter/jumper Frankie Wright (Jr.) will see their first action as Sooners.
Only Smith, who was with Cal State Northridge last season, has seen NCAA Division I competition but all are expected be scoring threats at the conference meets this season.
Pines holds the J.D. Martin Invitational 60-meter dash meet record at 6.64 seconds (also his PR) that's .02 seconds off the Mosier Indoor Facility record of 6.62 seconds held by former Sooner and 2004 and 2005 NCAA National Champion DaBryan Blanton.
Wise, a two-time NJCAA National Pentathlon Champion, suprised the coaches during training after transferring to OU in January.
GETTING TO KNOW THE NEW SOONER COACHING STAFF
Martin Smith was announced as Oklahoma sixth head track & field coach on June 30, 2005, and quickly assembled impressive staff of assistants to usher in the new era of Sooner track & field.
Head Coach Martin Smith Has coached five national championships teams in 26 years on the Division I level ... Was head coach or assistant on teams that captured 24 conference championships, including Oregon's 2003 Pac-10 outdoor title.
Women's Sprints/Hurdles Coach Dana Boone Last two stops were LSU and Texas, the past two women's national outdoor champions.
Jumps and Women's Multis Coach Jeremy Fischer The 2005 NCAA West Region Jumps/Multi Events Coach of the Year ... Of Cal State Northridge's five athletes that qualified for the NCAAs, four were Fischer's jumpers.
Field Events and Men's Multis Coach Mark Napier Comes off two seasons of sweeping the indoor and outdoor Big 10 Conference championships while field events coach at Wisconsin ... Coached the 1997 NCAA National Decathlon Champion.
Men's Sprints/Hurdles Coach Jeff Perkins First coaching position at Tennessee helped produce Justin Gatlin, the 2005 World Champion in the 100 and 200.
Assistant Distance Coach Brett Holts A two-time All-American at Oregon who is in his first coaching position.
2005 ARKANSAS INVITATIONAL REVISITED
Last season, Scott Martin won the men's pole vault title at the Arkansas Invite with an NCAA provisional mark of 17-1.
Martin was one of two Sooners to earn an NCAA provisional mark. Jason Stanley recorded a 7.84 in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles to meet the NCAA standard. He later finished third in the event with a 7.88.
The meet also marked the Sooner debut of a number of first time competitors. Two of those athletes, Keri Ann Mitchell and Marcus Pugh, won their events. Mitchell took the women's 200 with a 24.37 while Pugh won the men's 200 with a 21.41. Both performances earned them spots on OU's all-time career top 10 list.
Another first-time Sooner competitor, Brayon Brown, finished fourth in the 800 with a 1:51.88, a time that earned him a spot on the all-time top 10.
THE 2006 FIELD
The Sooners face competition from individuals from 16 other colleges and universities most notably, league rivals Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The University of Arkansas campus may feel like a home away from home by the time the indoor season wraps up in March. Including this weekend, Oklahoma will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., four times.
The Sooners only have two home meets this season the J.D. Martin Invitational (Feb. 3-4) and the Sooner Indoor (Feb. 18).
Arkansas is the host of the 2006 NCAA National Indoor Track & Field Championships.
WHAT'S AT STAKE?
The meet will be the first opportunity for the Sooners to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. OU is travelling 16 men and 15 women to the Arkansas Invitational.
Eight athletes will be competing for the first time in an OU uniform, and seven of those have never competed for an NCAA Division I team.
NEXT ON THE CALENDAR
It's dj vu when the Sooners return to Fayetteville next week for the Razorback Invitational (Jan. 20-21).
Traditionally, the Sooners have hosted the Oklahoma Track Classic on the third week of January at the Mosier Indoor Facility. That event has been cancelled for this season, thus necessitating the return to “The Natural State.”
THE ENTRY LIST
A total of 31 OU student-athletes 16 men and 15 women will compete in the Arkansas Invitational. The Sooner women will also field a 4x400-meter relay team, but will use the event for training purposes. Schedule to compete are:
MEN
Daniel Bridges (So.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Brayon Brown (So.); 800-meter run
Jason Coleman (Jr.); 3000-meter run
Tony Francis (Sr.); 60-meter hurdles
Chip Heuser (So.); pole vault
Chason Lane (So.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Tydree Lewis (So.); long jump
Scott Martin (Jr.); pole vault
Ronnie Pines (Jr.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Marcus Pugh (So.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Tony Rayburn (So.); 60-meter hurdles, long jump, shot put
Tyler Schmiedeberg (So.); 3000-meter run
Josh Scott (Sr.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Dermillo Wise (Jr.); 60-meter hurdles, long jump, shot put
David Wright (Jr.); 60-meter hurdles, long jump, shot put
Frankie Wright (Jr.); 400-meter dash
WOMEN
Amy Backel (Fr.); 60-meter hurdles, high jump, shot put
Jessica Brown (Fr.); pole vault
Joan Brown (Fr.); pole vault
Leslie Cole (Fr.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Kristi Cook (Jr.); 800-meter run
Jessica Eldridge (Jr.); 800-meter run
Yolanda Goff (Jr.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Ashley Harris (So.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Nicola Maye (Jr.); 800-meter run
Catherine Odell (Jr.); 800-meter run
Jennifer Plank (Sr.); pole vault
Lucretia Rimmer (Sr.); long jump
Toni Smith (Jr.); 60-meter dash, long jump
Larica Urbina (Jr.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
Terrika Warren (Sr.); 60- and 200-meter dashes
OKLAHOMA; 4x400-meter relay
Saturday, June 13
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 10
