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 & Field Faces Nation's Best
February 09, 2006 | Track and Field
NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma returns to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Tyson Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Complex. It will be the third time the Sooners visit the University of Arkansas, host of the 2006 NCAA National Indoor Championships.
The meet begins Friday, Feb. 10, at 10 a.m. and runs through Saturday, Feb. 11.
Oklahoma is coming off its most successful week in recent history as five Sooners surpassed NCAA qualifying standards in competition at the J.D. Martin Invitational in Norman.
The meet begins Friday, Feb. 10, at 10 a.m. and runs through Saturday, Feb. 11.
Oklahoma is coming off its most successful week in recent history as five Sooners surpassed NCAA qualifying standards in competition at the J.D. Martin Invitational in Norman.
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What's at Stake?
The Tyson Invitational is the Oklahoma's first scored competition of the season. The results of the Tyson Invitational will show how the Sooners stack up against the rest of the nation.
Including OU, eight Big 12 men's and women's teams will be in the field. The Sooners will be looking to make a statement that they can contend with the best in the conference.
The Tyson Invitational Field
OU will compete against the 29 of the nation's best men's and women's track & field teams this weekend. Among those competing are:
Men: (t1) Florida State, (t1) Texas, (4) Arkansas, (5) LSU, (8) Kansas, (9) Nebraska, (t11) Texas A&M, (13) Florida, (14) Oregon, (t15) TCU, (t15) South Carolina, (t15) USC, (t19) Baylor, (t19) Texas Tech, (t19) Indiana, (t24) Auburn, (t24) Illinois and (t24) UCLA.
Women: (1) South Carolina, (2) Michigan, (3) Texas, (5) Stanford, (t6) Auburn, (8) LSU, (12) Tennessee, (15) Georgia, (16) UCLA, (t18) Texas A&M, (t21) Oregon.
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Who to Watch...Toni Smith
Junior Toni Smith was one centimeter from meeting the NCAA provisional qualifying standard in the long jump last weekend and nine centimeters short in the triple jump.
However, both marks ranked as the best by a Sooner in 2006 and second best all-time.
Capable of much more, Smith will go for both a qualifying mark and the school record in both events this weekend at the Tyson Invitational.
The Tyson field will be one of the most competitive this season outside of the national championships as four of the top five long jumpers and five of the top seven triple jumpers are expected to compete.
Smith established personal bests of 20-10.25 (6.35 meters) in the long jump and 43-1.00 (13.13) in the triple jump as a sophomore at Cal State Northridge where she was coached by current OU's jumps coach Jeremy Fischer.
Getting to Know the 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.
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In the Polls
The OU men's dropped out of the Trackwire Top 25 in week two after opening in the No. 25 spot.
Sprinters Yolanda Goff and Ronnie Pines moved up in the Dandy Dozen this week. Goff is ranked No. 6 in the 60 and No. 10 in the 200. Pines is No. 4 in the 60.
Sooner pole vaulters Chip Heuser (No. 7) and Scott Martin (No. 9) also make the list.
Oklahoma's women's distance medley relay is No. 8.
The full Trackwire Top 25 and Dandy Dozen can be viewed at www.trackwire.com.
No Place Like Home
Oklahoma had its most impressive showing of the season Saturday, Feb. 4, on its home track during the J.D. Martin Invitational.
Ronnie Pines ran an NCAA automatic qualifying time of 6.60 seconds in the 60-meter dash and four other Sooners established or bettered their provisional qualifying times. In all, 20 Sooners set personal bests in their respective events.
This week, the Sooners will travel to their home away from home as they hit the road for the Tyson Invitational at the Randal Tyson Track Complex on the University of Arkansas campus. It is OU's third visit to Fayetteville in 2006.
Arkansas is the host of the 2006 NCAA National Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Next on the Calendar
Oklahoma hosts its second indoor meet of the season, the 32nd annual Sooner Indoor, Saturday, Feb. 18, at the Mosier Indoor Track Facility on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Okla.
Sooners Take a Bite out of the Big Apple
Head coach Martin Smith's last minute decision to travel to New York was rewarded handily as the OU women's distance medley relay accomplished a program first when it ran under the NCAA provisional qualifying time at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 3.
The squad, made up of Catherine Odell, Tijhanni Newton, Kristi Cook and Jessica Eldridge, finished fourth in a loaded field at The Armory Track in Manhattan.
Their time of 11:14.63 broke the school record, set in 2004, by over 15 seconds. Odell, Cook and Eldridge ran legs on the previous record-holding relay.
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Run Ronnie Run
Ronnie Pines is making a quick impact among the Sooners' sprint corps.
Listed as who to watch last weekend, the junior college transfer ran the fastest 60-meter dash in the nation by a collegiate athlete on Feb. 4 at the J.D. Martin Invitational in Norman.
The mark broke his own meet record and two-time national champion DaBryan Blanton's facility record. It also ranks as the 11th best time run in the world this year.
Having earned a guaranteed spot in the national championship field, Pines' goal is to keep lowering his 60 time and run a qualifying mark in the 200. He will undoubtedly be a favorite for the national title in both come March 11.
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18 and Life
Senior pole vaulter Scott Martin turned heads in 2005 when he cleared 18-0.50 (5.50 meters) at the NCAA National Indoor Championships.
The performance earned him fourth place, second all-time in the OU records books, as he became just the sixth Sooner pole vaulter to earn All-America status.
After failing to post a height at the season-opening Arkansas Invitational, Martin wasn't disappointed as much as relieved at his performance. According to Martin, he usually has one “no height” each season and was “happy to get it out of the way early.”
Martin posted his season best at home during the J.D. Martin Invitational. The Tulsa native jumped 17-4.50 (5.30 meters), besting the NCAA provisional qualifying standard.
The Tulsa native looks to contend for a national title again this season and with the help of teammate Chip Heuser, the podium at nationals may sparkle with Crimson and Cream in 2006.
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OU's Wise Man
Dermillo Wise may soon be bringing gold to the OU trophy case.
After winning the NJCAA national penathlon championships as a freshman and sophomore at Cloud County (Kan.) Community College, the junior won't rest on laurels now that he is at OU.
Wise long jumped to an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 24-5.75 (7.46 meters) at the season-opener in Fayetteville, Ark., and returned the next week to run the best 60-meter hurdles time by a Sooner this season and sixth all-time.
Wise is so impressive, in fact, that coaches are unsure exactly how they will use the Floridian in the Big 12 Championships because of his ability to score points in so many different events.
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King Cole
Freshman sprinter Leslie Cole is the type of trendsetter coaches like. The Idabel, Okla., native is adapting quickly to the performance required of a Divison I athlete.
In her first month of competition, Cole has cut almost three-tenths from her 60-meter dash time and eight-tenths off her 200. She already ranks No. 4 on OU's all-time performance list in the 60 meters.
These efforts are providing valuable company to junior Yolanda Goff, who is a favorite to sweep the short sprints wherever she goes.
Cole's run of 7.46 seconds in the preliminaries of the J.D. Martin Invitational missed the NCAA provisional qualifying standard by .02 seconds. The mark is the fastest ever run by a Sooner freshman.
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Cooking Up Success
Among the surprising performances to come out of the Razorback Invitational was junior Kristi Cook's sixth-place run in the 800 meters.
Her 2:13.32 run was over three seconds faster than her previous personal best and exactly five seconds better than she ran on the same track one week earlier.
The run put three Sooners in the top six of the 800 at the meet and in the top 12 of the Big 12 performance rankings.
Cook ran the 800-meter leg of OU's distance medley relay at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 3. With its 11:14.63 run, the relay broke the school record by over 15 seconds and ran under the NCAA provisional qualifying standard for the first time in program history.
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Chip on his Shoulder
After breaking his wrist and missing the entire 2005 season, sophomore pole vaulter Chip Heuser is ready to deliver on what is expecting to be a promising collegiate career.
Heuser, the 2004 USA Junior National champion, won the season-opening Arkansas Invitational after clearing 17-6.50 (5.35 meters), an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.
While attempting to clear a height of over 17 feet at the National Pole Vault Summit (Jan. 18), Heuser was so high he actually kicked the bar off its supports with his foot.
He jumped a season best 17-8.50 (5.40 meters) en route to winning the event at the J.D. Martin Invitational.
The Louisville, Ky., native holds the Kentucky state high school and national Catholic high school indoor and outdoor records. The 2003 Kentucky High School Athlete of the Year also led his high school, St. Xavier, to three straight state track & field titles.
Heuser and teammate Scott Martin will be two of the favorites to win the Big 12 and national titles in 2006.
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Odell Coming of Age
If you need one sure thing, count of Catherine Odell. Last season, the Enid, Okla., native had no signs of a sophomore slump as she became the Sooners' most improved distance runner and qualified for the national outdoor championships in the 1500-meter run.
After redshirting during the cross country season while getting used to new head coach Martin Smith's training program, Odell was on fire to begin 2006, putting the pressure on six-time national qualifier Jessica Eldridge during the first two meets of the season.
She currently ranks eighth in the Big 12 in the 800 (2:12.56) and ninth in the 1,000 (2:55.19) and has marks in OU's all-time top 10 in both events.
Odell, who celebrated her 21st birthday Friday, Jan. 27, will ran the opening leg (1,000 meters) on OU's distance medley relay that broke the school record by over 15 seconds and ran under the NCAA provisional qualifying standard for the first time in program history with its 11:14.63 time at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Feb. 3.
Oklahoma's NCAA Qualifiers
Oklahoma has established eight provisional or automatic entries for the 2006 NCAA National Indoor Track and Field Championships. Only five Sooners competed in the championships last year. The following is a list of those qualified in 2006 with their national rank in parenthesis:
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The J.D. Martin Invitational Revisited
Oklahoma's Ronnie Pines guaranteed himself a trip to Fayetteville, Ark., in six weeks for the NCAA National Indoor Track and Field Championships today at the sixth annual J.D. Martin Invitational.
Pines won the men's 60-meter dash in 6.60 seconds, surpassing the NCAA automatic qualifying standard.
The mark also set new meet and facility records. Pines held the old meet record with a 6.64 run in 2005. Two-time NCAA national champion DaBryan Blanton previously owned the facility record of 6.62, set in 2004.
Besides Pines' automatic qualification, the meet saw nine athletes set provisional marks. Four of those were from the University of Oklahoma.
The event, held at the Mosier Indoor Track on the OU campus, saw seven meet records and two facility records fall. In all, 20 Sooners recorded personal bests in their respective events.
Junior Yolanda Goff continued her dominance of the women's 60-meter dash. The Tulsa native ran a personal best 7.31, lowering her provisional qualifying mark set last weekend in Albuquerque.
She defeated Rachel Runnels of North Texas (7.47) and OU freshman Leslie Cole (7.50). Cole's 7.46 preliminary round time missed a provisional mark by .02 seconds.
Sophomore Chip Heuser set a meet record and season best with his jump of 17-8.50 (5.40 meters). Scott Martin finished runner-up, establishing a season best and provisional qualifying mark of 17-4.50 (5.30).
On the women's side, OU senior Jennifer Plank and Nikol Zachary of Oral Roberts shared the pole vault title after clearing 12-0.0 (3.66).
Junior Toni Smith swept the women's long jump and triple jump. Smith's 19-11.75 (6.09) long jump was just inches short of a provisional mark and meet record. Her 41-3.75 (12.59) triple jump was the best by a Sooner woman this season.
Sophomore Tydree Lewis recorded his best indoor triple jump en route to victory. The Lovington, N.M., native leapt 50-2.0 (15.29).
Also in action were Sooner alumni Michael Blackwood and Aldwyn Sappleton. Blackwood cruised to victory in the men's 400-meter dash, clocking in at 48.16. Sappleton won the men's 600-yard run in 1:11.83.
Saturday, June 13
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 10
