Women's Track & Field Preview

NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma men's and women's track and field teams start the 2007 indoor season Friday, Jan. 12, at the Arkansas Invitational in Fayetteville.

Both squads have high expectations after several impressive performances last season. Head coach Martin Smith, in his second season at the helm, looks to take the program one step closer to national prominence.

The University of Oklahoma women's track and field team made a spectacular jump during head coach Martin Smith's first season. The Sooner women, who finished last in conference the year before, tied for fourth during the indoor season in one of the most impressive one-year turnarounds in the conference's history.

The OU women reload in 2007 with the return of all its top student-athletes and the addition of 17 new Sooners. Seniors Yolanda Goff and Jessica Eldridge lead the team after another season of national qualifying performances.

“The women's team is still very young even after making the strategic move to redshirt as many as we could during the last outdoor season,” Smith says. “Our goal is to be in the top half of the conference standings during both the indoor and outdoor seasons as our new people develop into their roles.”

Live Meet Results | Men's Season Preview

Sprints/Hurdles
Yolanda Goff returns for her final season and final chance to make an assault on Laverne Jones' school records. Goff had a stellar season as a junior but was hampered by a hamstring injury that bit at the close of the indoor season and once again during the national outdoor championships.

Goff is joined in the short sprints by sophomore Leslie Cole and senior Larica Urbina. Cole proved to be one of the top freshmen in the Big 12 and all-time at OU. She finished seventh in the 100 and sixth in the 200 at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships.

Five splendid freshmen add depth never before seen by an OU women's sprints corps. Shquanda Meylor, Scottesha Miller, Ti'Anca Mock, Kristen Richardson and Jasmine Still were all high school standouts and will be forces to reckon with in upcoming years.

Tijahnni Newton will have company in the middle distance events with the addition of Still and sophomore transfer Jhavonne Pope.

Newton placed sixth and eighth, respectively, in the 400 at the Big 12 indoor and outdoor meets and ran the sprint leg of the school's record-setting distance medley relay.

Pope was an All-Big 12 member of Texas Tech's 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

Distance
Oklahoma's most complete and most experience group is women's distance. Broken Arrow's Jessica Eldridge leads a squad that returns four Big 12 finalists and won a conference championship in the distance medley relay.

Eldridge, who earned All-America honors during the cross country season, won the Big 12 title in the indoor mile and Catherine Odell placed third in the 1,000-meter run before both redshirted the outdoor season to preserve eligibility.

Seniors Aja Clark and Kristi Cook found their niches in the 3,000-meter run and 800-meter run, respectively, and have the ability to score points in the conference meets.

Senior Anya Davidson transferred from Brown University and will help support the distance group.

Freshman Ashley Storm made an immediate impact with her performances during the cross country season and will be one to watch for on the track.

Jumps
The women's long and triple jumpers all return with the exception of Lucretia Rimmer to graduation. Toni Smith and Portia Nash look to turn the promise they showed last season into consistent success this year.

Smith broke the OU indoor triple jump record and finished runner-up at the Big 12 Championships before injuries prevented her from competing outdoors. Nash was third in the triple jump at the indoor meet.

The experience duo could be helped out this season by freshman Ti'Anca Mock. Mock won the Texas state high school championships in the long and triple jump last season and was in the top 10 nationally.

Sophomore Katherine Johnson and freshman Ashley Hagensick are the team's two high jumpers.

Johnson came on towards the end of the outdoor season and impressed with her fourth place finish at the Big 12 Championships. She went on to place third at the USATF Junior National Championships during the summer.

Hagensick won two state high school championships in the high jump in Texas.

Pole Vault
The OU women's pole vaulters come back in 2007 with one of its largest classes after injuries devastated the squad last season.

Sophmore Jessica Brown leads an inexperienced group of three freshmen Kristen Keith, Lauren Meador and Sarah Pappas. Keith was the Texas state high school runner-up in the event last season and she and Pappas were two of the top 25 high school pole vaulters in the nation.

Throws
Taylor Scott and Carolyn Winchester head a very inexperienced, but capable, group of women's throwers.

Scott is returning after injuries ended her 2006 campaign. Winchester will join the squad for the outdoor season after the women's basketball schedule is complete.

Freshmen Carissa Angel and Laresa Miller complete the group. Angel is a former Texas state high school championships finalist in the shot put and Miller was one of Oklahoma's best high school discus throwers, finishing runner-up at the state meet both her junior and senior seasons.

Combined
Sophomore Amy Backel will have two teammates to guide in the women's multi events. Backel was a lone wolf last season as she proved to be one of the up-and-comers in both the heptathlon and javelin throw in the Big 12 Conference. During the summer, Backel placed fourth in the javelin throw and ninth in the heptathlon, winning two events, at the USATF Junior National Championships.

High school teammates Stephanie Stewart and Carli Wester join forces as Sooners in 2007. Last year Stewart was the state champion in the high jump. Wester won the long jump title as a junior.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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