Five Sooners in Last Chance Action

March 6, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. -- A small group of Oklahoma track and field athletes will look to bolster their chances of qualifying for next weekend's NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships by competing in one final regular-season meet this weekend.

Jacob Boone, Tony Clement and Chris Sweeney head to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Arkansas Last Chance Qualifier while Leslie Cole and Tijahnni Newton travel to Ames, Iowa for the Cyclone National Track & Field Qualifier.

All five athletes will attempt to post NCAA automatic or provisional qualifying times in hopes of being selected for next weekend's national championships. Final selections for the meet will be announced Monday, March 10, at 8 p.m. CST.

Clement and Sweeney will both compete in the 800-meter run while Clement and Boone attack the mile. Clement's season-best time of 1:50.10 is an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, but ranks 20th in the nation. The event's automatic qualifying time is 1:48.20 while the provisional time is 1:50.50.

Boone's top time of 4:06.98 is close to three seconds away from the provisional qualifying time of 4:04.00. Clement has not competed in the event this year.

Cole and Newton will both compete in the 400-meter dash in hopes of advancing to another week of indoor action. Cole leapt into the national rankings after running the season's 13th-fastest time in the event, a provisional qualifying time of 53.48, at last weekend's Big 12 Championships.

Newton's best time on the season is 55.65. The provisional qualifying time is 54.40 while the automatic qualifying time is 52.40.

The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be held next weekend, March 14-15, at the Randal Tyson Track Complex in Fayetteville, Ark. Oklahoma currently has one automatic qualifier in triple jumper Shardae Boutte and 14 provisional qualifiers.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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