OU Both Home and Away

April 25, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma Track & Field Program hosts its second of three home meets this season, the 2008 Sooner Invitational, this Saturday, April 26, at the John Jacobs Track & Field Complex.

Additionally Kristi Cook, Jessica Eldridge and Rob Sorrell will head west to Eugene, Ore., for the 2008 Oregon Relays.

The OU men will face off against Big 12 foe and No. 20 Texas Tech. Teams from Kansas and Oklahoma State also highlight the men's field along.

The OU women also face a ranked Texas Tech team as the Lady Raiders enter the meet ranked sixth nationally.

Oklahoma is coming off perhaps its best meet of the regular season, recording 24 NCAA Regional qualifying marks and 21 top-three finishes.

Saturday's action begins at 10 a.m. with the women's javelin. Running events begin at 12:15 p.m. as the women's steeplechase takes to the track.

The Oregon group will begin competing at 7:25 PST.

Heat Sheets

RESULTS
Live results for the 2008 Sooner Invitational will be provided by the Delta Timing Group on SoonerSports.com. A complete recap of Oklahoma action will be posted on SoonerSports.com shortly after the conclusion of action each day.

RANKED TEAMS
No. 20 Texas Tech (M), No. 6 Texas Tech (W)

SOONER TO WATCH
Leslie Cole enters this weekend as one of the top sprinters in the Big 12 Conference after last Saturday's performance at the John McDonnell Invitational. Ranked No. 2 in the 400-meter dash and No. 8 in the 200-meter dash, Cole will take to the track in both events on Saturday in hopes of improving on here NCAA Regional qualifying times of 53.50 and 23.46, respectively, set at last weekend's John McDonnell Invitational.

LAST WEEK (John McDonnell Invitational)
Weather conditions at the John McDonnell Invitational were perfect as OU athletes recorded 24 NCAA Regional qualifying marks and 21 top-three finishes including 10 event titles.

Scottesha Miller swept top honors in both the 100- and 200-meter dash along with running the anchor leg on the first-place 4x100-meter relay and finishing second in the long jump, recording NCAA Regional qualifying marks in all four events.

Miller opened with a regional qualifying time of 11.64 in the 100 prelims before taking the event's title with a time of 11.52. The sophomore's regional qualifying time of 23.61 in the 200 led all competitors, including Tijahnni Newton who was second with a time of 24.04. Newton also took second in the collegiate division of the women's 400-meter dash with a season-best time of 54.74.

Miller also leapt a season-best 19 -11.50 (6.08) to record the highest finish of collegiate competitors and second overall. Toni Smith finished fifth in the event with a regional-qualifying mark of 19-9.00 (6.02) and also topped the regional mark in the triple jump, finishing second with a distance of 40-9.50 (12.43).

Miller closed out her day of as the anchor leg the 4x100-meter relay. Miller teamed with Leslie Cole, Jalesa Walker and Missy Barnes to record a season-best time, 45.38, in the event for OU.

Cole ran personal bests in both the 200- and 400-meter dash to finish first and third, respectively, in each event's Invitational divison. Cole's 23.46 in the 200, her first action of the season in the event, moves the junior up a spot in Oklahoma's career performance list. Cole is now tied with Wendy Watson with the sixth-fastest time in program history. Cole's 400 time of 53.50 was the fastest among collegiate athletes behind two unattached competitors. It also marked the fifth-fastest time in Oklahoma program history.

Kristi Cook and Catherine Odell finished one-two in the women's Invitational 800-meter run as both ran career-best races. Cook's time of 2:07.17 ranks sixth all-time in OU program history while Odell's time of 2:07.70 ranks eighth all-time. Both times were below the NCAA Regional qualifying standard of 2:09.90.

Latoya Greaves and Latoya Heath both recorded NCAA Regional qualifying marks en route to first and fourth-place finishes in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Greaves, the OU program record holder in the event, reeled off a time of 13.30 in the finals. Heath's time of 13.70 in the finals marked a personal best and the sixth-fastest in Oklahoma history.

Zach Dawson reeled off a regional-qualifying time of 51.12 in the 400-meter hurdles, marking the eighth-fastest time in Oklahoma program history.

Shardae Boutte and Tydree Lewis finished 1-2 in the triple jump as both recorded regional qualifying marks in the event. Boutte's jump of 52-10.00 (16.10) topped all competitors with Lewis close behind at 51-6.50 (15.71).

Mitch Henry posted a provisonal qualifying score of 7,059 points to claim the event title in the men's decathlon. Henry posted season-best marks in nine of the 10 events to take the win in his first decathlon action of the season. Jamie Alexander finished third with 5,964 points.

Katherine Johnson cleared a season-high height and equaled the regional qualifying standard with a first-place finish in the high jump. Johnson's height of 5-8.75 (1.75) gave the junior her first event title of the outdoor season.

In the men's Invitational 1,500-meter run, Jacob Boone finished fourth, but more importantly recorded a regional qualifying time of 3:43.96. The time marked a career best and is the second-fastest in Oklahoma program history, just behind the OU record of 3:42.76 set by Erin Rankin in 1981. Rob Sorrell also ran a regional qualifying time and the seventh-fastest time in Sooner history, 3:46.94, en route to finishing 14th. Boone's time ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference, Sorrell's eighth.

Marcus Pugh equaled his season best in the 100-meter dash as the defending Big 12 champion finished second in Invitational 100 with a time of 10.31. Pugh's time is the second-fastest this season in the Big 12 behind Texas A&M's Gerald Phiri's 10.22. Pugh also second finished in the men's Invitational 200 with a time of 20.90, an NCAA Regional qualifying time.

Buck Sullivan finished second in the men's hammer throw with an NCAA Regional qualifying toss of 189-11 (57.90), the fourth time for the junior to take silver in the event on the season.

Amy Backel finished second in the women's javelin, her fifth time this season to record a top-three finish, with a throw of 158-7 (48.35).

Adrian Wiltshire competed in his first long jump competition on the Division I level and leapt a regional-qualifying mark of 24-3.50 (7.40).

COMING UP NEXT WEEK
The Sooners return to Fayetteville, Ark., for the second time in three weeks for the 2008 Arkansas Twilight. The meet at John McDonnell Field is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with the women's hammer throw. Running events are slated to start at 7 p.m.

LAST YEAR AT THE SOONER INVITATIONAL
Oklahoma junior Toni Smith once again stole the show in front of her home crowd, winning the women's triple jump at the Sooner Invitational with a personal best jump.

Smith, who has set a personal best indoors and outdoors with every home meet during her Sooner career, raised the bar once again with a wind-aided jump of 44 feet, 5.25 inches (13.54 meters) to take the event victory over teammate Portia Nash, who jumped 42-7.50 (12.99).

The result matches Miami's Brenda Faluade for the second best triple jump in the NCAA.

Smith's best jump does not count towards the school record book since it was wind-aided. However, her next best jump of 43-7.50 (13.30) trounced the previous best set by Jackie Smiley of 41-10.75 (12.77) set in 1990, making Smith the OU record holder for both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

Smith also took victory over Nash in the long jump as both set personal bests in that event as well. Smith won at 20-10.25 (6.35) and Nash was second with a leap of 20-8.00 (6.30).

All-American pole vaulters Chip Heuser and Scott Martin finished 1-2, respectively, with both clearing 17-4.50 (5.30).

All-American Kevin Bookout easily won the men's shot put with at 63-7.00 (19.38). Bookout finished second in the discus by just one inch as Thomas Killeen threw 179-1 (54.58) to Bookout's 170-0 (54.56).

Kevin Snyder won the men's high jump with a best clearance of 6-10.75 (2.10).

Ronnie Pines won the men's 100-meter dash at 10.67.

Cale Drumright took the men's javelin throw title with a best of 185-5 (56.53).

OU alum Jerome Douglas won the men's triple jump at 52-0.00 (15.85) over a trio of Sooners Shardae Boutte, Frankie Green and Tydree Lewis.

Dermillo Wise was the men's long jump winner, leaping a best of 23-6.00 (7.16).

Chris Gilchrist was third in the 400-meter dash at 48.83.

Carolyn Winchester, making her transition over to track after the basketball season, was fourth overall in the women's shot put, recording a personal best of 45-3.75 (13.81).

NCAA REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
A month into the 2008 outdoor season, Oklahoma athletes have posted 35 regional qualifying marks, 16 by the men's team and 19 by the women's team.

Sprinter Marcus Pugh has recorded three qualifying times in the 100- and 200-meter dash and as a member of the men's 4x100-meter relay.

Decathlete Mitch Henry has recorded two qualifying marks; a regional mark in the javelin and a provisional mark in the decathlon.

Senior horizontal jumper Toni Smith enters the weekend having already posted regional qualifying marks in both the triple jump and long jump in just her first action of the outdoor season in the events at the Texas Relays.

Smith is one of five OU women who have recorded regional qualifying marks in two events including Scottesha Miller who has done so in the 100- and 200-meter dash, the long jump and as a member of the 4x100-meter relay.

Leslie Cole (200- and 400-meter dash), Latoya Heath (100-meter hurdles and long jump) and Catherine Odell (800- and 1500-meter run) have all accomplished the feat as well.

RECORDS FALLING
After recording five new program records in the 2008 indoor season, University of Oklahoma have already rewritten the OU record books on three occasions this outdoor season.

Amy Backel kicked things off in the season-opening Tulsa Duels. In her first season as a full-time thrower, Backel claimed the event's javelin title with a throw of 155-4 (47.36) to best the previous school record of 154-8 (47.14) set by Katie Webster in 1998.

It didn't take long for Backel to rewrite her own record as one week later at the Bobby Lane Invitational the sophomore finished first by topping her own school record with a throw of 166-8 (50.80).

Austin, Texas was the site of the next record-breaking performance by Oklahoma athletes as Buck Sullivan and Latoya Greaves both placed their names above the historic performance lists in their respective divisions at the 81st Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.

Sullivan started it off in the hammer throw with an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 195-6 (59.60). The throw topped Nils Oliveto's previous program record of 192-2 (58.58).

Latoya Greaves continued her streak of impressive performances in her first season as a Sooner with a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.19. The time bested the previous Oklahoma program record of 13.27 set by Alesha Peel in 2001.

ONE STEP CLOSER TO BEIJING
Five University of Oklahoma Track & Field athletes have taken one step closer to competing in Beijing by eclipsing "B" qualifying standards for the 2008 U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials.

The event, which will be held June 27 - July 6 in Eugene, Ore., has two sets of qualifying standards, an "A" standard and a "B" standard.

Athletes who attain the "A" standard will automatically be included in the event, provided they enter and declare. Athletes who attain the "B" standard will be included in the event only if additional competitors are needed to make the event competitive (i.e., not enough athletes have not attained the "A" standard).

Amy Backel (Javelin), Shardae Boutte (Triple Jump), Jessica Eldridge (1,500-meter run), Tydree Lewis (Triple Jump) and Toni Smith (Triple Jump) have all recorded "B" standard marks.

TOP MATCHUPS INVOLVING SOONERS
The 2008 Sooner Invitational will feature a number of athletes involved in the race for top rankings in the Big 12 Conference, including a number of showdowns with Sooners.

The first heat of the women's 200-meter dash will feature three Sooners all ranked in the top 20 of the Big 12 as Leslie Cole (No. 8), Scottesha Miller (No. 13) and Tijahnni Newton (No. 17) take to the track. Cole (No. 2) and Newton (No. 7) will face off again in the 400-meter dash.

In the women's 100-meter hurdles, a conference top-10 matchup occurs, involving two Sooners and two Latoyas. Latoya Greaves, currently ranked No. 1 in the conference, while take on teammate Latoya Heath, ranked No. 8 in the event.

The women's pole vault gives two Big 12 athletes a chance to separate themselves from the middle of the pack as No. 13 Jessica Brown from OU takes on No. 15 Jessie Gibbs of Texas Tech.

Six women in the top 20 on the Big 12 Conference comprise part of the second flight in the women's long jump, three of which are Oklahoma competitors. Miller and Toni Smith lead the way, tied for seventh in the Big 12, followed by Dominique Jacobs at No. 14. Oklahoma State's Baiba Blumbaha is 13th and teammate Tihana Sarac is 19th as Texas Tech's Janell Appelhans rounds out the group in 20th.

On the men's side, OU's Adrian Wiltshire and Shardae Boutte, ranked fifth and 10th, respectively, face off. OU showdowns also occur in both the men's and women's triple jump. Heath (No. 17) and Smith (No. 1) face off in the women's division while Boutte (No. 3), Frankie Green (No. 14) and Tydree Lewis (No. 5) compete in the men's division.

The women's hammer throw will give OU's Mikaela Johansson, who is redshirting this season and competing unattached, a chance to see how she matches up against Big 12 foes as she takes on No. 3 Ozioma Okolie of Texas Tech, No. 6 Deleanor Kirkpatrick of Oklahoma State and No. 7 Zlata Tarasova of Kansas in the event.

In the men's hammer throw Buck Sullivan will face off against the Big 12's top-ranked hammer thrower in Kansas' Egor Agafonov, who is also ranked eighth nationally.

Amy Backel has an opportunity to make a jump in the nation's rankings on Saturday in the women's javelin. Backel is currently ranked N. 13 in the nation and will face Andrea Kvetova of SMU who is ranked No. 7 in the nation.

SIXTY-ONE TOP-THREE MARKS
Through the first five weeks of the 2008 outdoor track & field season, 24 University of Oklahoma individual athletes and three relays have accounted for 61 top-three finishes including 19 first-place finishes, 10 of which came at last week's John McDonnell Invitational.

Amy Backel, Scottesha Miller and Marcus Pugh lead all Sooners with five top-three finishes apiece. Miller is tied with Greaves for most event titles with three.

Greaves along with Leslie Cole and Buck Sullivan has four top-three finishes.

Zach Dawson, Mitch Henry and Toni Smith are the next level for OU with three places apiece.

Backel, Cole and triple jumper Shardae Boutte each have two individual wins a piece.

LATOYA, LATOYA
Sophmores Latoya Heath and Latoya Greaves both arrived on the campus of the University of Oklahoma via the junior college route and both have excelled in their first season on the Divison I level.

Heath, from Lindenwood University in St. Louis, Mo., and Greaves, from Oklahoma Baptist University, have both made their marks on the OU Track & Field Program, including the Sooner record books.

Greaves is currently the top-ranked 100-meter hurdler in the Big 12 Conference with a top time of 13.19 while Heath is eighth (13.70). Greaves' time also marks an Oklahoma school record for Big 12 Indoor champion in the 60-meter hurdles.

Heath is also a force in the horizontal jumps as the 10th-ranked long jumper in the Big 12 and 17th in the triple jump. Heath's triple jump mark of 39 feet and 2.5 inches (11.95 meters) ranks seventh in the OU record books.

FAYETTEVILLE IS FAMILIAR
Travel 244 miles northeast of Norman and you'll find what is becoming a home-away-from-home for the Oklahoma Track & Field program.

Fayetteville, Ark., home of the University of Arkansas, was the site of Oklahoma's last outdoor meet, the 2008 John McDonnell Invitational, and is the site of two outdoor meets of the 2008 outdoor OU season, next week's Arkansas Twilight (5/2) being the other.

It was the 2008 indoor season though that Oklahoma athletes began to learn the ins-and-outs of Fayetteville, traveling to Northwest Arkansas on five different occassions for indoor meets, including the 2008 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in March.

The Randal Tyson Track Center was a friendly welcome to some OU athletes including triple jumpers Shardae Boutte and Tydree Lewis as both broke Oklahoma program records in the facility.

Boutte first broke the Oklahoma program record on Feb. 15 at the Tyson Invitational with a jump of 54-1.00 (16.48) to become the nation's top-ranked athlete in the event, a claim he would hold until the NCAA Championships.

It was at the NCAA Championships though that Lewis leapfrogged Boutte for the top spot in the OU record book. A jump of 54-2.50 (16.52) not only gave Lewis a second-place finish, but the Oklahoma program record.

SPRINTING UP THE RANKINGS
A quick look at the women's Big 12 performance list for sprints and its hard to miss the University of Oklahoma. Four Sooners appear in the top 25 of both the 100- and 200-meter dash, including two in the top 10, and three OU athletes in the top-25 of the 400-meter dash with two in the top seven.

Leslie Cole leads the way with a top-10 ranking in both the 200 (No. 8) and 400 (No. 2).

CAREER DAY FOR COLE
Last weekend's trip to Fayetteville for the John McDonnell Invitational was beneficial for all Oklahoma athletes, it was especially rewarding for one Sooner though as Leslie Cole recorded personal-best times in both the 200- and 400-meter dash.

Cole, competing in the Invitational division of both races, raced to a win in the 200 with an NCAA Regional qualifiying time of 23.46.

Not long afterwards, the junior sprinter finished third in the 400 behind two unattached runners with another regional qualifying time of 53.50. The time, the fifth fastest in Oklahoma program history, bested Cole's personal best entering the season by more than two seconds. It is the second fastest this season in the Big 12 while the 200 is eighth.

MILLER TIME
Helping Leslie Cole to an outstanding showing by the OU women at the John McDonnell Invitational, sophomore Scottesha Miller placed her name atop the leader board in a wide array of events.

Miller began the day by recording the fastest time in the women's 100-meter dash prelims, 11.64, before improving on the time, 11.52, to capture the event's title.

The short sprinter specialist continued her impressive day under sunny skies with a second title, this time in the women's 200-meter dash with a time of 23.61.

Her time on the track wasn't done as she anchored the women's 4x100-meter relay to a first-place finish with a time of 45.38.

Shifting from the track to the infield, the defending Big 12 outdoor champion in the long jump finished second in the event with a jump of 19-11.50 (6.08) to finish as the highest collegiate competitor.

All three times and the long jump distance marked NCAA Regional qualifiers while Miller's 200 time allowed the sophomore to crack the OU all-time performance list at No. 10.

TRIPLE JUMPING TO THE TOP
For assistant coach Jeremy Fischer, a trio of triple jumpers is making his life a whole lot easier. Sooner men Shardae Boutte and Tydree Lewis along with Toni Smith on the women's side all rank in the top seven nationally in the event.

Boutte, the defending Big 12 outdoor champion and 2008 Big 12 indoor champion, enters this weekend ranked sixth nationally and third in the conference. Lewis, who finished second at the NCAA Championships in the event during the 2008 indoor season, is ranked fifth in the conference and 10th nationally. Both have recorded NCAA Regional qualifying marks.

On the women's side, Smith also owns a regional qualifying mark as the Big 12 Conference's top-ranked triple jumper. The school-record holder in the event, Smith's top jump this season of 43 feet and five inches (13.23 meters) ranks eighth nationally.

AWESOME DAWSON
For Zach Dawson, the 2008 outdoor track & field season has marked another step in the sophomore's progression to the top.

The Edmond, Okla., native has improved each season including two All-Big 12 honors in the 2008 indoor season after receiving one during the 2007 outdoor season.

If the first month of outdoor competition has been any indication, this season will be no different. In his first action of the outdoor season at the Bobby Lane Invitational, Dawson ran an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 52.19 in the 400-meter hurdles, his first-ever time to compete in the race. Dawson improved his time at last week's meet, running a 51.12, just off the Olympic Trial "B" standard of 51.00.

The 400 hurdles was just the first regional qualifying mark for Dawson, who reeled off a time of 21.32 in his first race in the 200-meter dash at the John Jacobs Invitational. Dawson was less than two seconds away from recording two regional marks at the event with a time of 47.37 in the 400-meter dash, just below the regional qualifying mark of 47.37.

TWICE AROUND, TWICE AS NICE
Three...two...one. One could almost say out loud a countdown as Kristi Cook and Catherine Odell begin their kick in the women's 800-meter run.

The seniors rode their strong kicks to a 1-2 finish in the Invitational event at the John McDonnell Invitational with career-best times for both.

Cook led the way with a time of 2:07.17, the sixth-fastest time in Oklahoma program history, with Odell right behind at a time of 2:07.70, eighth fastest in OU history.

The two enter this weekend ranked fourth (Cook) and fifth (Odell) in the Big 12 Conference. Odell heads to Eugene, Ore., for 1,500-meter run at the Oregon Relays, an event she is ranked ninth in the conference.

Odell will be joining fellow senior Jessica Eldridge in the event out west. While Eldridge has seen limited action this outdoor season, the three-time All-American has not failed to impress, recording the sixth-best run in the nation.

1,500 METERS TO SUCCESS
For redshirt-freshmen Jacob Boone and Rob Sorrell, the first season under head coach Martin Smith has been one of steadily improvement and climb up the OU records list. After opening the season with NCAA Regional qualifying times in the 1,500-meter run at the Stanford Invitational (Sorrell - 3:47.34, Boone - 3:47.43), the two did not rest, but only improved on their times.

At the John McDonnell Invitational Boone shaved close to four seconds off his previous time with a fourth-place finish in 3:43.96. Sorrell also picked up the pace, finishing the race in 3:46.94. This weekend Sorrell has another chance to continue to lower his time, competing in the distance at the Oregon Relays.

CHIPPING BACK
After suffering a major injury at the opening of the indoor season, senior pole vaulter Chip Heuser continues to rebound and climb back to the level the four-time All-American knows he can compete at.

With the motivation of facing a tough field at the Texas Relays, Heuser cleared his best height of the season so far and an NCAA Regional qualifying mark, 17-0.75 (5.20), en route to finishing seventh.

The height is tied for second in the Big 12 and is 17th overall in the nation.

AMY'S AIMING HIGH
In her first season as a full-time thrower after spending a season-and-a-half as a multi-event athlete, Amy Backel has quickly made a name for herself in the Big 12 Conference and provides a much-needed threat for conference championship points in events that were not necessarily counted on in the past.

Backel broke the Oklahoma javelin record in the first outdoor event of the season, Tulsa Relays, before rewriting her own record a week later at the Bobby Lane Invitational. The mark is currently the No. 3 mark in the Big 12 and 13th nationally.

The sophomore has also posted a personal best in the shot put with a toss of 46 feet and 10.25 inches (14.28), good for 13th in the Big 12.

DEBUT OF THE DECATHLETES
Last weekend's meet in Fayetteville marked the 2008 debut of OU multi-event athletes as Jamie Alexander, Zac Givens Mitch Henry and Matt O'Connor all took part in the decathlon at the John McDonnell Invitational.

Mitch Henry started the multi-event season off with a bang, finishing first and recording an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 7,059 points. Henry posted season-best marks in nine of the 10 events, including an NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the javelin.

Despite recording no height in the pole vault, Jamie Alexander managed to finish in third place with 5,964 points.

Senior Matt O'Connor finished sixth in the first event, the 100-meter dash, before withdrawing with an injury.

Freshman Zac Givens, competing unattached, came in fourth with 5,829 points.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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