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
West Ark. & West Coast on Tap for OU
May 01, 2008 | Track and Field
May 1, 2008
NORMAN, Okla. -- The Oklahoma Track & Field Program will split to three different locations across the nation this weekend with the majority of the team in Fayetteville, Ark., for Friday's 2008 Arkansas Twilight.
On Sunday, triple jumpers Shardae Boutte, Tydree Lewis and Toni Smith will head to Irvine, Calif., for the Steve Scott Invitational while distance runners Kristi Cook, Jessica Eldridge and Catherine Odell will be up the coast line in Palo Alto, Calif., for the Payton Jordan Invitational.
The No. 18 OU women will face off against Big 12 foes Iowa State, Kansas and Missouri along with the host school, No. 19 Arkansas.
The OU men will also take on Iowa State, Kansas and Missouri along with Bedlam rival Oklahoma State. No. 13 Texas Christian University will also have athletes competing in the event.
Friday's action in Fayetteville begins at 10 a.m. with the women's hammer. Running events begin at 6 p.m. as the women's 4x100-meter relay takes to the track.
The triple jumping group will begin competing at 2 p.m. PST on Sunday with the distance group competing at 5:19 p.m. PST.
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RESULTS
Live results for the 2008 Arkansas Twilight will be provided on HogWired.com. Live results from the Payton Jordan and Steve Scott Invitationals can be found on GoStanford.com and UCIrvinesports.com. A complete recap of Oklahoma action will be posted on SoonerSports.com shortly after the conclusion of action each day.
RANKED TEAMS
No. 19 Arkansas (W), No. 18 Oklahoma (W), No. 13 TCU (M).
SOONER TO WATCH
A fast track and stiff competition, two things that tend to lead to low times. Marcus Pugh will have both this weekend in the 100- and 200-meter dash. The senior sprinter is currently ranked 12th and 14th nationally in the two events and has a great opportunity on Friday to move up the ranking ladder as he faces J-Mee Samuels of Arkansas. Samuels is ranked No. 3 in the 100 and No. 4 in the 200 and provides Pugh with some of his fiercest competition this year.
LAST WEEK (Sooner Invitational)
Riding momentum from last week's performance at the John McDonnell Invitational, the University of Oklahoma Track & Field team turned in another solid performance Saturday at the Sooner Invitational in Norman. OU athletes, competing in 24 events, picked up 13 titles, 27 top-three finishes and 20 NCAA Regional qualifying marks to go along with 10 meet records and one school record.
Leslie Cole and Tijhanni Newton teamed up to record personal bests in both the 200- and 400-meter dash to finish 1-2 in each event. Cole (52.70) and Newton (53.31) both recorded regional qualifying marks in the 400, times that rank second and third, respectively, in the Big 12 Conference. Cole's time also marks a Sooner Invitational record and is third all-time at OU. Newton's time moves the senior up to fifth all-time at Oklahoma.
The career day for both continued in the 200 where Cole came in first with a time of 23.01 followed by Newton at 23.62. It was another Sooner Invitational record for Cole who moved up to second place behind Laverne Jones (22.81) in the OU all-time performance list. Cole's time is the fourth fastest this season in the Big 12 Conference.
It was a Sooner sweep in the 400 as Zach Dawson captured the men's title with a regional qualifying time of 46.61. The time marked a personal best for the sophomore and the third event this season to record a regional qualifying time.
Amy Backel broke her own school record en route to a title in the women's javelin early in the day. The sophomore tossed the implement an NCAA Regional qualifying distance of 167 feet and seven inches (51.09 meters). Backel's throw also marked a Sooner Invitational record.
Toni Smith defended her Sooner Invitational titles in both the long and triple jump with season-best jumps of 20-5.75 (6.24) and 43-7.75 (13.30), respectively. The long jump propels Smith to third in the Big 12 rankings while the triple jump is Big 12's top mark of the season.
OU's Scottesha Miller finished third behind Smith with a NCAA Regional qualifying jump of 19-8.25 (6.00). Miller followed the field event up with a first-place finish in the women's 100-meter dash, her second straight week to win the event with a regional qualifying time of 11.66. Freshman Missy Barnes was third in the event with a time of 12.12.
In the men's triple jump, Tydree Lewis and Franke Green posted personal bests and regional qualifying marks to finish first and third, respectively. Lewis' jump of 52-9.25 (16.08) is the third best jump in Oklahoma history while Green (49-7.25/15.12) moves up to ninth all-time at OU.
Latoya Greaves and Latoya Heath finished 1-2 in the women's 100-meter hurdles as both recorded NCAA Regional qualifying marks. Greaves time of 13.53 led all comers while Heath ran a season-best time of 13.62. Heath's time moves the sophomore up to seventh all-time in Oklahoma history.
Paul Gill cleared a season-best height of 7-0.50 (2.15) in the men's high jump to win the event. Gill's regional-qualifying jump ties for ninth in OU program history and ties for third this season in the Big 12.
Both OU men's and women's 4x100-meter relay recorded NCAA Regional qualifying marks and set Sooner Invitational records. The women's quartet of Cole, Jalesa Walker, Barnes and Miller took first with a time of 44.91, tied for the 10th fastest in Oklahoma program history. Tydree Lewis, Marcus Pugh, Sheldon Leith and Jacobi Mitchell combined to complete the single lap with a season-best time of 40.41.
Shardae Boutte jumped to No. 3 in the Big 12 with a personal-best jump of 24-7.25 (7.50) in the men's long jump. Adrian Wiltshire was third in the event with a regional qualifying jump of 24-2.50 (7.38).
Brayon Brown eclipsed the regional qualifying mark in the 800-meter run with a season-best time of 1:49.97 en route to finishing third in the event.
Hammer thrower Buck Sullivan recorded an NCAA Regional qualifying mark to finish third in the men's event. Sullivan's toss of 193-8 (59.02) is just behind the junior's program record of 195-6 (59.60).
Jessica Brown cleared 11-7.75 (3.55) in the women's pole vault to take first in the event.
Senior Chip Heuser and freshman D'Andre Fisher took second in their respective events. Heuser took silver in the pole vault with a height of 16-0.75 (4.90) while Fisher came in behind the leader of the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.56.
Katherine Johnson took second in the women's high jump with a height of 5-5.00 (1.65).
The Oklahoma men's 4x400-meter relay of Pugh, Brown, Leith and Dawson finished second with a season-best time of 3:11.47.
COMING UP NEXT WEEK
OU returns home for its final regular-season meet of the 2008 outdoor season, the inaugural Sooner Twilight, on Saturday May 10. Field events kick off the action at 11 a.m. while running events take off at 2 p.m.
LAST YEAR AT THE ARKANSAS TWILIGHT
The University of Oklahoma men's and women's track teams accomplished their goals improving technique and staying healthy at the Arkansas Twilight.
The Sooners also added one men's and two women's entries to the NCAA Midwest Regional (totaling a program season record 21 men's and 17 women's) with their results as they prepared for next week's Big 12 Championships.
Yolanda Goff won the women's 100-meter dash with a season best run of 11.45 seconds. Larica Urbina was third at a personal best 11.56, her first regional qualifying mark of the season.
Sheldon Leith won the men's 110-meter hurdles at 13.78 seconds, his second best run ever. Dermillo Wise was fourth at 14.09 as both were under the regional qualifying standard.
Toni Smith jumped a wind-aided 21-2.00 (6.45) to win the women's long jump. Portia Nash was third at 19-10.75 (6.06) and Scottesha Miller was fourth at 19-9.75 (6.04)
Shardae Boutte set a personal record in the triple jump with a best of 52-1.75 (15.89), good for fourth place.
Chip Heuser took top honors in the men's pole vault, clearing 17-4.50 (5.30).
Kevin Snyder won the men's high jump, clearing 6-8.75 (2.05).
Jessica Eldridge was second overall the top collegian in the women's 800-meter run. Eldridge timed in at 2:07.91, nearly chasing down winner Erica Fountain (2:06.28) at the stripe.
Jacobi Mitchell finished second overall the top collegian in the men's 100-meter dash, clocking 10.51. Ronnie Pines was fourth overall at 10.63.
Jhavonne Pope ran a personal best of 23.99 in the women's 200-meter dash en route to fifth place overall. Scottesha Miller finished in sixth at 24.05.
Leonarde Smith (52.40) and Claude Senior (52.43) ran fourth and fifth, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles. Senior, who is rehabilitating a hamstring injury, posted his first regional qualifying mark in the event.
Zach Dawson was sixth in the men's 400, running a 47.63.
Shquanda Meylor ran a personal best of 1:02.48 in the women's 400 hurdles, finishing fourth.
NCAA QUALIFIERS
With just two weeks remaining in into the 2008 outdoor regular season, Oklahoma athletes have posted 40 regional qualifying marks, 20 by each the men's and women's teams.
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.
Zach Dawson is a member of the tri-qualifier club as well. Dawson entered the year as a 400-meter runner, however, the sophomore has ran regional qualifying times in that event along with the 200-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles.
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). The record stood for less than a month as Backel topped herself once more at the Sooner Invitational with a throw of 167-7 (51.09).
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
Six 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), Leslie Cole (200-meter dash), Jessica Eldridge (1,500-meter run), Tydree Lewis (Triple Jump) and Toni Smith (Triple Jump) have all recorded "B" standard marks.
COLE HONORED BY BIG 12
Junior sprinter Leslie Cole was named Big 12 Athlete of the Week by the Conference on Tuesday. Cole received the honor, the first of her career, after recording a career day at home in Saturday's Sooner Invitational. The meet marked the second consecutive week that Cole posted career marks after doing so at the John McDonnell Invitational on April 19.
The three-time All-American recorded personal bests in both the 200- and 400-meter dash at the Sooner Invitational en route to taking first with NCAA Regional qualifying times in each event. Cole's time in the 400 (52.70) marked a new Sooner Invitational record and is the third-fastest time in program history.
Cole's winning time of 23.01 in the 200 was also a meet record and second on OU's all-time performance list. The junior also ran the opening leg of the 4x100-meter relay that finished first with a regional-qualifying time of 44.91.
She currently is ranked seventh nationally in the 200 and fifth in the 400.
The Idabel, Okla., native shares the honor with thrower D'Andra Carter of Texas Tech. Distance runner Leonel Manzano of Texas received the men's honor.
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 with this week's Arkansas Twilight 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.
EIGHTY-EIGHT TOP-THREE MARKS
Throughout the 2008 outdoor track & field season, 29 University of Oklahoma individual athletes and five relays have accounted for 88 top-three finishes including 32 first-place finishes.
Scottesha Miller leads all Sooners with seven top-three finishes. Miller is tied with Leslie Cole and Latoya Greaves for most event titles with four.
Cole, along with Amy Backel, has six top-three finishes. Backel also has three individual event titles.
Five Sooners have five top-three places as Greaves, Katherine Johnson, Marcus Pugh, Toni Smith and Buck Sullivan have eclipsed the mark.
LATOYA, LATOYA
Sophomores 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 seventh (13.62). 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 19th in the triple jump. Heath's triple jump mark of 39 feet and 2.5 inches (11.95 meters) ranks eighth in the OU record books.
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 for all of the short sprints, including four in the top 10.
Leslie Cole leads the way with a top-10 ranking in both the 200 (No. 4) and 400 (No. 2). Tijahnni Newton is No. 3 in the 400 while Scottesha Miller is No. 8 in the 100.
CAREER DAY FOR COLE...AGAIN
Two weeks ago, 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.
The effort was just a foreshadow of what Cole would accomplish one week later at home. Taking first in both the 200- and 400-meter dash by once again boosting her career-best times in each race.
Cole's time of 23.01 in the 200 is the second-fastest in Oklahoma program history and the fourth-fastest this season in the Big 12 Conference. Cole followed that up with the Conference's second-fastest 400 of the season with a time of 52.70. The time is No. 3 in the OU record books.
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 eight 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 eighth 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.
A return home to Norman was all Dawson needed to record a regional qualifying mark in his third event of the season, the 400-meter dash. Dawson claimed the event title at the Sooner Invitational with a personal-best time of 46.61, under the NCAA Regional qualifying time of 47.20.
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.
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 a 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. One weekend later at the Oregon Relays Sorrell lowered his time even further, running 3:44.29. The time marks the third fastest in Oklahoma program history.
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. Backel returned home to Norman for the Sooner Invitational and one-upped herself again with a toss of 167-7 (51.09). The mark is currently the No. 2 mark in the Big 12 and 12th 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 14th in the Big 12.
Saturday, June 13
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 10
