Big 12 on Tap for Sooners in Boulder

May 15, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. -- The University of Oklahoma Track & Field team heads to Boulder, Colo., this weekend for the 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, May 16-18, at Potts Field on the camups of the University of Colorado.

The OU men enter the meet as the defending team champion after topping second place Texas Tech by 10.5 points in 2007 to win its first title in 29 years.

The OU women recorded their best finish in the 2007 conference meet as well with a sixth-place finish. The Sooners enter this year's meet as the fifth-ranked women's team in the Big 12 at No. 21.

The OU men enter the conference meet unranked and facing five of the nation's top-25 teams including the nation's top-ranked team in Texas A&M.

Shardae Boutte (triple jump), Scottesha Miller (long jump) and Marcus Pugh (100-meter dash) all enter the competition with hopes of defending their 2007 individual event titles.

RESULTS
Live results for the 2008 Big 12 Championships will be provided on CUBuffs.com. A complete recap of Oklahoma action will be posted on SoonerSports.com shortly after the conclusion of action each day.

RANKED TEAMS
Men: No. 1 Texas A&M, No. 10 Baylor, No. 11 Colorado, No. 12 Texas, No. 23 Texas Tech

Women: No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 5 Texas Tech, No. 16 Texas, No. 18 Baylor, No. 20 Oklahoma

TELEVISION
The 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be shown tape-delayed on Fox Southwest (Cox Channel 37) on Friday, May 23 at 12:30 p.m. CT.

Replays of the meet will also be shown on Saturday, May 24 at 3 a.m. and 1 p.m. and again on Sunday, May 25 at 3 a.m.

A number of other Fox Sports affilates will air tape-delayed versions of the broadcast as well. A full list of airings can be found below.

Schedule/Results | TV Schedule | Championship Central | Full Notes

SOONER TO WATCH
The reigning Big 12 champion in the long jump, Scottesha MIller enters the 2008 Big 12 Championships as one of Oklahoma's most versatile competitors. Having recorded NCAA Regional qualifying marks in four events (100, 200, 4x100 and long jump), Miller will be counted on provide a number points for the Sooners. Miller enters the meet with top-25 rankings in all four events including the top ranking in the long jump.

LAST WEEK (Sooner Twilight)
The University of Oklahoma Track and Field program closed out the 2008 regular season at home last Saturday with the 2008 Sooner Twilight. OU athletes recorded 12 NCAA Regional qualifying marks just five days before heading to Boulder, Colo., for the 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Amy Backel recorded a personal best and NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the women's shot put en route to a title in the event. Backel's throw of 47 feet and 10 inches (14.58 meters) was the only throw to eclipse the qualifying mark. OU's Mikaela Johansson, competing unattached, finished second in the event with a throw of 46-2.00 (14.07). Johansson also finished first in the women's hammer throw with a mark of 188-7 (57.48).

The familiar Latoya-Latoya combination was once again atop the leader board in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Latoya Greaves, who holds the OU program record in the event, took first with a time of 13.42 while Latoya Heath ran a personal-best time of 13.52. Heath's time marks the sixth-fastest in the Big 12 this year and the third fastest in Oklahoma history.

Heath also took first in the women's triple jump with a season-best jump of 42-4.00 (12.90). With the jump, Heath moves up to No. 3 all-time in Oklahoma program history. The top three jumps in OU history now have all come in the last two years with Toni Smith (2007) and Portia Nash (2007) in first and second, respectively.

OU women swept the top four spots in the long jump as Ti'Anca Mock, Scottesha Miller, Carli Wester and Dominique Jacobs finished in that order. Mock, who competed in her first collegiate outdoor long jump competition last week, finished first with a regional qualifying jump of 19-11.75 (6.09).

The No. 1 jumper in the conference, Miller finished second with a top mark of 19-7.00 (5.97). Wester leapt a personal-best 19-50.25 (5.92) to take third while Jacobs came in fourth with a jump of 19-4.75 (5.91).

Miller also finished second in the women's 200-meter dash behind teammate Leslie Cole. The two crossed the finish line at almost the exact same time. Cole's time of 23.052 narrowly edged Miller's 23.057.

Marcus Pugh recorded the fastest time, 10.38, in the men's 100-meter dash to win the event. Pugh, the reigning Big 12 champion in the event, enters next week's action as the conference's No. 2 competitor in the event.

Zach Dawson posted an NCAA Regional qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.28 en route to finishing first in the event. Dawson's season-best time of 51.12 has the sophomore ranked seventh in the Big 12.

Kristi Cook picked up her second event title of the season by winning the women's 800-meter run with a time of 2:12.52. The senior's classmate, Catherine Odell, took third with a time of 2:13.75.

Tijahnni Newton was the highest collegiate finisher in the women's 400-meter dash. The senior took second with a regional qualifying time of 53.69 behind Licretia Sibley, running for PTC Elite. Newton enters the Big 12 Championships ranked No. 3 in the event behind Cole at No. 2.

Freshman D'Andre Fisher took third in the men's 110-meter hurdles, but more importantly ran a personal best and regional qualifying time of 14.30.

Chip Heuser also posted an NCAA Regional qualifying mark with a third-place finish in the men's pole vault. Heuser cleared 16-6.75 (5.05) to take third behind two unattached competitors in Joel Dougherty and Kevin Opalka.

Preparing for the decathlon in next week's Big 12 Championship, Mitch Henry finished third in the men's long jump with a season-best distance of 23-4.75 (7.13). Dominique Johnson, competing unattached for Oklahoma, took second with a jump of 23-7.25 (7.19).

Oklahoma alum Michael Blackwood finished first in the men's 800-meter run with a time of 1:50.10. Jacob Boone took fourth in 1:52.19.

COMING UP NEXT
OU takes a weekend off in preparation of the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional to be held May 30-31 in Lincoln, Neb. Hosted by the University of Nebraska, the meet will feature NCAA Regional qualifiers from 43 institutions competing for a chance to advance to the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, June 11-14, in Des Moines, Iowa.

In 2007 the Oklahoma men's track and field team's first Big 12 title was followed up two week later with its first NCAA Midwest Regional Championship at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

LAST YEAR AT THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS
The University of Oklahoma men's track and field team won its first conference title in 29 years by capturing the 2007 Big 12 Outdoor Championships at Ed Weir Stadium in Lincoln, Neb.

The Sooners scored a program record 110.50 points to beat Texas Tech (100) and Texas (96). OU was guaranteed victory before the final event, leading by 11.5 points entering the 4x400-meter relay.

The Sooners last won conference titles in 1977 and 1978 when they captured back-to-back Big Eight Conference outdoor championships.

Marcus Pugh scored a team-leading 20 points with a win in the 100-meter dash, second-place finish in the 200, and a fourth and sixth, respectively, in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

Pugh ran 10.30 in the 100 to defeat Texas' Jamaal Charles (10.32).

Kevin Bookout dominated the men's shot put, winning the competition with his best throw of 62 feet, 8.50 inches (19.11 meters). His first throw of 62-4.75 (19.02) put the title out of reach as Bookout won by nearly six feet.

Shardae Boutte and Tydree Lewis finished 1-2 in the men's triple jump. Boutte jumped a personal best of 53-3.75 (16.25) and Lewis recorded a 52-8.00 (16.05). Frankie Green was seventh, giving the OU men 20 points in the event.

The women's team matched its all-time best Big 12 finish of sixth, scoring 64 points. Texas A&M (140) won the women's championship.

The Sooners have made an unprecedented leap in performance since the arrival of Smith, now in his second year as head coach. In 2005, the season prior to his arrival, the men finished 10th outdoors and the women were 12th -- last in the conference. In just two years, both squads have scored program bests in both the indoor and outdoor seasons.

The Sooner men entered participants in 16 of the 21 events and scored in 13.

Toni Smith broke her own school record in the triple jump with her best of 43-9.25 (13.34). Smith finished third to champion Chrystal Manning of Kansas (44-11.75 [13.71]) and Texas A&M's Ashika Charan (43-11.25 [13.39). Smith's jump was the lone non-wind-aided mark among the top five finishers.

Jessica Eldridge (4:25.71) finished runner-up to Texas Tech's Sally Kipyego (4:21.57) in the 1,500-meter run.

The women's 4x100-meter relay of Leslie Cole, Yolanda Goff, Scottesha Miller and Larica Urbina placed third in 44.24, the second best all-time by an Oklahoma team. The women's 4x400 of Cole, Jhavonne Pope, Goff and Tijahnni Newton improved on its season best by over four seconds, running 3:34.80, the fifth best time ever for OU in the event.

Saturday, OU freshman Scottesha Miller won the women's long jump title.

NCAA QUALIFIERS
With just one event remaining before the 2008 NCAA Midwest Regional, Oklahoma athletes have posted 44 regional qualifying marks, 23 by the women's team and 21 by the men.

Scottesha Miller leads all Sooners with regional qualifying marks in four events. The sophomore has qualified in both the 100- and 200-meter dash and as a member of the women's 4x100-meter relay to go along with a qualifying long jump.

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 and Latoya Heath are members 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.

In her first season as a Sooner, Heath enters the post season having posted qualifying marks in the women's 100-meter hurdles, long jump and triple jump.

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 six OU women who have recorded regional qualifying marks in two events.

Amy Backel (shot put and javelin), Leslie Cole (200- and 400-meter dash) and Catherine Odell (800- and 1500-meter run) have all accomplished the feat as well.

On the men's side, Shardae Boutte has added his name to the double qualifiers as well, qualifying in both the long and triple jump.

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.

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.

LATOYA, LATOYA
Sophomores Latoya Heath and Latoya Greaves both arrived on the campus of the University of Oklahoma via the small 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 sixth (13.52). 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 sixth-ranked triple jumper in the Big 12 and 11th in the long jump. Heath's triple jump mark of 42 feet and two inches (12.90 meters) ranks third in the OU record books.

ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FOUR TOP-THREE MARKS
Throughout the 2008 outdoor track & field season, 32 University of Oklahoma individual athletes and five relays have accounted for 124 top-three finishes including 38 first-place finishes.

Scottesha Miller leads all Sooners with 11 top-three finishes. Miller is tied with Leslie Cole for second-most event titles with five. Latoya Greaves leads all Sooners with six individual titles.

Cole, along with Amy Backel, has eight top-three finishes. Backel also has four individual event titles.

Three Sooners have seven top-three places as Greaves, Marcus Pugh and Toni Smith have eclipsed the mark.

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 five in the top 10.

Leslie Cole leads the way with a top-10 ranking in both the 200 (No. 5) and 400 (No. 2). Tijahnni Newton is No. 3 in the 400 while Scottesha Miller is No. 9 in the 100 and No. 6 in the 200.

Another event dominated by Oklahoma athletes is the women's long jump. Six Sooners appear in the top 16, including three in the top seven. Miller is the Conference's top long jumper with Toni Smith (No. 5) and Ti'Anca Mock (No. 7) not far behind.

CAREER DAY FOR COLE...AGAIN
The John McDonnell Invitational on April 19 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.

Cole's times rank seventh and eighth, respectively, in the nation.

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.

A return trip to Fayetteville and Miller bested herself in the long jump, reeling off the Big 12's longest jump of the season in 20-8.50 (6.31).

Miller didn't stop there, running a 23.06 in the 200 at the Sooner Twilight on May 10. The time ranks as the third-fastest in Oklahoma history.

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 43-7.75 (13.30 meters) ranks 10th 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 count 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 outdoor 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 at the Sooner Twilight with a toss of 47 feet and 10 inches (14.58), good for 12th in the Big 12.

RACING TO THE BOOKS
Eleven student-athletes from the University of Oklahoma track and field program were named to the Big 12 Conference's 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Track and field teams on May 14.

Amy Backel, a civil engineering sophomore, and Catherine Odell, an instructional leadership senior, led the way with perfect 4.0 grade point averages.

Other Sooners on the first team included Jamie Alexander (human relations), Brayon Brown (human relations), Jason Coleman (multidisciplinary studies), Kristi Cook (marketing), Frankie Green (human relations), Chip Heuser (zoology) and Rob Sorrell (aviation).

Leslie Cole (sociology) and Carli Wester (undecided major) were named to the second team.

COLE HONORED BY BIG 12
Junior sprinter Leslie Cole was named Big 12 Athlete of the Week by the Conference on Tuesday, April 29. 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.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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