Five More All-Americans for OU

June 14, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Five University of Oklahoma athletes placed their names on OU's lengthy list of All-Americans Saturday at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Des Moines. OU closed out the national competition with six total All-Americans as Toni Smith was awarded the honor Thursday in the long jump giving Oklahoma 335 total All-Americans.

Latoya Greaves recorded OU's highest finish with a fifth-place finish in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Running into a headwind of 2.8 meters-per-second Greaves posted a time of 13.30 to become OU's first-ever female hurdler to earn outdoor All-America honors.

In her first year on the Division I level Greaves managed to post her name atop the Oklahoma record books, claim Big 12 and Midwest Regional titles and now has added an NCAA All-America honor to her resume.

Smith earned her fourth career All-America honor and her second this week with a sixth-place finish in the women's triple jump. Smith, who garnered Thursday's long jump honor, leapt a distance of 44 feet and two inches (13.46 meters) on the second of six attempts. The jump came one day after the senior extended her program record with a jump of 44-8.75 (13.63) in the event's prelims.

Smith is the only woman in Oklahoma history to earn All-America honors in the event, doing so in 2007 as well.

On the men's side, Shardae Boutte finished seventh in the triple jump with a long distance of 53-6.25 (16.31). The senior entered the competition ranked No. 1 in the nation with a jump of 55-0.00 (16.76). Cornell's Muhammad Halim won the event's title with a jump of 54-8.00 (16.66). Boutte's All-America honor marked his second of 2008 after garnering the triple jump honor during the indoor season.

Boutte's classmate, Tydree Lewis, finished 11th with a jump of 52-0.00 (15.85).

Proving the move from combined athlete to full-time thrower this season was a smart one, sophomore Amy Backel earned her first career All-America honor in the women's javelin with a seventh-place finish.

The Dillsburg, Pa., native once again extended her own program record in the event with a throw of 171-10 (52.39). Backel established the program record in the first event of the season, the Tulsa Duels, and continued to further the distance throughout the season, including toss of 167-10 (51.17) in Thursday's prelims.

With the honor, Backel is the first All-American at Oklahoma in the women's javelin.

Another decorated Oklahoma athlete closed out her career in Des Moines as Jessica Eldridge finished 12th in the women's 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:22.21. Eldridge picked up an All-America honor in the event as the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association awards the honor to the top-eight finishers in each event and extends the honor to the top-eight American born finishers.

Eldridge ends her Oklahoma career with four All-America honors and as the program-record holder in the indoor mile.

Florida State took home the men's team title while Louisiana State did so on the women's side. Of Oklahoma's 2008 outdoor All-Americans, Backel and Greaves return in 2009.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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