OU Group in Jamaican Championships

June 26, 2008

NORMAN, Okla. — Four athletes with ties to the University of Oklahoma track and field program will be in Kingston, Jamaica, this weekend for the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association's National Championships in hopes of qualifying for the Beijing Olympic Games. Two members of last year's Oklahoma squad, Latoya Greaves and Sheldon Leith, will compete along with OU alums Michael Blackwood and Danny McFarlane.

The only athlete of the quartet with remaining eligibility at Oklahoma, Greaves will compete in the 100-meter hurdles just weeks after becoming OU's first-ever All-American in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Greaves also claimed Big 12 hurdles titles in both the indoor and outdoor seasons, her first on the Division I level after transferring to Oklahoma from Oklahoma Baptist. Greaves enters the competition as the seventh-ranked athlete in the event, which will be contested on Sunday.

On the men's side, Leith will compete in the 110-meter hurdles on Sunday afternoon. The recent OU graduate enters the meet with the fifth-fastest time of the field, 13.74. The 2008 NCAA All-American in the indoor 60-meter hurdles finished 14th in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Jamaican National Championships Live Results

Competitors in the last two Olympic Games, Blackwood and McFarlane will take to the track in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles, respectively. McFarlane took silver in the 400-meter hurdles at 2004 Athens Games, four years after claiming bronze as a member of the 4x400-meter relay at the 2000 Sydney Games. Blackwood also received bronze as a member of the 2000 4x400 relay before taking eighth in the 400 at the 2004 Athens Games.

Both Blackwood and McFarlane will begin competition in their respective event's prelims on Friday. McFarlane tops the field in the 400-meter hurdles with a qualifying time of 48.58.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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