Seven NCAA Marks, Eight Wins

Jan. 31, 2009

NORMAN, Okla. — In the second of two strong weeks, the University of Oklahoma track & field athletes accounted for one NCAA automatic qualifying mark, six NCAA provisional qualifying marks and eight event wins along with two program records and 22 top-three finishes Saturday at the J.D. Martin Invitational in Norman. The performance comes one week after the Sooners combined for an automatic qualifying mark and 10 provisional qualifying marks at the Razorback Invitational.

OU was led by senior triple jumper Shardae Boutte who automatically qualified for the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships with his performance in the event. Five Sooners put together six NCAA provisional qualifying performances as Will Claye (triple jump), Scottesha Miller (60-meter dash, long jump), Ti'Anca Mock (triple jump) and K.P. Singh (weight throw) all crossed the threshold that is necessary to qualify for the national meet.

Boutte gave OU an NCAA automatic qualifying mark for the second time in two weeks in the same event, triple jump, that saw Mock perform the feat at last week's Razorback Invitational. Boutte's season-best jump of 53 feet and 0.25 inches (16.16 meters) gave the 2008 Big 12 champion a second-place finish behind OU alum and program record holder Tydree Lewis, competing for Oklahoma Elite, who won with a distance of 53-2.75 (16.22). A freshman, Claye took third in just his second collegiate competition with a top jump of 51-7.00 (15.72). Claye's jump, an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, put the 2008 USA Today All-American at No. 5 on the OU performance list.

The women's 60-meter dash was an Oklahoma sweep as well as Miller, Missy Barnes and Leslie Cole finished in that order to claim all top three spots. Miller defended her 2008 title in the event by crossing the line with her first of two NCAA provisional qualifying marks on the day, 7.40. Barnes was second in 7.56 followed closely by Cole with a time of 7.57.

Miller also finished third in the long jump, the top collegiate finisher, but more importantly reeled off a provisional qualifying mark of 20-0.25 (6.10). Miller finished second behind two unattached athletes, one of which is former Sooner Portia Nash.

Singh, who broke the previous Oklahoma program record in the weight throw at last week's Oklahoma Christian Invitational, extended his record in the event on Saturday with a toss of 67-0.50 (20.43). Singh finished second in the event, but was the top collegiate finisher as unattached athlete Libor Charfreitag set a Mosier Indoor Facility record with a toss of 77-10.25 (23.73).

For the second straight week, the Oklahoma program records in both the men's and women's weight throw were broken as Mikaela Johansson extended her own record in the women's event following Singh's performance. The Swedish native took first in the event with a top throw of 57-7.00 (17.55).

Mock, who last week recorded an NCAA automatic qualifying mark in the triple jump, leapt an NCAA provisional qualifying distance of 41-8.00 (12.70) Saturday in the long jump. The distance marked a personal best for the sophomore and is No. 3 all-time in OU history. Latoya Heath moved up to No. 4 on the OU performance list with a third-place jump of 41-5.00 (12.62). The OU record holder in the event, former Sooner Toni Smith, took first Saturday competing for Oklahoma Elite with a distance of 43-0.50 (13.12).

Women's miler Kelly Waters moved up to No. 7 on the Oklahoma performance list with an NCAA provisional qualifying time Saturday. Waters finished third with a time of 4:48.93, but with her time converted from the flat track time to the banked track time of 4:48.33, Waters eclipsed the event's NCAA threshold of 4:48.60.

The 600-yard run saw fast times in both the men's and women's divisions for OU. Leslie Cole finished first in the women's division with a time of 1:20.78, three seconds faster than the second-best time in the Big 12 Conference. On the men's side, Jarell Warren (1:11.91) and Zach Dawson (1:11.98) both recorded top-10 conference times en route to finishing second and third, respectively.

Freshman Mookie Salaam made his collegiate debut in the meet and impressed with a time of 6.76 to finish first in the men's 60-meter dash. The time was just off the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the event of 6.74. Salaam's time marked the fifth-fastest in Oklahoma history.

Hurdler Latoya Heath improved on her personal best in the 60-meter hurdles for the second straight week as the Jamaican native took second in the event with a mark of 8.45.

Senior Katherine Johnson claimed back-to-back wins in the high jump with a top height of 5-7.00 (1.70) after accomplishing the feat in last week's Razorback Invitational with a season-best height of 5-7.25 (1.71).

Neelon Greenwood took first in the men's long jump with a top jump of 24-4.25 (7.42). Freshman Alex Madkins recorded a collegiate best in the event with a jump of 22-11.75 (7.00).

Freshman Andra Harris picked up her first collegiate win in the women's 400-meter dash. The California native completed the two-lap race in a time of 57.90.

In the women's shot put, Amy Backel finished second with a top throw of 49-1.50 (14.97). The junior finished behind the event champion Karen Shump, an OU freshman competing unattached. Shump's throw of 54-4.75 (16.58) marked what would have been an NCAA provisional qualifying distance had the freshman not been competing unattached as she redshirts the 2009 indoor season.

The men's high jump saw Kevin Snyder attempt to defend his 2008 J.D. Martin Invitational title in the event. The Oklahoma City native was able to clear 6-6.75 (2.10) but was not able to out jump Langston's William Moses who took first with a height of 6-10.75 (2.10).

OU will host a second consecutive meet next week with the Sooner Open I on Saturday, Feb. 7. On top of the home meet, Oklahoma athletes will be spread across the country as groups will head to the Meyo Invitational (South Bend, Ind.), the New Balance Collegiate Invitational (New York, N.Y.) and the New Mexico Classic (Albuquerque, N.M.).

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