Mock Claims Big 12 Long Jump Title

Feb. 27, 2009

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Junior Ti'Anca Mock became OU's latest Big 12 Conference champion Friday at the first day of competition in the 2009 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships on the campus of Texas A&M. Already the OU program record holder in the event, Mock gave OU its third Big 12 title in the women's indoor long jump and the first since Portia Nash accomplished the feat in 2007 as 10 other Oklahoma athletes qualified for Saturday finals. Both men's and women's teams currently sit in fourth with 21 points.

Mock won the event in dramatic fashion, waiting until her sixth and final jump to leap the winning distance of 20 feet and 7.25 inches (6.28 meters). Mock had the second-longest jump of the event's prelims, 20-5.75 (6.24), behind Texas' Chantel Malone's 20-7.00 (6.27). After being passed by Baylor's DeAna Carson on her final jump, Mock took to the runway and reeled off the winning NCAA provisional qualifying distance to claim the Big 12 title.

Mock's teammate, Scottesha Miller, finished fifth in the event with a top jump of 20-2.50 (6.16).

Mock and Miller were two of six OU athletes to combine for nine NCAA provisional qualifying marks in front of a crowd of 3,146 at the site of the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships.

The men's long jump also saw an OU athlete on the awards stand as true freshman Will Claye finished second with a provisional qualifying jump and personal best, 25-8.00 (7.82). The jump is the second longest in OU history and just off the Oklahoma record of 25-10.75 (7.89) set by Russell Adams in 1990. Claye reeled off his personal best jump on his second-to-last attempt to finish behind Nebraska's Nicholas Gordon's 26-1.50 (7.96).

Claye, who graduated from high school early and enrolled at OU in January, will now turn his attention to the triple jump on Saturday where he is ranked No. 3 in the Big 12 behind teammate Shardae Boutte who is ranked No. 2.

K.P. Singh finished second in the event with a provisional qualifying mark of 65-6.00 (19.96) behind the nation's top-ranked thrower in Missouri's Chris Rohr who tossed the implement a distance of 73-2.00 (22.30). The Oklahoma record holder in the event, Singh qualified for the finals with a throw of 63-2.75 (19.27). Once in the finals, Singh eclipsed the provisional threshold of 63-11.00 (19.50) on all three of his throws. Singh has a season's best throw of 67-0.50 (20.43) from the J.D. Martin Duals on Jan. 31.

The men's distance medley relay of Tony Clement, Zach Dawson, Chris Sweeney and Jacob Boone took fourth with a time of 9:51.34 following a strong effort by Boone on the anchor mile leg. The women's DMR of Jessica Engel, Tiara Sims, Amanda Mayfield and Kelly Waters took sixth with a time of 11:32.51, good for ninth on the OU performance charts.

In the women's weight throw, OU record holder Mikaela Johansson finished fifth with a throw of 58-10.75 (17.95). Johansson holds the OU record in the event with a throw 61-5.00 (18.72). Kansas State's Loren Groves finished first with a distance of 68-5.75 (20.87).

In preliminary action, Latoya Heath qualified for the finals of the women's 60-meter hurdles with the second-fastest time of 8.38, just off her PR of 8.36. Gabby Mayo led all competitors with a time of 8.34 as Heath won the event's first heat with an NCAA provisional qualifying time.

The finals of the women's 400-meter dash will feature two Oklahoma athletes on opposite ends of the age spectrum as senior Leslie Cole and freshman Sims both qualified for the finals. The OU program record holder in the event, Cole ran the prelims second-fastest time of 53.78 while Sims was seventh with a PR of 54.71, the sixth fastest time in OU history. Cole has the nation's second-fastest time of 52.33 run in Feburary at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.

Cole will pull double duty Saturday after qualifying for the finals of the 200-meter dash with a personal best time of 23.34. The NCAA provisional qualifying time is second fastest in OU history behind Laverne Jones' 23.16 in 2003.

Along with her fifth-place finish in the long jump, Miller qualified for the finals of the 60-meter dash for the second consecutive year with the fourth-fastest time in the event's prelims. Miller's time of 7.38 is just off her personal best of 7.37. Miller recorded a provisional qualifying time in the 200-meter dash, but just missed the finals of the event, finishing one spot out of the cut, 23.79, in ninth with a time of 23.87.

Jarell Warren ran a season-best 1:10.12 in the men's 600-yard run to win the third heat and advance to the finals of the event as the No. 2 seed. Warren's time is the third fastest American time this year and the fifth fastest in the world.

In what looked like action from last year's U.S. Olympic Trials, Scott Cooper dove across the finish line to qualify for the finals of the men's 800-meter run. Cooper's dramatic finish was the sixth-fastest with a time of 1:52.37.

Tony Clement finished fourth in the men's 1,000-meter run prelims with a time of 2:25.91. Texas' Logan Gonzales led all qualifiers with a time of 2:24.88.

Jacob Boone moved on to the finals of men's mile by finishing first in his heat with a time of 4:06.78. The time was second overall in the prelims of the event behind Oklahoma State's German Fernandez's time of 4:06.29.

Amanda Mayfield finished seventh in the prelims of the 800-meter run to qualify for Saturday's finals. Mayfield's time of 2:10.83 was good for fourth in event's first heat.

Saturday's action inside the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium begins at 3 p.m. with the heptathlon, women's shot put and the high jump.