Claye Earns U.S. Record, Big 12 Title

May 17, 2009

LUBBOCK, Texas -- Continuing the youthful theme that was set the night before, Oklahoma freshman Will Claye became the third OU underclassmen to win a Big 12 title as the 17-year old topped all competitors in the triple jump en route to breaking a U.S. Junior National record set 10 years before he was born Sunday night at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Competing under the lights at the Terry and Linda Fuller Track Complex, Claye extended his own national leading mark with a winning jump of 55-9.75 (17.01).

While Claye's winning jump was wind-aided and not eligible for records, Claye recorded a new U.S. Junior National record in the event by five inches on his fifth attempt with a wind legal jump of 55-7.00 (16.94). Claye's effort breaks the previous 27-year old record of 55-2.00 (16.81) set by Tennessee's Greg Neal in 1982. The jump also gave Claye the Oklahoma record in the outdoor triple jump by seven inches, topping Shardae Boutte's 2008 jump of 55-0.00 (16.76). On top of stealing Boutte's program record, Claye also snatched the Big 12 Championships record from Boutte who jumped 54-4.75 (16.58) in 2008.

"I felt good, I knew I had to come in and do something after what I did in the long jump yesterday. I had to get redemption," said Claye. "I had Shardae calling me asking about his record, first thing he wanted to know was the wind, if it was wind-aided or if his record stood. I'm not sure he wanted me to break his record, but it feels good. It really is a blessing, I didn't expect this much this early in my college career."

With the win, OU has won the last three Big 12 outdoor triple jump titles as Boutte claimed back-to-back wins in 2007 and 2008.

Claye's win was the third OU title of the meet as Luke Bryant (discus) and Ti'Anca Mock (long jump) picked up wins at the event Saturday night. As a team the Oklahoma women finished sixth with 76 points while the men tied Iowa State for ninth with 43 points.

In one of the closest 400-meter dash races ever and the closest in Big 12 Championship history, Leslie Cole narrowly missed becoming OU's latest Big 12 champion as she missed a title by three-thousandths of a second. Cole took over the lead heading into the final 100 meters but in a photo finish was unable to hold off Texas A&M's Jessica Beard who finished in 51.525 to Cole's 51.528, a personal best. Cole's time ranks second in OU history and is the second fastest nationally behind Beard.

One day after running a PR in the 100-meter hurdles, Latoya Heath lowered her time once again in the event as she finished second in the event with a time of 13.33. Heath crossed the line just after Texas A&M's Gabby Mayo who clocked a time of 13.22. Heath's time ranks No. 3 in Oklahoma program history. Freshman Demeeka Jones also earned All-Big 12 honors in the event as she finished seventh in the final with a time of 13.92.

Amanda Mayfield came out third in the women's 800-meter run, competing for the top two spots until the very end, crossing the line in a regional qualifying time of 2:09.15 after being clipped by a Texas Tech runner in the final 10 meters. After completing the first lap in fourth, Mayfield moved up to second before eventually finishing third with the second-fastest second lap, 1:04.36.

The women's 4x100-meter relay of Jalesa Walker, Scottesha Miller, Cole and Ti'Anca Mock earned a third-place finish with a time of 44.21, the fourth fastest time in program history. The regional qualifying time marks a season best for the relay and puts OU as the third fastest program in the Midwest heading into the NCAA Midwest Regional.

The women's 4x400-meter relay of Mayfield, Cole, Walker and Tiara Sims closed out the night with a third-place finish in the event. The four completed the race in a regional qualifying time of 3:38.28.

Rob Sorrell used a strong finishing kick to chase down his competitors in the 1,500-meter run and earn a third-place finish in the event with a time of 3:51.55. Sorrell was one of two OU athletes to earn All-Big 12 honors in the race as Jacob Boone garnered a sixth-place finish, crossing the line in a time of 3:55.16.

Katelyn Penner moved to No. 3 all-time at OU with a personal best in the javelin to finish fourth. The freshman heaved the implement a regional qualifying distance of 153-9 (46.86) on her second attempt to improve her previous best of 152-0 (46.32) by close to two feet. With Penner's throw, two of the top three all-time marks at OU have come in the last two years with Amy Backel providing in the program record of 171-10 (52.39) in 2008.

Kelly Waters finished fifth in the women's 5,000-meter run with a regional qualifying time of 16:55.20. Waters enters the NCAA Midwest Regional ranked 16th in the region with a top time of 16:40.54.

Following the 4x100 relay, Miller returned to the track for the finals of the 100-meter dash where, running into a headwind, she finished sixth with a time of 11.61. Texas' Alexandria Anderson won the event with a time of 11.25.

After their respective performances in the 400 and 100, Cole and Miller, returned for the finals of the 200-meter dash. Both recorded regional qualifying times as Cole finished fourth with a time of 23.40 and Miller sixth with a time of 23.72.

The men's 4x100-meter relay of D'Andre Fisher, Zach Dawson, Eric Bailey and Mookie Salaam clocked a season-best time of 41.09 to finish sixth and give OU three team points. The quartet won the event's first heat as Salaam exploded away from the rest of the field on the anchor leg.

Bailey returned to the track just over two hours later for the finals of the 400-meter hurdles where the 2008 Big Sky Conference champion in the event finished sixth with a time of 52.77.

Amy Backel earned All-Big 12 honors for the second straight year, this time in the shot put after doing so in the javelin in 2008. Backel's regional qualifying throw of 50-3.75 (15.26) came on the junior's fourth attempt. Backel moved into the finals in eighth place with a top throw of 48-11.75 (14.93) before improving two spots with her top throw.

The men's 4x400-meter relay closed out the competition with an eighth-place finish and OU's final team point. The foursome of Zach Dawson, Mookie Salaam, Claye and Jarell Warren clocked a time of 3:14.31.

Mock also earned a regional qualifying mark in the triple jump as she narrowly missed scoring, finishing ninth with a jump of 41-1.50 (12.53). Mock was just five inches away from advancing to the finals of the event.

OU will now turns its attention to the NCAA Midwest Regional, May 29-30, in Norman at the John Jacobs Track and Field Complex.