Two Sooners Punch Tickets to NCAAs

May 29, 2009

NORMAN, Okla. — Two Oklahoma athletes punched their tickets to the NCAA Track and Field Championships as seven Sooners and one relay qualified for the finals of their respective events Friday at the NCAA Midwest Regional at the John Jacobs Track and Field Complex. Mikaela Johansson (hammer throw) and Ti'Anca Mock (long jump) each earned the right to pack their bags for the NCAA Championships. The top five competitors in each event along with the top three relays advance to the NCAA Track and Field Championships, June 10-13, in Fayetteville, Ark. Finals for eight field events and all running events will be held Saturday.

Johansson was the first Sooner to secure a spot in the NCAA Championships with a third-place finish in the hammer throw. The program record holder in the event finished third overall with a toss of 189-2 (57.66). The senior was in fourth until her winning throw moved the Swedish native up a spot, jumping SMU's Lauren Kuhner. Kansas State's Loren Groves won the event with a distance of 202-6 (61.73).

Mock was the next in line to solidify travel plans to Fayetteville for the NCAA Championships as the sophomore finished second in the women's long jump with a top distance of 21-4.00 (6.50). Mock's top jump came on her fourth attempt in the competition to move into second. Mock entered the meet with the John Jacobs Track Complex record but the record fell in Friday's action as the event's winner, Blessing Okagbare of UTEP, broke Mock's record by a half inch, winning the event with a jump of 21-10.00 (6.65).

After a heartbreaking second-place finish in the 400 at the Big 12 Championships, senior Leslie Cole took a step closer to gaining redemption by grabbing the top seed heading into the finals of the event on Saturday. Cole's time of 52.42 in the third heat topped all competitors. The senior from Idabel, Okla., entered the meet ranked No. 2 in the nation behind Texas A&M's Jessica Beard who will be the No. 3 seed in the finals with a time of 53.11.

The women's 4x100-meter relay of Sherine Wells, Scottesha Miller, Cole and Mock qualified for the finals of the event, clocking the third-fastest time in school history and running away from the first heat of competition. The four finished second overall with a season-best time of 44.09, behind Texas A&M's top time of 43.38.

The men's 1,500-meter run saw Rob Sorrell run a season-best race to qualify for the Saturday finals in the event. Sorrell's time of 3:45.88 was the fourth best in the second heat of competition and the fourth fastest overall. The time was just off Sorrell's PR of 3:44.29, the third fastest time in Oklahoma history. New Mexico's Lee Emanuel enters the final as the top qualifying seed with a time of 3:44.29.

Latoya Heath qualified for the finals of the 100-meter hurdles with the second-fastest time of the event, 13.36. Heath ran in the second heat, the fastest of three, which included the No. 1 seed, Texas A&M's Gabby Mayo with a time of 12.99.

After running the second leg on the 4x100 relay, Miller returned to the track a little under two hours later in the prelims of the 100-meter dash. The sophomore clocked a season best time of 11.40 to finish third in the second heat. The program record holder in the event, Miller is the seventh seed entering the finals as Texas' Alexandria Anderson earned the No. 1 seed by breaking a four-year old John Jacobs Track and Field Complex record with a time of 11.07.

Miller will see double action in Saturday finals as she qualified for the finals of the 200-meter dash as well. Miller's season-best time of 23.22 gave the program record holder the fourth-fastest time entering the finals. Texas A&M's Porscha Lucas holds the No. 1 seed in the finals with a time of 22.72.

Freshman Mookie Salaam reeled off a PR in the 100-meter dash to qualify for the Saturday final in the event. Salaam's time of 10.30 is the 11th fastest in program history and was good for third overall among Friday's competitors. Texas A&M's Gerald Phiri led all qualifiers with a time of 10.20.

Like Miller, Salaam will pull the double in the 100 and 200 finals on Saturday. Just as he did in the 100, Salaam clocked a PR in the 200 with a time of 20.54, the ninth fastest time in Oklahoma program history. Salaam's time was the fastest of the event's first heat and third overall. Baylor's Trey Harts led all qualifiers with a time of 20.41.

The men's long jump saw season bests out of both ends of the age spectrum as senior Adrian Wiltshire and freshman Alex Madkins finished sixth and seventh, respectively. Wiltshire's jump of 25-2.00 (7.67) on his fifth attempt was good for fifth and was just an inch off tying a personal best. Madkins' jump of 24-11.75 (7.61) came on his sixth and final attempt and moved the Edmond native above Texas A&M's Keenan Hall for sixth. Texas A&M's Julian Reid won the event by breaking a 34-year old facility record with a jump of 26-4.50 (8.04).

Saturday action at the event begins at 11 a.m. with the men's hammer throw. Running events begin at 5 p.m. with the finals of the women's 4x100-meter relay.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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