Claye OU's First All-American

June 11, 2009

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — University of Oklahoma freshman Will Claye became the first Sooner of the 2009 outdoor track and field season to earn All-America honors with his ninth-place finish in the long jump at the NCAA Track and Field Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Despite the ninth-place finish, Claye still earned All-America honors as the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) bestows the honor on the top-eight finishers and extends out to the top-eight American born finishers. For Claye, the honors marks his third of such type after garnering All-America honors in both the long and triple jump during the indoor season.

While Claye was wrapping up long jump action on the infield, Scottesha Miller and Mookie Salaam were busy on the track competing in the 200-meter dash. Both advanced out of the first round of competition, but only Miller was able to move on to Saturday's finals in the event.

One of 12 athletes to advance from the prelims of Wednesday's long jump, Claye returned to the track for the finals on Thursday. The first-year Sooner fouled on his first jump, but quickly rebounded with a personal-best jump of 25-10.75 (7.89) to move into sixth place. The jump and position would hold for Claye as he failed to improve on his third attempt with a jump of 25-3.50 (7.71).

OU Men's All-Americans | OU Women's All-Americans

Claye entered the finals in the fourth jumping position and fouled on his fourth attempt. The 17-year old got off two legal jumps, but failed to improve on his best mark, recording distances of 25-5.25 (7.75) and 25-2.50 (7.68) on his fifth and sixth attempts, respectively. Three other jumpers who were initially below Claye improved on their jumps as the freshman slid to ninth.

Claye's PR came one day after recording what was a PR in the prelims with a jump of 25-8.25 (7.83). While Claye improved his jump, the freshman stayed at No. 3 in the OU record books in the event.

Claye now turns his attention to the triple jump, an event he enters the meet ranked first nationally in. The prelims get kicked off Friday at 4:30 p.m. with the finals scheduled for Saturday at 12 p.m.

Running in the seventh lane of the first semifinal heat of the 200, Miller was even with the majority of the field but came to life on the straight-a-way, bursting into a third-place finish with a season-best time of 23.11 and automatically qualifying for the finals in the event scheduled for Saturday at 12:35 p.m.

The program record holder in the event, Miller qualified for the semifinals with a time of 23.37, finishing second in her heat and seventh overall.

Miller will look to pick up her first career outdoor individual All-America honor after earning an honor as a member of the 4x100-meter relay in 2007. Miller's 2008 outdoor season saw the sprinter taken down by a hamstring injury as the anchor leg of the 4x100 relay at the NCAA Midwest Regional.

With a 15th-place finish in the 200, Salaam closed out a promising first year as the Sooners' top sprinter. Salaam recorded a time of 21.13 in the event's semis to end a season that saw the freshman earn two All-Big 12 honors and record the ninth-fastest 200 time in program history, 20.54, at the NCAA Midwest Regional in Norman.

Salaam advanced to the semifinals of the event by finishing second in his preliminary heat with a time of 20.71. The time was the second fastest of the prelims behind Salaam's heat winner, Western Kentucky's Gavin Smellie and his time of 20.65. Salaam was one of only two freshman to advance to the semifinals in the event.

Freshman Luke Bryant entered the meet ranked 12th nationally in the discus but was unable to advance to the event's finals after three preliminary throws. Bryant's top throw of 181-4 (55.28) was close to 11 feet off his season-best throw of 192-1 (58.56) and was good for 15th overall with the top 12 finishers advancing to Saturday's finals. The Big 12 champion was one of just four freshmen and six underclassmen in the 26-athlete field with seven of the athletes advancing to the finals classified as seniors.

While Bryant's season ends, his Oklahoma career does not. The first-year Sooner quickly made a name for himself in the OU record book, jumping past Oklahoma greats Kevin and Kyle Bookout and moving to No. 2 on the OU performance list with his top throw of 192-1 (58.56).

Oklahoma action at the NCAA Championships on Friday begin at 11 a.m. with Mikaela Johansson in the finals of the women's hammer throw.