OU Alum Third at US Championships

June 26, 2009

EUGENE, Ore. — University of Oklahoma Track and Field alum Toni Smith earned bronze in the triple jump Friday at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships at legendary Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., as three current Sooners also competed in the event. Leslie Cole bowed out in the semifinals of the 400-meter dash while freshman Karen Shump recorded a top-10 finish in the shot put.

The program record holder in both the indoor and outdoor triple jump, Smith finished third in the event with a top jump of 45-7.25 (13.90). Shakeema Welsch won the event with a jump of 46-11.00 (14.30). With the top three finish, Smith will now have until July 31st to eclipse the “A” qualifying standard of 46-7.25 (14.20) to automatically qualify for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

Running in the second lane, Cole narrowly missed advancing to the finals of the women's 400-meter dash as she finished 10th in the semifinals of the event with a time of 52.76. Cole was fifth in the event's second heat, just off the top four spots that automatically qualified for the finals, finishing just behind Dominique Darden's 52.27.

Cole advanced to the semifinals with a time of 52.52 in the event's first round. Running next to American record holder Sanya Richards, Cole finished fifth in her heat with the seventh-fastest time of the round. Cole will now turn her attention to the 200-meter dash, an event she is entered in along with current Sooner Scottesha Miller.

A first-year Sooner, Shump redshirted her first season in Norman and took 10th in the senior division of the women's shot put with a top throw of 54-9.25 (16.69). The Media, Pa., native recorded the second-highest finish among collegiate competitors as Nike's Michelle Carter won the event with a throw of 59-2.00 (18.03).

On the men's side of the senior triple jump, another alum, Shardae Boutte, finished 11th in the senior men's triple jump after fouling on his first two attempts. Boutte's legal jump of 51-10.50 (15.81) on his third attempt enabled former Big 12 champion to jump 12 athletes to his final finishing spot.

Freshman Mookie Salaam will turn his focus to the 200-meter dash in the U.S. Junior Championships after failing to advance from the first round of the 100-meter dash, finishing 13th with a time of 11.29. Salaam is ranked second overall in the 200 which begins Saturday at 11:40 a.m. PST.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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