OU Closes With 20 Qualifiers for NCAA Championships

May 29, 2010

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Oklahoma Track and Field program closed out action at the NCAA West Prelims Saturday by adding 10 more entries to the NCAA Championships, June 9-12 in Eugene, Ore., bringing the total number of Oklahoma entries in the event to 20. The No. 4 Oklahoma women are sending seven athletes accounting for nine entries to Eugene while the No. 14 Oklahoma men send eight athletes and two relays for a total of 11 entries.

Luke Bryant was the first Oklahoma athlete of the day to punch his ticket to Eugene as he finished ninth overall in the men's discus with a top throw of 180-11 (55.14). The throw came on Bryant's opening attempt as the sophomore became the sixth Oklahoma thrower to qualify for the NCAA meet as the field was affected by an hour-and-a-half delay due to lightning in the area.

Action on the oval track started with the men's 4x100-meter relay, a race that saw Eric Bailey, Mookie Salaam, Remuro Henry and Evan Pierson combine for a ticket to Eugene by finishing second in the third heat and fourth overall with a season best time of 39.72. The four marked the third different relay quartet this season as Bailey joined the other three who have run the same legs all season. Hurdlers Malcolm Anderson and Ronnie Ash have also run the opening leg for the Sooners.

Speaking of Ash, the junior and defending NCAA champion in the 110-meter hurdles, remained undefeated in the event as he posted the prelims' top time of 13.37. The results is the second-best performance by Ash this season after running 13.31 en route to claiming the Big 12 title in the event. Ash's teammate Malcolm Anderson fell just short of joining the trip west as he was 13th overall with a time of 13.85.

Oklahoma will have athletes competing at Eugene in both the men's and women's hurdles as Latoya Greaves stepped onto the track for the women's 100-meter hurdles and crossed the finish line 13.12 seconds later to finish second in her heat and automatically advance. The junior's time was the third best overall and her fourth best performance this season.

One day after qualifying in the 100-meter dash, Mookie Salaam added his name to the NCAA field for the 200-meter dash by running away with event's first heat. After clocking a PR of 20.41 in Friday's first round, Salaam ran 20.52 in Saturday's quarterfinals, beating two athletes ranked higher entering the meet in TCU's Mychal Dungey and Baylor's Whitney Prevost. The time was the third fastest in the prelims as Big 12 athletes claimed the top four finishes.

Like Salaam, Scottesha Miller will also be busy in Eugene as she grabbed a spot in the field of the 200-meter dash along with her previously acquired spot in the 100-meter dash. While she was unable to advance on place, Miller did advance on time, crossing the line in 23.63. Unfortunately, Miller will not be joined in Oregon by teammate Sherine Wells as the sophomore was the first athlete out, finishing 13th in a time of 23.65, just two-hundreths of a second off the cutoff time.

The women's distance group will be represented in Oregon as Jessica Engel qualified in the 5,000-meter run, using a strong kick to finish with a time of 16:38.96. The time was the ninth fastest Saturday night as Engel will return to the track in Oregon that saw her clock 16:30.82 at the Oregon Relays on April 30.

The men's 4x400-meter relay of Eric Bailey, Remuro Henry, Daniel Nix and Jarell Warren closed out the day on the track by grabbing Oklahoma's second relay entry for the NCAA Championships advancing on time with a mark of 3:06.92.

The men's triple jump was the final event to conclude Saturday night inside Mike A. Myers Stadium and added the final two athletes to the Oklahoma travel party as Will Claye and Neelon Greenwood both advanced to Eugene. The defending NCAA champion in the triple jump, Claye hit a season best jump of 53-5.75 (16.30) to finish fourth overall while Greenwood also hit a season best to finish ninth with a jump of 52-0.50 (15.86).

Facing a 1,500-meter run field that had 14 of the nation's top 20 competitors in the event including the nation's top four athletes, Jacob Boone and Eric Harasyn (3:49.98) just fell short of qualifying for Eugene as they finished seventh and ninth in the second of two heats with the top five finishers in each advancing to Eugene. Boone's time of 3:47.38 was less than a second off the cutoff of 3:46.76 run by Arizona's Abdi Hassan.

Oklahoma Final Results:
Men's Discus: 9. Luke Bryant 180-11 (55.14); 28. Colin Quirke 166-4 (50.70)
Women's Triple Jump: 45. Jasmine Simmons 37-6.00 (11.43)
Men's Triple Jump: 4. Will Claye 53-5.75 (16.30); 9. Neelon Greenwood 52-0.50 (15.86); 23. Marco Moon 50-0.75 (15.26)
Men's 4x100-Meter Relay: 4. Eric Bailey, Mookie Salaam, Remuro Henry, Evan Pierson 39.72
Women's 4x100-Meter Relay: 14. Sherine Wells, Scottesha Miller, Jasmine Simmons, Jalesa Walker 45.07
Men's 1,500-Meter Run: 19. Jacob Boone 3:47.38; 21. Eric Harasyn 3:49.98
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles: 1. Ronnie Ash 13.37; 13. Malcolm Anderson 13.85
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles: 3. Latoya Greaves 13.12
Men's 200-Meter Dash: 3. Mookie Salaam 20.52
Women's 200-Meter Dash: 11. Scottesha Miller 23.63; 13. Sherine Wells 23.65
Men's 5,000-Meter Run: 16. Rob Sorrell 14:17.82; 32. Kevin Williams 14:43.31
Women's 5,000-Meter Run: 9. Jessica Engel 16:38.96
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay: 10. Eric Bailey, Remuro Henry, Daniel Nix, Jarell Warren 3:06.92

Full list of Oklahoma qualifiers for NCAA Championships:
Ronnie Ash (110-Meter Hurdles)
Amy Backel (Javelin)
Eric Bailey (400-Meter Hurdles)
Brittany Borman (Javelin, Discus)
Tia Brooks (Shot Put)
Luke Bryant (Discus)
Will Claye (Triple Jump)
Jessica Engel (5,000-Meter Run)
Latoya Greaves (100-Meter Hurdles)
Neelon Greenwood (Triple Jump)
Scottesha Miller (100-Meter Dash, 200-Meter Dash)
Mookie Salaam (100-Meter Dash, 200-Meter Dash)
Kevin Schwab (10,000-Meter Run)
Karen Shump (Shot Put)
K.P. Singh (Hammer Throw)
Oklahoma Men (4x100-Meter Relay)
Oklahoma Men (4x400-Meter Relay)

OU Closes With 20 Qualifiers for NCAA Championships

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OU Closes With 20 Qualifiers for NCAA Championships

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