OU Sends 14 to Sunday's Big 12 Finals

May 14, 2011

NORMAN, Okla. — The Oklahoma Track and Field program sent 14 athletes to Sunday finals in qualifying action Saturday at the Big 12 Championships in Norman while Ti'Anca Mock tied a Big 12 meet record. After two of three days of competition, the Oklahoma women sit in second place with 45 points while the OU men are in fifth with 32 points. Tickets for the final day are just $10 for adults and $5 for youth, OU students and senior citizens.

Mock used a jump that was just a half-inch off her school record to claim second in the women's long jump with a distance of 21-9.00 (6.63). The senior entered the meet ranked No. 6 in the nation and battled a field that consisted of five of the nation's top long jumpers including the top-ranked athlete in Nebraska's Mara Griva who won with a jump of 21-11.75 (6.70).

While Mock may have not won the event, the senior did tie a 14-year old Big 12 Championship meet record with a wind-legal jump of 21-5.25 (6.53) as both Griva's winning jump and Mock's top jump were both over the allowable tailwind of 2.0 meters-per-second.

Mock took over the lead in the event on her third jump, 21-5.25 (6.53), before improving to her final distance on her fifth attempt. It was the sixth and final round of the event, however, that saw Griva claim the event on her final attempt to overtake Mock for the win. With Saturday's results, Griva overtakes the national lead in the event while Mock moves to No. 3 in the U.S.

Mock was one of two Oklahoma athletes to capture a silver medal on Saturday as Tia Brooks took second in the women's shot put. Brooks, who threw the shot a distance of 57-2.00 (17.42), was one of two Sooners to finish in the top four as Karen Shump was fourth with a throw of 55-5.50 (16.90).

Brooks, the Big 12 indoor champion in the event this year, recorded her second-best throw of the season on her sixth attempt but was unable to overcome the personal best throw of 58-3.75 (17.77) from Texas Tech's Ifeatu Okafor. Okafor's throw vaults the Red Raider to second in the nation while Brooks is now fifth nationally.

Oklahoma will have two athletes in the finals of the men's 1,500-meter run as Rob Sorrell and Jacob Boone both qualified with times in the event's first heat. Sorrell completed the distance in a time of 3:48.55 while Boone moved on with a time of 3:48.89.

The 2008 Big 12 champion in the event, Latoya Greaves qualified for the finals of the women's 100-meter hurdles. One day after participating in her graduation exercises, Greaves clocked a time of 13.36, the second fastest of the prelims, to move on. Like the women, the Oklahoma men will have an athlete in the short hurdles finals as Malcolm Anderson ran a time of 13.98, his second-fastest time of the season, to move on.

OU is one of two schools to qualify three athletes for the finals of the women's 100-meter dash as Texas A&M also placed three in the event. Candyce McGrone ran the second-fastest time in the qualifying with a time of 11.38 into a headwind. Shawna Anderson (11.66) and Sherine Wells (11.64) also both moved on in the event. Mookie Salaam will be in action Sunday in the men's 100-meter dash as he led all competitors in the event's prelims with a wind-aided time of 10.19. The time is a PR for Salaam who had previously run 10.20 at the Drake Relays on April 30.

McGrone and Salaam returned to the track just over an hour-and-a-half later for the prelims of the 200-meter dash as they did in the 100, both qualified for the finals. The two both led their respective divisions as McGrone ran the half-lap event in a time of 22.94 while Salaam ran the race in a time of 20.43. The times for both were their second-fastest times of the season.

Oklahoma and Texas Tech are the only two programs with two athletes in the finals of the women's 800-meter run as Shakeeri Cole and Kelsey Brown ran identical times of 2:09.37 to qualify for the finals. The Sooners will also have an athlete in the men's 800-meter run as Chris Sweeney qualified for the finals with a time of 1:50.92.

The longest hurdle event on the track saw Eric Bailey qualify for the finals of the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 50.73. The time is Bailey's third fastest of the season as he qualified as the fourth seed of the finals.

Conrad Aaron used a personal best in the shot put to earn a sixth-place finish in the men's shot put. Aaron threw the shot a distance of 57-4.75 (17.49). The sophomore's throw is the seventh-best in Oklahoma history as he improved by 1.75 inches over his previous personal best from the Texas Tech Open on April 2.

In the second of two days of action in the women's heptathlon, Claire McConnell earned a point for the Sooners as she finished eighth with a personal-best total of 4,980, the third-best heptathlon performance in Oklahoma history. After recording three personal bests on Friday, McConnell added two more PRs on Saturday to PR in five in seven of the events.

McConnell opened the day with a jump of 17-6.00 (5.33) in the long jump before unleashing the javelin a personal-best distance of 81-1 (24.71). McConnell closed out the day with a personal best on the oval, running the 800-meter run in a time of 2:20.83.

Oklahoma Finals Qualifiers
Men's 100-Meter Dash: Mookie Salaam 10.19
Men's 200-Meter Dash: Mookie Salaam 20.43
Men's 800-Meter Run: Chris Sweeney 1:50.92
Men's 1,500-Meter Run: Rob Sorrell 3:48.55, Jacob Boone 3:48.89
Men's 110-Meter Hurdles: Malcolm Anderson 13.98
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles: Eric Bailey 50.73
Women's 100-Meter Dash: Candyce McGrone 11.38; Shawna Anderson 11.66; Sherine Wells 11.64
Women's 200-Meter Dash: Candyce McGrone 22.94
Women's 800-Meter Run: Shakeeri Cole 2:09.37; Kelsey Brown 2:09.37
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles: Latoya Greaves 13.36

Oklahoma Final Results
Men's 400-Meter Dash: 10. Remuro Henry 47.22
Men's High Jump: 13. Landon Sharp 6-5.00 (1.96)
Men's Pole Vault: 15. Jake Huddleston 15-4.25 (4.68)
Men's Long Jump: 12. Alex Madkins 23-4.00 (7.11)
Men's Shot Put: 6. Conrad Aaron 57-4.75 (17.49)
Women's 200-Meter Dash: 12. Shawna Anderson 23.79
Women's 800-Meter Run: 12. Natalie Crain 2:09.70
Women's 1,500-Meter Run: 15. Molly Ferguson 4:35.23
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles: 11. Jesica Ejesieme 14.03
Women's 400-Meter Hurdles: 10. Jesica Ejesieme 1:00.21; 14. Shelleyeka Rolle 1:02.40
Women's Long Jump: 2. Ti'Anca Mock 21-9.00 (6.63); 6. Jasmine Simmons 20-11.25 (6.38); 17. Kristen Carson 18-2.50 (5.55)
Women's Shot Put: 2. Tia Brooks 57-2.00 (17.42); 4. Karen Shump 55-5.50 (16.90); 12. Bailey Wagner 49-4.25 (15.04)
Women's Heptathlon: 8. Claire McConnell 4,980 (Long Jump: 17-6.00 [5.33], Javelin: 81-1 (24.71), 800-Meter Run: 2:20.83)

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