Sooners Send Entries to Three Meets

NORMAN – After three weeks of competitions where the team performance was first and foremost, the University of Oklahoma track and field teams have sent entries to three different meets, looking for the best opportunities for OU entries to post the best marks possible.

OU has competitors heading to Fayetteville, Ark., for the two-day Tyson Invitational; to the two-day Husky Classic in Seattle and to the Don Kirby Open and Elite Meet in Albuquerque, N.M. A two-day meet, OU's entries will all compete on Saturday only.

“We've had three meets – our home opener, a quad meet where the team standings was the focus and a much larger invitational – that we have used to establish ourselves as team,” second year head coach Jim VanHootegem explained. “This weekend is about sending athletes to the meets where they have the best chance to post the best mark possible. That mark could be the one that gets them a trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships or perhaps solidifies their spot on the 26-person Big 12 competition roster.

“Everyone will be looking for the one good race, one good jump, one good mark that will move them into a more elite level.”

The Big 12 Championships are set for Feb. 27-28 in Ames, Iowa, while the NCAA Indoor Championship is March 13-14 in Fayetteville.

“An example of what we want to avoid this year is what happened with our men's distance medley relay last year,” VanHootegem continued. “They repeated as the Big 12 champion but didn't make it to the NCAA because we hadn't posted a top 12 time in the country. With the way you qualify for NCAA Indoor being so different than qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor, it makes you, as a coach, think more about how the schedule is built to maximize opportunities.”

For the NCAA Indoor field, the top 16 marks in the individual events and the top 12 relay times are invited to Fayetteville. The outdoor season advances 48 individuals and 24 relays to two preliminary meets and the top 12 advance to the national championship meet.

The Tyson field will include a total of 40 Sooner student-athletes across the complete spectrum of events. Competition begins at 1 p.m. Friday with the long jump, pole vault and weight throw in the field and the women's mile on the track. Events continue through 8 p.m. Friday night when the final in the men's 60-meter dash is on the track. Action resumes at noon on Saturday with the women's 3,000-meter run and ends with the 1600-meter relay at 4:45 p.m.

According to the Sooner head coach, the Arkansas represents an excellent opportunity a number of Sooners who are having outstanding seasons.

“This weekend is a great time for Erin (Jones) to show what she can really do in the 60 and 200. She has been coming back from her redshirt year and has established PRs in her events. Plus, this is her last regular season indoor meet since she is a senior. I will be interested to see how our three women shot putters (Avione Allgood, Chamaya Turner and Jess Woodard) do. Chase (Sammons) has had a good season to date for the men in the shot put and Carl (Williams) has been putting together some great efforts. We just need to see him start competing consistently at that high level,” VanHootegem said.

The Husky Classic in Seattle is the place to be for distance runners and the Sooners are sending 10 to the northwest. OU opens competition at 7:30 p.m. central time on Friday.

“This meet gives our distance people the opportunity to show what they can do as individuals, rather than on the DMR. This is their chance to post a good individual time in an event, looking for a ticket to the NCAA Championships. Brandon (Doughty) has been strong week in and week out. Jacob (Burcham) and Biya (Abbabiya SImbassa) also have a great opportunity to move up the qualifying chart. We will focus on the men's DMR and a top time next weekend at the Alex Wilson.”

The Albuquerque meet will be one for the top Sooner sprinters in the 60-meter dashes and the elite 400 for women. It also marks a bit of a homecoming for triple jumper Hayden McClain.

“Hannah (Cunliffe) had a good debut and we want to see Daye Shon (Roberson) go out, relax and do what she can do. Hayden has shown he is capable of performing at a high level and this meet is a bit closer to his hometown than we have traveled so far. Trae (Anderson) and Mike (Wells) have shown through three meets that they are ready to run and will not back down from anyone, especially each other.”

Action for the Sooners in Albuquerque starts at noon central time and will conclude for OU around 3 p.m.

“In addition to posting a possible NCAA qualifying mark, these different meets will help us determine how to line up our entries for Big 12,” VanHootegem continued. “We have a roster limit of 26 student-athletes so it is important to get people in the best combination of events to give them a chance to succeed and score points for the team.”

With the indoor season coming to a close in just over four weeks, the Sooners have kept their coaches happy with the performances to date.

“We started our fall workouts at a much higher level than a year ago in terms of training and attitude,” VanHootegem said. “”We may be slightly undercompeted at this point of the season but we have made progress every time we have been in competition. I felt each meet was a step forward.

“We had a good focus as a team the first two weeks,” he added. “We had a good competitive rhythm in the third meet. We need to maintain what we have as we continue to improve as a team and as individuals. People need to be ready to do what ever they need to do to perform at their best.

“We are absolutely seeking the best competition available for our student-athletes every weekend out. We have seen nothing that our kids can't and won't compete with and we hope to see that continue this weekend.

To follow the Tyson Invitational, live results will be available at Flash Results and the Saturday events will be broadcast, starting at noon, on Watch ESPN/SEC Network+. Live results from the Husky Classic will be availalble at GoHusky.com. Flotrack will be live streaming (for a subscription) the meet. Live results from the Don Kirby Invitational will be available at Record Timing Live. A complete recap of all Sooner results will be posted at SoonerSports.com at the conclusion of each day's action.