Sooners Move Up NCAA Indoor List

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The quartet of Jacob Burcham, Trae Armstrong, Allen Eke and Brandon Doughty posted the fifth best time in school history at the Alex Wilson Invitational but it still may not be enough to earn a trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships in March.

The Sooners finished eighth in the men's distance medley relay with a 9:33.57. That time moved OU up the indoor NCAA list but it also left them at 13^th and 12 advance to Fayetteville. That's the unofficial ranking until all the weekend results are in and certified.

We have to have a short memory about this performance. We need to be able to turn things around and be ready to run and defend next weekend. Now, the Big 12 is the most important meet of the season.
Jason Dunn, assistant coach

"This is a disappointing result," said Jason Dunn, Sooner assistant coach. "We have had so many near misses in my two years here at OU and this is the second year in a row that we have just barely missed in the DMR. We really thought we had a relay that deserved to run at the NCAA. There will probably be more times to come in that could change the top 12 more. It's disappointing no matter where you finish if you don't get into that top 12.

"We just didn't get a good start and our second and third legs didn't make up the difference. Brandon was behind when he got the baton. He gave it everything he had and just needed to pass those last two runners from the other relays. It's tough to miss out by a couple of tenths of a second, especially two years in a row."

Columbia finished just ahead of OU at the meet today and is just ahead of OU in the unofficial rankings with a 9:33.54. After today, there is one more weekend to post qualifying times and the Sooners will attempt do that next weekend at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in addition to defending their back-to-back DMR titles.

"We have to have a short memory about this performance," Dunn continued. "We need to be able to turn things around and be ready to run and defend next weekend. Now, the Big 12 is the most important meet of the season."

Senior Alex Deir finished second in the mile run with a 4:06.81. He has a better time in the mile this year, ranking fifth in the Big 12 heading into today's action with a 4:01.91.

The Big 12 Championships are scheduled for Feb. 27-28 in Ames, Iowa. That meet is followed two weeks later by the NCAA Indoor Championships.