Completed Event: Track and Field at Battle on the Bayou on April 3, 2026 ,
Final
Track and Field
at Battle on the Bayou
University of Oklahoma Athletics
Thursday, March 26
Austin, Texas
10:30 AM
University of Oklahoma
at
Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays
Stumbaugh Finishes Sixth at Texas Relays
March 26, 2015 | Track and Field
AUSTIN, Texas -- In her first collegiate heptathlon, freshman Payton Stumbaugh served notice that she is ready to compete in the big collegiate meets. She remained consistent on the second day of the seven-event, two-day competition, eventually finishing sixth with 5,422 points, 19 points shy of setting a school record in the event.
Another freshman, Makayla Stephens, had a solid second day but couldn't overcome a difficult first day. She finished 14th with 5,067 points. Those two totals put the freshmen on the career top 10 with Stumbaugh in second place and Stephens in fifth.
Sophomore Thomas Cheval, the first-day leader in the decathlon, pulled out of the competition prior to starting the pole vault, the third event of the day. He completed the hurdles, remaining in the lead, and the discus before leaving in a precautionary move.
“I thought we had fabulous results in the competition,” head coach Jim VanHootegem said. “Payton performed well, steady throughout. She put herself in a good position on the first day, then went into the second day full of confidence.
“Even though she didn't place as high as we had hoped, Makayla came back strong on the second day. She didn't feel good on day one but put that behind her to finish with a good debut. We know we left points out there but it was a great start,” VanHootegem continued.
Stephens opened day two by finishing sixth in the long jump with Stumbaugh right behind her in seventh. Stumbaugh was eighth in the javelin and Stephens was 10th. In the final event of the two days, the 800-meter run, the two slipped out of the top 10 and their first heptathlon was done.
“I felt like I was really ready today,” Stumbaugh said. “I got my mindset right, I hydrated a lot and I was ready for the second day. I really like the javelin on the second day. My favorite movie is Gladiator and I felt like one during that event. I went out and did my thing.”
Stephens also was pleased with her second day, in part because she was feeling much better than day one. “I really felt a lot better today and I was able to keep from having a negative mindset. I knew I had three events today to turn things around. I'm looking forward to more heptathlon competitions.”
Cheval opened his second day in the hurdles by finishing third with a 14.87, then finished eighth in the discus with a 120-1. Both of those marks were career bests for the Sooner sophomore. He then withdrew before the pole vault started.
“"I thought we executed really well,” John Dagata, the multi-events coach said. “Payton had an incredible day -- she really focused. Makayla had a great second day. I think today showed them this is only the beginning.
“Thomas had an incredible first day and had almost 5000 points in six events which is amazing. We just have to work to keep him healthy. He is an incredible talent and we're excited about his future."
Today marked the day that the multi-events shared the focus with other events of the meet. The Sooners had entries in the men's pole vault B division, the men's 4 x 800-meter relay and the women's 1500-meter run B division.
Everette Favor and Tanner Williams were among several pole vaulters who cleared 16-0.75. The quartet of Zac Randall, Jacob Goldberg, Malcolm Wankel and Allen Eke finished third in the relay with a 7:31.61. Marissa Codispodi finished seventh in the 1500 with a 4:38.87, nearly 10 seconds better than her previous best at that distance.
“The relay was a bit disappointing for us, getting caught by Texas right at the end,” assistant coach Jason Dunn said. “The guys put themselves in a pretty good position. We've just got to be able to finish the race. The idea of relays is to get out, compete and not worry about times. We get so caught up in trying to hit marks and relays are fun. You can get out there and just race. I would've liked to see us do that a little bit better today, but it was still a decent start.
“Malcom didn't race last week and the other guys all ran 1500. It may have been a little bit of a shock to the system to run an 800. It was a start and hopefully those guys can come back tomorrow (the foursome will run the distance medley relay on Friday).”
Dunn had similar thoughts on Codispodi's effort. “This was her first race of the outdoor season and I thought she could've put herself a little bit more in the mix in the front. She was up there a couple of times and could've stayed there a little bit better,” Dunn continued. “It's a start, again it's something to build on. We have a long streak of meets in weeks ahead to try to keep getting better.”
Action resumes for the Sooners at 9:30 a.m. Friday. OU will have entries in a mix of relays, individual events on the track and the field events on the third day of the meet.
Live results are available throughout the meet at Texas Relays. Additional information is available at the Texas Relays website. The meet will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network with the telecast schedule listed below. A recap of OU's results will be available on SoonerSports.com at the end of the competition day
TELEVISION COVERAGE (LONGHORN NETWORK: ALL TIMES CENTRAL)
• Friday, March 27: 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., 7-9 p.m.
• Saturday, March 28: 1-5 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Multis
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
PV
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
Multis
/ Track and Field
Distance
/ Track and Field
PV
/ Track and FieldSaturday, June 13
Friday, June 12
Thursday, June 11
Wednesday, June 10
