OU Records Five Top-10 Finishes at Penn

Friday, April 24

Philadelphia, Pa.

8:00 AM

University of Oklahoma

Penn Relays

OU Records Five Top-10 Finishes at Penn

April 24, 2015 | Track and Field

By: Athletics Communications

PHILADELPHIA -- A late substitution could have been problematic, but the second day of the Penn Relays Carnival proved to be another opportunity for the University of Oklahoma women's 4x100 relay to display their competitiveness. Their performance would eventually lead to other noteworthy finishes for the Sooners during the second day of the meet.

Daunicia Demerson replaced Erin Jones on the second leg of the relay, but that did not unnerve the rest of the foursome - Ama Pipi, Daye Shon Roberson, and Leya Buchanan. The Sooner women took third overall in the elite Championship of America (COA) final, posting a season-best mark of 45.49. The time posted by the quartet was a significant reduction from the Thursday time of 46.20.

“Penn Relays is a very prestigious event and we came here with the intent to be competitive,” said Kevin Tyler, assistant coach of sprints. “The women executed very well in the final and we're very proud of all of them.

“Daunicia did an incredible job filling in for Erin at the last minute and we are very happy to have finished third overall,” he added.

We chose to come here to see how people get out there and compete and how they're handling the competition. I think the focus is good and we're competing well. The women's 4x100 relay exceeded our expectations and we've ended up with really nice placings at our first Penn Relays.
Jim VanHootegem, head coach

The momentum did not end there. For just the second time this season, the Sooner men participated in the distance medley relay. Despite a mishap during the first exchange that left Allen Eke and several other runners on the ground, the remaining runners, Zac Randall, Scott Petersen and Brandon Doughty-worked together to earn a sixth-place finish in the COA final. The foursome recorded a season best, 9:42.22, for the event, beating the earlier time of 9:44.54, recorded by Eke, Randall, Jacob Goldberg, and Malcolm Wankel at the Texas Relays.

“We got off to a great start even though we had a mishap,” said Jason Dunn, assistant coach for distance events. “We were in it and competitive and it's still a decent finish for us.”

The sprint medley relay ran in the COA final and added another top-10 finish for the Sooners. OU won its heat and finished fifth overall with a time of 3:24.76, their first mark in the event this season.

“They did a great job,” Dunn said. “We were in the second heat and teams weren't the fastest, but the best we could do was win our heat. It was a really positive way to wrap up our day.”

Although the high jump trio fell short of their season marks, assistant coach for vertical jumps and multi-events, John Dagata, was pleased with the efforts.

“They did really well even though the conditions were tough,” Dagata said. “I'm happy about their warmups - coming out here early, running around and getting some jumps in. Those are the little things you don't see in the results.”

Garrison LeRock and Shonderius Howard both cleared 6-6.75. LeRock finished in a four-way tie for sixth because of he had the fewest misses, clearing the first two heights without a miss. He then missed all three attempts at 6-8.25. Howard needed three attempts at 6-5 and 6-6.75 before missing three attempts at 6-8.25. Thomas Cheval, who is coming back from a hamstring injury, did not register a height, but is ready to keep competing.

“It feels good to be back, but I'm still at 75 percent,” Cheval said. “Once it gets better, it's on. I'm ready to come back and do some damage.”

Hayden McClain posted a 23-7.50 in the long jump, which sent him to the final. He did not compete in the final and finished ninth. Cheval finished 13th out of 40 entries with a 23-2.00 mark. McClain will participate in the COA final for the triple jump Saturday at 1 p.m. central.

“Hayden did a good job and it's nice to see him get back out there,” said Jim VanHootegem, head coach. “Coming here, we were looking forward to how they managed the situation and we've been pleased.”

This trip is the first to the Penn Relays for OU since 2012 and the first time the Sooners have been there under VanHootegem. The second-year coach says that he wants to put his team in front of the best competition.

“We chose to come here to see how people get out there and compete and how they're handling the competition,” VanHootegem said. “I think the focus is good and we're competing well. The women's 4x100 relay exceeded our expectations and we've ended up with really nice placings at our first Penn Relays.”

Pipi, Roberson and Demerson will compete again tomorrow along with Payton Baker to conclude the meet in the women's 4x400 relay Championship of America final at 4:50 p.m. central. The women withdrew from the 4x200 relay preliminary race to focus on tomorrow's 4x400-meter final.

The final day of the competition for the Sooners will begin with the 4xmile relay at 12:15 p.m. central, the first of five events for OU on Saturday. Alex Deir, Jacob Burcham, Dylan Blankenbaker, and Doughty will run the 4xmile, the first time the Sooners compete in that event this season.

Carl Williams will compete in the COA final for high jump beginning at 12:30 p.m. central. McClain will follow at 1 p.m. central in the COA triple jump.

One event the runners and coaches are looking forward to is the men's 4x800 relay. Randall, Wankel, Goldberg and Eke finished third in the race at the Texas Relays with a 7:31.61, despite leading for the majority of the event.

Live results are available at PennRelaysOnline. Follow the relays on Twitter @pennrelays and on Facebook #Penn Relays. Live video coverage with be available through Flo Pro. A complete Sooner recap will be posted at the end of each day on SoonerSports.com.