Sammons Earns Big 12 Weekly Honor

NORMAN – Junior Chase Sammons has been named the Big 12's Male Track and Field Athlete of the Week, the league office announced Wednesday. Sammons and Hannah Carson of Texas Tech, the female honoree, earned the award for the first time in their careers.

Sammons was a double winner at Baylor Invitational in the shot put and discus throw. He threw the shot 62-3.75 in his first competition in that event this season. That effort ranks as the second best throw in Big 12 and No. 12 nationally.

It is also the third best in school history and was a personal best by nearly three feet.

The junior won the discus title with a throw of 181-9, ranking as the fifth best in the Big 12 to date and the No. 7 mark in school history.

Sammons earned praise from OU head coach Jim VanHootegem after the meet for his consistency. His last four efforts in the shot put, going back to the Razorback Invitational the last weekend of January, have been 62-11.5, 62-10.5, 62-4.5 and 62-3.75.

Sammons graduated from Edmond Memorial and was a state champion as a high senior. He helped lead the Bulldogs to the runner-up state team finish as a senior.

He competed at the University of Tulsa for two years. He was a regional qualifier as a sophomore and held the school record in the outdoor shot put (59-0.25), discus throw (183-1.00), indoor shot put, indoor weight throw when he transferred to OU. He won the C-USA discus title as a sophomore and was the conference runner-up in the shot put, also in 2013.

Sammons is the first Sooner to earn the weekly award in 2015.