Sooners Transcend Borders and Oceans

Zac Randall, Charles Nguyen and Tyler Renton have more in common than the team they compete for on meet days. These student-athletes are three of the eight international students who compete for the University of Oklahoma track and field squads.

All together, the trio has traveled more than 7,000 miles from their hometowns combined in an effort to further their successes on the track and field while continuing their education.

A member of the men's cross country team and a distance runner for Oklahoma track and field, Randall hails from a small town “across the pond,” Marlow, United Kingdom, a town of about 14,000 people located 33 miles west of central London.

Currently, Randall is working on a graduate degree in international studies at the University of Oklahoma, but prior to coming to OU, he attended the University of Bath. The University is located in Bath, U.K., almost 100 miles from London and about an hour and a half from Randall's hometown of Marlow.

Location is not the only difference between Randall's time as an undergraduate and graduate student. When Randall was at the University of Bath, he had to be his own coach and trainer because his university didn't have a coach for track.

“It's really cool to see the resources they have here, and hopefully, we'll be running faster, throwing farther,” Randall said.

Without a coach, Randall worked his way up to compete at nationals in the U.K., but it came with a price.

“It's good to have someone with the experience of Coach (Jason) Dunn to make sure I don't make the same mistakes,” Randall said. “I ended up getting hurt a lot because I would train myself too hard.”

Coming to the United States provided Randall the chance to not only have a coach but train under Dunn, a nationally recognized distance coach.

“I came to America because I wanted to study a graduate program and pursue my track and field beyond my undergrad,” Randall said. “I came to Oklahoma mainly because of Coach Dunn. He's a really good coach. He was very communicative when I was looking at different schools. The academic program here was good and I thought I could achieve a lot on the track with Coach Dunn.”

Before joining the Oklahoma squad in the fall of 2014, Randall had never been to America before and what he found was quite different from what he expected.

“I've been surprised,” Randall said. “I'd say my impression of people in America is that they are actually a lot more outgoing and friendly than people are in the U.K.”

Randall is just one of four men's track and field student-athletes who call other countries home. Among the Oklahoma throwers from abroad are Nguyen and Renton, who both hail from the province of Ontario in Canada.

Nguyen is from St. Thomas, a town of 38,000 people in southwestern Ontario near the major metropolitan city of London, Ontario, while Renton is from Georgetown, a town of about 40,000 people located a just over an hour west of Toronto.

Both Nguyen and Renton were enticed to come to the United States and to the University of Oklahoma because of the prospect of training under Coach Brian Blutreich, one of the best throws coaches in the country.

Much like what Randall experienced in the U.K., Nguyen and Renton dealt with the limited resources available to aspiring athletes in Canada. Renton said that his throws coach back home was actually a volunteer coach at York University.

“One thing that surprised me (when I came to the U.S.) was just the enormity of our athletics program,” Renton said. “In colleges in Canada, athletics is nothing — like a really, really small budget. There are a few employees who may not even be on salary for the most part.”

Nguyen added that competition is weak in Canada when it comes to track and field although there are some elite athletes. While Nguyen had the opportunity to compete in the World Junior Championships in France, the opportunities still aren't the same. To grow as an athlete, he believed it was better for him to come to the U.S. and “compete against the best.”

Though the U.S. in general is a place of interest for athletes and non-athletes from all over the world to come to and study, the state of Oklahoma may not always be at the top of the list of places to go. However, at the time that Nguyen was being recruited by The University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State University was showing interest in him as well.

When the day came that Blutreich offered Nguyen a spot on the Sooner squad, the sophomore's decision-making time was short. He also was waiting to see if OSU would give him an offer. Ultimately, he couldn't give up the opportunity to compete at OU.

In addition to getting the opportunity to train under Blutreich, Renton was sold on the campus and the fact that OU has a criminology program.

For Nguyen, the transition to living in the United States was easy. The cultures were similar and he made friends quickly. He said he felt comfortable within a week.

“I don't even really consider myself an international student,” Nguyen said.

On the other hand, it took Renton a little longer.

“The hardest thing for me was being away from family and friends for four or five months at a time,” Renton said. “I'd also say when I came here, I didn't know a single person. It was kind of hard meeting people. After a few weeks getting tp know my roommates and people in the dorms, it was easy.”

Though it didn't take long for Nguyen to adjust, he still talks to his parents everyday. Because Nguyen is an only child, he jokingly says that his parents are probably bored.

Naturally, the hardest part about going to school in another country is being so far from home, but that hasn't stopped Randall, Renton or Nguyen.

The success each has brought to the OU program makes the Sooners glad they were willing to take advantage of the opportunity.

By: Candace Hinnergardt, OU Athletics Communications student intern