Sooners Set for Big 12 Championship

May 14, 2015 | Track and Field

By: Athletics Communications

NORMAN – Classes are done and the focus has shifted to the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship for 70-plus Sooner student-athletes, coaches and other support staff. Competition in the 19^th annual meet begins at 11 a.m. Friday at the Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames, Iowa. This marks the first time for Iowa State to host the outdoor meet after hosting the last three indoor meets.

THE SCHEDULE
The first events on the schedule will feature several Sooners as freshman Steven Jazdyk and sophomore Thomas Cheval open in the decathlon's first event, the 100-meter dash, at 11 a.m. while juniors Julia Reedy, Sarah Tolson and redshirt freshman Jess Woodard are scheduled to compete in the women's hammer at 11 a.m. as well.

Events continue throughout the day Friday, ending with the 10,000-meter run at 9 p.m. On Saturday, the decathlon competition starts the day once again as Cheval and Jazdyk line up for the 110-meter hurdles at 10 a.m. Events on Saturday end with the men's and women's 200-meter dash prelims that are set for 6:40 p.m. (women) and 6:55 p.m. (men)

Events on Friday and Saturday include a mix of prelims and finals. The first four events of the heptathlon and the first five of the decathlon are on Friday with the final three events of the heptathlon as well as the final five events of the decathlon set for Saturday. Freshman Makayla Stephens will be OU's lone entry in the heptathlon.

The final day opens with the women's high jump at noon and continues with all finals through the 4x400-meter relay for men and women. Those two events are set for 6:55 p.m. (women) and 7:10 p.m. (men).

ACCORDING TO THE COACH
“This is our third Big 12 championships this year after cross country and indoor,” head coach Jim VanHootegem said as the Sooners prepared for this weekend's meet. “At this point in time, we have been very satisfied with how our team has competed in four championships -- men and women – so our team knows what to do. They know how to give a championship effort. It might sound boring, but our goal is for as many people on our team to be at or near their season best. We know if we do that, that's the best we can do and we're going to feel good about our team.

“It's a team meet, but obviously there are individual things up for grab, too,” VanHootegem continued. “I'm sure we have some people on our team who would like to contend for individual conference championships. There may be younger student-athletes who haven't scored in the conference before and want to have their first time getting on the awards stand.”

A LOOK AT THE TEAMS
The conference meet will once again feature many of the top competitors in track and field in the country and several of the nation's top team as well. On the men's side, Texas is ranked sixth and the Longhorns are joined in the top 10 by Texas Tech, seventh, and Baylor, 10^th. Texas Christian enters the meet ranked 16^th and Kansas State is 20^th as the conference depth is demonstrated by the number of ranked squads.

On the women's side, there are six ranked teams, making the Big 12 one of two conferences to have at least six ranked squads. Texas leads the way with a fifth-place ranking. Following UT are Texas Tech, 10^th; Kansas State, 11^th; Baylor 12^th; and Oklahoma State 20^th. The Sooners are one spot out of the top 25, less than a point behind the 25^th-ranked team.

THE 2014 CHAMPIONSHIP
Texas Tech won the 2014 men's title, edging Teas by 35.5 points, 160.50-125. The Sooners finished fifth with 90 points. Texas won the women's title with 149 points. The Sooners finished 10^th with 30 points.

OU crowned two champions at the 2014 meet as Brandon Doughty won the 3,000-meter steeplechase and Liz Herrs held off teammate Avione Allgood to win the javelin. The teammates exchanged best and record-setting throws on the way to a one-two finish. Allgood, the 2013 champion, posted a 189-1.00 to take the lead and set a meet record only to see Herrs have a 189-5.00 on her final throw to move to first place and become the record holder. Herrs and Doughty are back in 2015 while Allgood has missed most of the outdoor season with an injury.

AMONG THE BEST
Herrs and Doughty are also among the Sooners who enter the meet ranked either one or two. Others who are ranked in the top two in an event this weekend include Charles Nguyen, second in the hammer; Herrs, first in the javelin; Tyler Renton, second in the javelin; Chase Sammons, second in the shot put; Doughty, first in the steeplechase; Dylan Blakenbaker, second in the steeple chase; Hayden McClain, second in the triple jump; Doughty, first in the 5,000.

Herrs also ranks second in the country in the javelin, heading into the final weekend of qualifying.

WHO TO WATCH ACCORDING TO THE COACH
“Brandon (Doughty) is a returning conference champion for both last year outdoors and earlier this year indoors,” VanHootegem added. “Chase (Sammons) is the most consistent person at a high level. I think we're up to seven meets in a row where he's thrown over 62 feet in the shot put. He's certainly been strong in the discus as well. Hayden (McClain) was one of our top people at the indoor championship along with Jacob Burcham. Biya Simbassa and Alex Deir are seniors and we hope they go out really well also.

“For our women, the most improved area of our team is the sprints. We're really looking forward to those people stepping up in their individual events as well as the relays. We have some young distance runners we've truly been excited about watching their growth and maturity. Then, we have a throwers group that is largely experienced, including the defending Big 12 Champion in Liz (Herrs).”

MORE AT STAKE
While conference bragging rights are important, Sunday marks the final day for student-athletes to post marks to be considered for the NCAA Championship. The top 48 in individual events and the top 24 in relays after this weekend's action will advance to the east and west prelims, scheduled for May 28-30. OU will travel to Austin to compete in the West prelims. The top 24 nationally in the heptathlon and decathlon will advance automatically to the NCAA Championship, scheduled for June 10-13 in Eugene, Ore.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE MEET
Live results will be available throughout the meet. There will be a live webcast provided at no cost via Big12Sports.com. Additional information on the championships is also available at Big12Sports.com Meet Central and via Cyclones.com. Following the conclusion of each day's competition, a recap on OU results will be available on SoonerSports.com.

SOONERS IN THE BIG 12'S TOP 10 (IN EVENT ORDER)

FRIDAY
Women's Hammer – 3, Julia Reedy; 6, Sarah Tolson; 7, Jess Woodard
Heptathlon – 6, Makayla Stephens
Men's Hammer – 2, Charles Nguyen; 4, Austin Perry
Women's Javelin – 1, Elizabeth Herrs
Men's Javelin – 2, Tyler Renton; 3, Garrett Snow; 7, T.J. Noonan
Women's 10,000 – 4, Elena Arriaza; 7, Brittany Tretbar
Men's 10,000 – 6, Abbabiya Simbassa; 8, Eric Graf

SATURDAY
Men's High Jump – 7, Carl Williams
Women's Shot Put – 8, Jess Woodard
Men's Long Jump – 6, Hayden McClain
Men's 1500 – 5, Jacob Burcham; 10, Allen Eke
Men's Shot Put – 2, Chase Sammons; 8, Austin Perry
Women's 400 – 6, Daye Shon Roberson
Women's Long Jump – 10, Makayla Stephens
Women's 100 – 7, Leya Buchanan; 8, Erin Jones
Men's 100 – T-10, Bennie Wesley
Men's 800 – 6, Allen Eke; 7, Zac Randall; 9, Jacob Goldberg

SUNDAY
Women's Discus – 5, Alexandra Morgan; 6, Jess Woodward; 8, Kate Foster
Women's Steeplechase – 6, Bryce Perry
Men's Steeplechase – 1, Brandon Doughty; 2, Dylan Blakenbaker
Men's Discus – 6, Chase Sammons
Men's Triple Jump – 2, Hayden McClain
Men's 5,000 – 1, Brandon Doughty