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, May 28
Austin, Texas
4:30 PM
University of Oklahoma
at
NCAA West Region Prelims
Reedy Gets it Rolling as First OU Qualifier
May 28, 2015 | Track and Field
AUSTIN -- Champions do not make excuses. They triumph, even under duress.
The duress came in the form of inclement weather on day one of the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field West prelims in Austin. Competition, slated to begin at noon, was delayed for three hours because of lightning.
The delay only sharpened the focus of Sooner thrower, Julia Reedy, who was the first of the University of Oklahoma track and field squad to qualify for the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon on June 10-13.
She placed ninth with a 201-8.00 mark in the hammer throw to earn one of the 12 invites from this event.
“That's big for us,” said head coach Jim VanHootegem. “We want to have a lot of qualifiers and we needed to get the first one to get something rolling. That's big for Julia and we're happy she was our first qualifier.”
As the sun peaked through, the Sooners kicked things into high gear. OU sprinters Daye Shon Roberson and Trae Armstrong took full advantage of the improved weather as they both advanced to tomorrow's quarterfinals – Roberson in the 400 and Armstrong in the 100. The top 12 finishers will earn trips to Eugene.
“I was happy with the qualifying round performances with Trae and Daye Shon,” VanHootegem said. “We haven't had a 'come out of nowhere' performance yet, but the team is taking it seriously and getting after it.”
Roberson, who won her heat, ran a 52.42, the third best time of the day. The 400 final will be the first running event of the day for Sooner entries. That begins at 6 p.m. Friday. The
Armstrong will compete in the 100-meter final scheduled for 6:45 p.m. He goes into the race final ranked 17th after he recorded a wind-aided 10.28 in his first race of the meet. He will also compete in the 200-meter dash at 8:25 p.m. tomorrow.
Roberson and Armstrong will advance to Eugene in the 400 and 100, respectively, with a top three finish in their heat or if they run one of the next three best times in the competition on Friday.
OU will open day two of the prelims with the throwing trio – Kate Foster, Alex Morgan, and Jessica Woodard – in the discus at noon. Morgan (173-9.00) goes in ranked 26th, Woodard (173-0) 28th, and Foster (170-2.00) 38th, respectively. Charles Nguyen will open the day for the men at 2 p.m. in the hammer throw. He heads into the meet ranked 28th with a mark of 201-9.5.
Austin Perry and Chase Sammons will compete in the shot put tomorrow at 6 p.m. Sammons had a strong showing on day one in the discus, but fell short of advancing to nationals by one inch. His 180-0.00 was just behind the 12th and final qualifier, Cody Snyder from University of South Dakota, who had a 180-1.00. Sammons goes into the shot ranked sixth with a mark of 63-8.25.
“Obviously, it was disappointing for Chase to miss it by .03 centimeters,” VanHootegem said. “We know that happens, we know it's a possibility. I told the team I'd rather be 13th than 30th. He was in there; he was in the position. But he's got an opportunity to throw in the shot put.”
The Sooners can establish momentum tomorrow with 11 entries scheduled to perform in eight events. By the end of the day, OU entries in seven of the eight events will know if their season continues. The lone exception is the men's 200 as qualifiers advance to Saturday.
“I'm not sure we have established a feel yet,” the head coach said. “We have a lot of the meet to go.”
Makayla Stephens looks to advance in the high jump scheduled for 6 p.m. as Dylan Blankenbaker and Brandon Doughty close out day two in the 3000-meter steeplechase at 9:30 p.m. Doughty, the Big 12 champion for the race, is ranked 17th with a time of 8:50.96. Blankenbaker goes in ranked 22nd with a time of 8:52.41.
West prelim results are availablle at branchsports.com. Daily recaps of OU events will be available at SoonerSports.com. Live webcasts are available each day at TexasSports.com. It begins at noon (CDT) on Friday and Saturday.
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