Doughty Advances to Friday Final

EUGENE, Ore. - They say “go big or go home.”

Brandon Doughty took that adage to heart on day one of the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore.

Not only did Doughty advance to the 3,000-meter steeplechase finals, but he set a school record of 8:41.26 while doing it. Doughty beat the previous program record of 8:41.65, which he also owned.

“He definitely earned an 'A' for that race,” said head coach Jim VanHootegem. “Everything went perfect to form in that race. That was fantastic.”

Doughty maintained a top-three position throughout the seven-lap race, but ultimately finished fifth in his heat behind Anthony Rotich, Texas-El Paso, Dylan Lafond, Illinois, Zak Seddon, Florida State, and Steve Flint, Brigham Young. The top five finishers of the two heats got the automatic bid to the Friday final. The next best two times also advanced to the the final slated to begin at 4:57 p.m. (PDT) Friday.

“The name of the game was qualifying for him,” VanHootegem said. “He was running in the top three throughout the race, but he's got more in him for the finals. He will be ready and I can't wait to watch him on Friday.”

Doughty is campaigning to beat his time as well as repeat last season's success. In 2014, Doughty finished fifth overall and earned first-team All-America honors with his previous career best.

Chase Sammons competed in the shot put final on Wednesday as well. A top-nine finish in the first three throws earned a spot in the final three throws. Sammons finished 11th with a throw of 62-1.25 in his first appearance at nationals. Sammons improved his prelim mark of 61-3.50 by nearly one foot.

“Chase showed that he got back to where he was consistently performing throughout the year,” the head coach said. “He was not far off from making the finals. I'm pleased with his efforts today.

“Brandon and Chase both showed the women what this meet is about,” he added. “They were prepared and focused.”

The women's event in the new format takes center stage on Thursdsy. Eight Sooner women will compete in five events. The field events open with Julia Reedy in the hammer throw at 1:30 p.m. Reedy, the program record holder (209-9.25), heads into competition ranked 11th after an effort of 203-6.00 at prelims. Liz Herrs, making her second trip to the NCAA, will compete in the javelin at 3:15 p.m. She ranks seventh with a mark 169-3.00.

The Sooner women's sprint corps will compete in three events, starting with the 400-meter relay in the semifinal at 4 p.m. Heading into the event, Ama Pipi, Erin Jones, Daye Shon Roberson, and Leya Buchanan are ranked 10th with a prelim time of 44.02. The top two in each of three heats plus the next two fastest times will advance to Saturday's 2:05 p.m. final.

The 1600-meter relay, Pipi, Roberson, Daunicia Demerson, and Payton Baker, are ranked 19^th with a 3:33.33 heading into the semifinal at 7:18 p.m. To advance to Saturday's 4:20 p.m. final, the Sooners must finish in the top two of their heat or post one of the two next best times.

Demerson will have a very busy day as she will compete in the 400-meter semifinal Thursday at 5:30 p.m., a race that is sandwiched between the two relays. Ranked fourth heading into the semi with a career best of 51.37, she will run in the third heat as the top two in each heat and the next two fastest times advance to Saturday's 3:05 p.m. final.

Live results will be available at Flash Results. Additional information about the NCAA Championships is available at the University of Oregon website. To watch the Championships, visit the ESPN site.

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Players Mentioned

Payton Baker

Leya Buchanan

Daunicia Demerson

Brandon Doughty

Erin Jones

Ama Pipi

Julia Reedy

Daye Shon Roberson

Chase Sammons

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University of Oklahoma Athletics