National Marks Set at J.D. Martin Invite

Saturday, January 16

Norman, Okla.

10:00 AM

University of Oklahoma

J.D. Martin Invitational

National Marks Set at J.D. Martin Invite

January 16, 2016 | Track and Field

By: Akilah Laster

NORMAN - Freshman Mackenzie Shell made her first competition as a Sooner one for the record books, literally. She soared above the competition in the pole vault to shatter the OU school and meet record in her specialty. Her best jump, 14-0.50, was three feet higher than the meet's runner-up and was the third best in the country to date.

Shell was one of many Sooners who took home-field advantage to record levels as OU hosted the 15th J.D. Martin Invitational Saturday at the Mosier Indoor Facility. The meet opened the 2016 season for OU.

MacKenzie Shell embraces teammates after she sets the program and J.D. Martin Invitational record with a 14-0.50 mark in the pole vault.

"It was a tremendous effort from MacKenzie early on," said head coach Jim VanHootegem. "We want to have a national-level program. To have people come out and announce themselves early in the season is what we've been talking about for a long time."

Shell was joined at the national level as Daye Shon Roberson, Jess Woodard and Hayden McClain also had performances that ranked among the best posted to date. Roberson's 7.36 in the 60-meter dash, also a PR for the junior, was the third fastest in the nation. Woodard posted a PR of 54-6.00 in the shot put, the fourth best throw nationally. Woodard also added a career best in the weight throw where she placed fourth with a 58-3.25. McClain's effort in the men's triple jump win (52-7.50) was third best nationally and fifth in OU program history.

"Our goal is to do well nationally and we have goals beneath that to help us get there," VanHootegem said. "The overall competitiveness of the team, going back to fall training and the team pentathlon, shows that we've come a long way."

Daye Shon Roberson's 7.36 performance was the third best national mark in the 60-meter dash.

Performances were consistently excellent across the board for OU teams as they swept the meet for the second consecutive year. The Sooner men and women combined for 23 wins in the 32 events on the day. The women finished ahead of seven teams, including Big 12 and in-state rival Oklahoma State, and recorded 17 personal best marks. The men placed ahead of teams from Grambling State, OSU, Incarnate Word, Coffeyville Community College and Western Texas College and finished with seven personal bests. The totals for PRs do not include those who made their collegiate debuts or are in their first season with OU.

"I would probably say the people who had a hard time today were the exceptions to the day," the head coach said. "It would be easier to make a list of who had a harder time because there were so many people who came out and had a competitive day."

The day was also marked significant improvements for many of the Sooners. One breakout performance specifically resonated with the coaches. Olivia Haggerty, who saw limited competition last season, had a personal-best performance in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8:56.

Olivia Haggerty earned a personal best mark in the 60-meter hurdles to finish as the runner-up with a time of 8.56.

"A person like Olivia Haggerty epitomizes what we're talking about in our program," VanHootegem said. "For Olivia to come out and have a personal best performance like she did today, not to say she's the only one, that represents what we look for in our team."

The Sooners' strong performances also changed the program's all-time list 10 times, with eight women and two men either improving a mark or joining the list in an event for the first time.

Transfers CeCe Jackson and Baileh Simms combined for wins in three events. Simms began the day with the top performance in the long jump (19-2.75), while Jackson picked up two wins, in the high jump (5-6.00) and the 60-meter hurdles (8.52).

Junior captain Baileh Simms won her first meet as a Sooner with a 18-10.50 mark in the long jump.

"CeCe and Baileh both did a great job," VanHootegem said. "Baileh started off a little bit not herself. For her to go from fourth to first on the final jump is what we were looking for.

"CeCe is just a great athlete and likes to compete," he continued. "That's what I like to see, people that just go out and compete and they don't worry about stuff. She took care of business. We're glad to have them."

Senior Julia Reedy, who shares the program record for the weight throw, won the event with a mark of 62-08.50.

On the men's side Chase Sammons and Charles Nguyen won the shot put and weight throw, respectively. Sammons earned a mark of 60-5.00, and Nguyen finished with a winning tally of 59-11.75.
Freshman Greg Vann also picked up a win in his collegiate debut in the long jump with a mark of 23-5.50, while high jumper Carl Williams (6-9.75) and pole vaulter Tanner Williams (16-5.50) won their respective events.

Senior Tanner Williams earned the meet title in the pole vault with a mark of 16-05.50. It was his best indoor mark since his sophomore season.

Sprinter Trae Armstrong won the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.70, ahead of teammate Bennie Wesley (6.80), who finished third. Mike Wells, who finished with the second-best prelim time, was disqualified after a false start during the finals.

The middle distance and distance entries also posted five wins. Belle Wallace (2:53.22) and Liam Meirow (2:31.52) took first in the women's and men's 1,000-meter races, respectively, while Jessica Martin (1:28.92) and Jacob Goldberg (1:12.83) added first-place finishes in the 600-yard competitions. Sarah Scott also finished ahead of the competition in the women's 800-meter with a time of 2:21.43.

The day ended with two more Sooner wins in the 4x440-yard relays. The women's quartet of Ama Pipi, Daunicia Demerson, Mia Mukes, and Payton Baker finished with a time of 3:54.73. On the men's side, Steven Jazdyk, McClain, Marcus Mitchell, and Thomas Cheval ran a 3:27.34 to end the meet.

"Today gave coaches a chance to see what went well and what things still need to be worked on," VanHootegem said. "The coaches will be there to support and to drive things, but it's up to the athletes."

On the men's side, the final scores and standings among the Division I teams competing were Incarnate Word 228, Oklahoma 212, Grambling 90 and Oklahoma State 4. For the women, the scores and standings were Oklahoma 291, Incarnate Word 129.5, SMU 88.5, Grambling 37 and Oklahoma State 20.

The next opportunity for improvement for the Sooners is in College Station, Texas, as OU travels to compete in the Texas A&M Quadrangular on Saturday, Jan. 23. For more information on OU track and field, visit SoonerSports.com.