Tolson Sets OU Record, Nguyen Takes WT, Schubert Joins OU Top 10

Friday, February 12

Albuquerque, N.M.

4:00 PM

University of Oklahoma

Don Kirby Elite Invitational

Tolson Sets OU Record, Nguyen Takes WT, Schubert Joins OU Top 10

February 13, 2016 | Track and Field

By: Akilah Laster

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- In the spirit of competing at a higher altitude (more than 5,000 feet above sea level), members of the Oklahoma track and field teams took their performances to new levels.

Day one of the Don Kirby Elite Invitational in Albuquerque, N.M. was highlighted by competitive performances in the weight throw and many personal bests.

Charles Nguyen won the men's weight throw competition and, in the process, remained second on OU's all-time list. He recorded a career best 62-8.00. His performance capped off a notable day for the throwing squad.

Sarah Tolson finished with a record-setting effort in the women's division to place second overall. She topped the previous OU-program record (63-6.25) set by teammate Julia Reedy after producing a 63-9.50 mark. Tolson was previously third all-time for the Sooners with a mark of 61-9.75.

Reedy finished fourth with a mark of 62-7.50.

Jess Woodard also netted a career mark of 59-2.00 in the weight throw, while Ashley Bryant recorded a 57.9.00.

Charles Nguyen won the weight throw at the Don Kirby Elite on Feb. 12 with a career-best mark 62-8.00. That mark is second on OU's all-time list.

"With Charles, there's just a different aura about him and the way he's trained this fall," said Jim VanHootegem, head coach of track and field. "You saw that [this kind of performance] was coming.

"The women's group works together well in practices and in meets," he continued. "It's great to see that group doing well and we have a lot of confidence in them."

The Sooners were not done yet.

Ama Pipi re-joined the indoor all-time list, this time with the ninth-best mark in program history in the 200-meter dash. Pipi (23.95) and Mia Mukes (24.44) recorded bests at altitude in the race to win their individual heats. Out of 99 entries Pipi and Mukes finished 10th and 22nd, respectively.

"I thought that Ama Pipi was outstanding in the 200," VanHootegem said. "She ran with a fierceness and that comes because she knows she's been training well."

Freshman Greg Vann finished won the collegiate division in the long jump and recorded a PR of 24-5.50 that received a standing ovation from his Sooner teammates and coaches. His performance concluded a long, but rewarding day for OU.

Ama Pipi wins her 200-meter heat with a time of 23.95 to finish 10th at the Don Kirby Elite and ninth all-time at OU.

"At the end, he kind of just said 'I'm going to go for it,'" said the head coach of Vann. "That's great to see and great for him going into the conference meet."

Another effort that earned a lot of applause from onlookers was Tanner Williams' performance in the pole vault. Williams, who struggled with injury last season, bounced back with a career-best showing to clear 16-11.50. His previous high was 16-6.75, recorded in 2014.

"I think Tanner made some adjustments over the last three weeks," said VanHootegem. "It's great to see athletes take responsibility for their performances. He asks questions about what he need to fix and he works at that. He and Coach (John) Dagata work together on trust and he's taking the chances."

Tanner Williams beats his previous 2014 personal best on Friday, Feb. 12 with a 16-11.50 in the pole vault.

For much of the sprinting corps, the day was about qualifying for semifinal rounds. While all the times were recorded at altitude, there were more than a handful of personal and season bests achieved throughout the day.

Three Sooner men advanced to the second round of their respective events against large fields. Thomas Cheval recorded an 8.18 in the 60-meter hurdles to qualify, while Trae Armstrong (6.71) and Bennie Wesley (6.79) moved to the next round in the 60-meter dash.

Wesley's 21.56 in the 200-meter and 60-meter time were both personal bests.

CeCe Jackson's 8.49 and Olivia Haggerty's 8.56 in the 60-meter hurdles were enough to advance to the semifinal on Saturday as well.

"We saw PRs and season bests really in a high amount today," the third-year head coach said. "There were several standout performances today. That's the sort of competitiveness I like to see."

Three of four Sooner entries set career bests in the 60-meter dash, but their times were not enough to advance to the semifinal round. Bianca Brazil ran a 7.58, Hailey Patterson a 7.81, and Alexis Barnes a 7.80, the largest improvement of the group. Her previous best was a 7.91.

Leya Buchanan matched her 60-meter season best, 7.58, and finished 20th in the 200 with a time of 24.37.

Bennie Wesley qualified for the semifinal of the 60-meter dash at the Don Kirby Elite with a time of 6.79.

High jumper Carl Williams finished third with a 6-11.75 while teammates Shonderius Howard and Garrison LeRock cleared 6-9.75 and 6-6.00, respectively. Howard's mark is a PR.

Competition continues Saturday at 11 a.m. (CT) with the women's pole vault. The 60-meter hurdles semifinal begins at 11:45 a.m. Live results are available at LiveRunningResults with a full recap to follow the conclusion of the meet on SoonerSports.com.

SCHUBERT RECORDS A PR TO JOIN PROGRAM TOP-10 LIST

Oklahoma's distance runners began competition late in the day at the Husky Classic in Seattle, but the late start did not slow one Sooner competitor.

Dan Schubert recorded a 14:14.23 in the 5,000-meter run to join OU's all-time list. His time ranks eighth in program history and he finished 22nd overall.

"We had a lot of great kids on our team, but there may not be anyone as inspirational to me as Dan Schubert," said VanHootegem. "He might have the most demonstrated passion that you can see. I hope that people on our team are watching that. Not everyone sees how the distance runners train. I couldn't be prouder and I hope he's an inspiration to the team."

Will Hogston ran a time of 14:38.77 in the race and was the only other competitor for the men's team.

Juniors Elena Arriaza (16:30.25) and Brittany Tretbar (16:57.30) finished 27th and 36th, respectively, in the 5K women's division. Tretbar led the second heat of the race for a large part, but was unable to maintain her position at the end.

The foursome were the only Sooner entries to compete on Friday in Seattle.

Oklahoma resumes action at the Husky Classic on Saturday at 1:50 p.m. with five Sooners listed to contend in the men's 800-meter run. Live streaming can be viewed on Flotrack Live Video with live results available here. A full recap of the day will also be available on SoonerSports.com after the end of the meet.