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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners Head to Indy with Hopes of NCAA Bid
February 19, 2016 | Track and Field
NORMAN - Four Sooners have one goal this weekend. Run faster.
The Oklahoma men's track and field team will send a handful of entries to South Bend, Ind., for the Alex Wilson Invitational on Saturday in hopes of solidifying a bid to the NCAA championships in the distance medley relay. The top 12 DMR times qualify for the national championships and the Sooners are currently 10th with a time of 9:37.28.
Events begin at 10 a.m. central and will continue throughout the day on a flexible schedule.
In 2014, the Sooners posted a season-best time of 9:32.92 at the Alex Wilson meet to finish 13th nationally. The group missed the qualification mark by .44 second. In 2015, the Sooners suffered the same fate, falling just shy of national qualification after running a season best of 9:33.57 at the Notre Dame-hosted meet. OU finished just behind Columbia at the meet and in the rankings as the Lions posted a 9:33.54.
This year's foursome has used the previous outcomes as motivation, heading into one of its final opportunities to compete in the event before the Feb. 28 qualification deadline.
"You like for competition to be the driving factor, but there's so many good people and teams out there that you need the right conditions to be able to run a fast time," said head coach Jim VanHootegem. "You're looking at the facility and how the competition lines up. The facility at Notre Dame, with the competition it brings, is what we have to seek to be a part of. The system is tactical sometimes, but you still have to go out there and run fast to get a qualifying time."
The Sooners will have experience to their advantage with Allen Eke, Trae Armstrong, and Jacob Burcham competing for consecutive years at the home of the Fighting Irish. Jacob Goldberg is the newest member to this year's relay lineup, but competed with the other three earlier this season. He is also no stranger to the race, running twice last season - once during the indoor season in Fayetteville, Ark., at the Tyson Invitational, then outdoors at the Texas Relays.
"We don't have a true 400 runner, but a sprinter is a sprinter is a sprinter. We're very confident that Trae is able to handle it," the head coach said. "For the other guys, this is what they do. We have a lot of faith in Jacob Goldberg's ability, Allen is returning from last year's Big 12 runner-up in the DMR and Jacob Burcham is one of the nation's best. It's a good crew."
Zac Randall, the alternate on the relay, is also scheduled to run the men's mile on Saturday.
OU's distance medley runners have shown signs of progress throughout the season and have dropped significant seconds since their first competition. With a pair of competitions to date in 2016, the Sooners 9:58.28 at the Texas A&M Quadrangular on Jan. 23 before cutting more than 20 seconds on their way way to the 9:37.28 and a spot in the top 10 six days later at the Razorback Invitational in Fayetteville.
The Sooners, looking to see another drop in their third outing in the event, hope the third time is the charm.
Live results will be available at Delta Timing, with a recap after the race on SoonerSports.com.
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