Sooners Split for Season?s Third Weekend

March 30, 2016 | Track and Field

By: Akilah Laster

NORMAN - It's time to break up, but, just temporarily of course.

The Oklahoma track and field teams will split for the lone time of the outdoor season as the Sooners send entries to the 89th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, and to the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., this week.

The majority of the Sooner squad will head across the Red River to compete in the University of Texas-hosted competition that features high school to professional- evel talent from around the world. More than 35 Sooners look to compete in 22 events over the four-day event.

Makayla Stephens opened action for the Sooners Wednesday morning in her first heptathlon competition of the 2016 season. She returns as the 2015 Big 12 runner-up and placed 14th at last year's Texas Relays. Stephens will also open competition for OU on Thursday at 11 a.m. (CT) with the remaining three events - long jump, javelin and 800-meter run - in the heptathlon.

While OU won't have any entries in running events on day two, six Sooners will compete in field events. Ashley Bryant, Sarah Tolson and Julia Reedy, the program record holder, will compete in the hammer throw at 11 a.m. while Charles Nguyen will participate in the men's hammer throw at 2 p.m.

Charles Nguyen is coming off a meet title in the hammer throw at the Bobby Lane Invite as the teams head to the Texas Relays.

T.J. Noonan will compete in the B division of the javelin, slated for a 2:15 p.m. start, and Tanner Williams closes Thursday for the Sooners in the C division of the pole vault, scheduled for 2:30 p.m.

Friday is a day of prelims for relays for running events and relays as well as a continuation of field events. The Sooner foursome of Ama Pipi, Daye Shon Roberson, Daunicia Demerson and Leya Buchanan will run in the 4x100-meter relay at 9:35 a.m. followed by the men's 4x1 quartet of Steven Jazdyk, Bennie Wesley, Trae Armstrong and Greg Vann.

Buchanan, Pipi, Armstrong, Vann and Tyrone Glenn will continue action in the 100-meter prelims directly following the relay and hurdle events.

Field events continue on throughout the day Friday with Vann entered in the long jump B division at 10 a.m.

Leya Buchanan will compete on Friday in both the 4x100-meter relay and 100-meter in Austin, Texas.

The women's pole vault B division will feature Meagan Gray and is also scheduled for a 10 a.m. start while the Sooners' javelin duo, Liz Herrs and Avione Allgood, compete in the A division at 11:30 a.m. Tyler Renton, the OU program record holder, and Garrett Snow compete in the men's javelin A division at 6 p.m.

The Sooners close Friday with the men's distance medley relay with foursome Allen Eke, Liam Meirow, Blake Yount and Jacob Goldberg. Eke, Meirow and Goldberg were part of OU's indoor DMR All-America quartet while Yount assisted in the conference title-winning DMR race.

The foursome will also open running events on Saturday, the final day of the meet, in the 4x800-meter relay. Last season, OU finished third in the 4x8 with a time of 7:31.61.

Liz Herrs and Avione Allgood will compete in the javelin on Saturday at 11:30 a.m.

Running finals are also slated to begin Saturday at 1:30 p.m. as the top nine times advance from prelims. Several Sooners will also compete in the A division of their respective events throughout the day. Mackenzie Shell will jump in the pole vault at noon, Baileh Simms is in the long jump at 3 p.m. and Allgood and Jess Woodard compete in the shot put at 4 p.m. Chase Sammons will also compete in the men's shot put at 4 p.m.

Live results are available at Prime Time Timing with a full recap after each day of action on SoonerSports.com. The Stanford Invitational preview will be posted Thursday.