OU Adds to NCAA List, Women Ranked 16th

April 26, 2016 | Track and Field

By: Akilah Laster

NORMAN - A home meet provided the perfect backdrop for the Oklahoma track and field teams to display their depth midway through the season.

A sweep at the John Jacobs Invitational, OU's lone home meet of the outdoor season, positioned the women at No. 16 in the NCAA team rankings and increased the Sooners' presence among the nation's best.

After the weekend, the Sooners added three more entries to their overall total of competitors with NCAA qualifying marks which currently stands at 22.

Junior team captain Hayden McClain, as well as throwers Kate Foster and Ashley Bryant, each posted personal bests over the weekend to move into the top 48 of their respective events. McClain who made his 2016 outdoor debut on Saturday - six weeks into the season - recorded a 52-10.00 in the triple jump that ranks fifth nationally, and also earned him his first meet title since winning the 2016 Big 12 Indoor Championship in February.

Bryant jumped to 26th on the national qualifying chart after posting back-to-back PRs to finish with a new best of 198-7.00 in the hammer throw. She joins OU's second-ranked Julia Reedy (219-2.00) and 12th-ranked Sarah Tolson (202-2.00) on the NCAA list. With the addition of Bryant, the hammer throw is currently the event with the most Sooners to post qualifying marks.

OU's throwers combine for 10 marks across seven events on the NCAA list, including Foster, who ranks 43rd in the discus with a 170-7.00 mark.

Additionally, Avione Allgood (182-8.00) and Liz Herrs (174-8.00) are ranked seventh and 13th, respectively, in the javelin. Tyler Renton (252-2.00) ranks fifth and Garrett Snow (229-10.00) 29th in the men's division. Allgood (52-0.5) jumped to the 43rd position in the shot put as well after the Sooner's home meet.

Jess Woodard and Chase Sammons both hold top-48 marks in the discus and shot put. Sammons ranks 25th in the discus (186-10.00) and 30th in the shot put (60-6.00), while Woodard's highest ranking comes in the shot put at 12th (55-10.5). Woodard (176-5.00) also holds the 28th-best national mark in the discus.

The multidimensional Sooner teams are also represented in nine other events on the NCAA qualifying chart. Mackenzie Shell remains in the top 10 of the pole vault, improving to seventh after a 14-5.50-record setting performance in Norman, Okla., that also tops OU's career list.

For running events, Daye Shon Roberson ranks 14th in the 400 with a time of 52.24 and distance runner Dan Schubert is 16th in the 10,000 after running a 29:06.90 at the Stanford Invitational on April 1. The Sooners also rank 18th in the women's 4x400 relay, recording a time of 3:32.95. The top-24 relays advance to the national championship.

The Sooners will compete in their final regular season meet on May 1 in Stanford, Calif., at the Payton Jordan Invitational. Following that will be the Big 12 Championship May 13-15 in Fort Worth.

For more information on OU track and field, follow @OU_Track on Twitter, like the OUTrackandXC page on Facebook, or check out SoonerSports.com.