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Track and Field
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University of Oklahoma Athletics
Sooners to Open Track & Field Season at Home
January 12, 2017 | Track and Field
NORMAN ? After months of training, lifting and perfecting technique, it is finally time to compete. The University of Oklahoma track and field team opens the indoor season Saturday at home in the Mosier Indoor Facility with the Sooner Opener.?
The last time Oklahoma hosted the Sooner Opener was in 2014 and both won their division. ?The two-year break from the Sooner was a change in OU's indoor schedule as the indoor home slate had featured two meets ? Sooner and ?the J.D. Martin Invitational. It was important for the Sooners to add the Opener to give the student-athletes an additional opportunity to compete.
“One of the big things is obviously we want to compete at home,” says head coach Jim VanHootegem. “We have an opportunity to compete in front of Sooner fans.? It also gives more athletes an opportunity to compete. We will probably compete 25 more athletes this weekend than we would of if we had to travel.”
Having that familiarity with the surroundings is an added bonus, one the fourth-year coach predicts will produce record results and could set the tone early for the remainder of the year.
“The biggest thing is that there's going to be some people on our team who will have lifetime bests this weekend,” VanHootegem predicts.? “They have been training all fall and they are ready to go.”
Even if not every athlete sets personal records, the act of competing and having live results to learn and improve from will be beneficial.
“There's going to be some people on our team who are ready to have lifetime bests, but maybe somewhere in the rhythm or timing, technically, they are going to miss something. They are just going to be a little bit off from doing it,” adds VanHootegem. “We'll be able to go to practice next week and work on those things.”
Women's weight throw and long jump will be the first events of the day, simultaneously starting at 10 a.m. The first men's field event will be the long jump, scheduled to begin at 11:40 a.m. The last field event will be the men's triple jump at 3:20 p.m.
?The running events open with the mile run, with the women lining up at noon and the men at 12:15 p.m.? The day will close with the mile relay at 4 p.m. for the women and 4:10 p.m. for the men. Sooner staff will be closely monitoring the weather over the next 48 hours. Any changes to the schedule caused by possible winter weather will be posted at SoonerSports.com as well as social media platforms.
Competing in the Opener will be Grambling, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, South Plains, Western Texas Community College and Rogers State University.
While there may be initial nerves or jitters for freshmen and veterans alike, the first time they line up for their event, it is essential that they channel those emotions into their performance and rely on their technique and preparation to this point.
“We hope that they are excited but we also hope that they are calm enough,” VanHootegem says. “There's a reality that it is a competition and there should be those adrenaline levels that are going a little bit higher than what it is in practice.? The athletes have to have the ability to calm themselves and stay calm. They need to be able to go out and execute as if it were practice with those adrenaline levels.”
At this point, it is just about going out and executing after the months of individual and team practices and training.
“We are absolutely ready,” VanHootegem confidently states.? “There is not, and there shouldn't be, one person on our team who, at this point in time, shouldn't be ready to compete. We are at the point in where we aren't going to get to where we want to get to unless we have a competition. We can't keep perfecting things in practice.? It needs a competition.”
Not only does he believe that the team should be ready, but they should be ready to compete with what he calls the “spirit of the competition.”
“We are looking for people to come out. We don't want people to be a little nervous and not give their 100 percent. We want them to come out, do what they're doing and execute their events while understanding it's with the spirit of being in a competition and wearing the Oklahoma uniform.”
Live results will be available at pttiming. A full recap will be available after the meet at SoonerSports.com. Be sure to follow Twitter and Facebook ?(OU_Track) for meet updates. To get additional weather information related to the OKC metro area, check out the OU Emergency Preparedness office's website.
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