Sooners Solid in Big 12 Rankings

May 07, 2017 | Track and Field

By: Debbie Copp

NORMAN – The temperatures have jumped up and students all over campus are studying for finals. If you are an OU track and field student-athlete, that can mean only one thing. It's time for the Big 12 Championship.

The Sooners will leave Wednesday afternoon for Lawrence, Kan., and the 21st annual Big 12 meet. While conference rankings can determine lanes, they don't produce wins or team points. Still, student-athletes who compete for OU are among the leaders in several events and that typically is a good sign for OU.

With all the competitions before the conference meet wrapped up, a total of 19 OU results rank in the top 5 in the Big 12 and that doesn't count the women's 4x100- or 4x400-meter relays. Expand the list to the top 10 as the top 8 score points and you add 29 individual marks and two men's relays. Bottom line for OU is that the potential to score points is there.

While the Sooners have no one ranked number 1 heading into the meet, there are plenty of 2s and 3s and those can add up to big results. Following is a list of the rankings (by event) as of Sunday, five days out from the start.

#2 - Ama Pipi, 200; Women's 1,600-meter relay; Jess Woodard, shot put; Gabby Kearney, javelin

#3 - Leya Buchanan, 100; Dylan Blankenbaker, 5,000; Blankenbaker, 3000 steeplechase; Women's 400-meter relay; Dean White, high jump; Hayden McClain, triple jump; Ashley Bryant, hammer; T.J. Nooonan

#4 - Pipi, 400; McClain, long jump; Baileh Simms, long jump; Meia Gordon, shot put; Woodard, discus

#5 - Brittany Tretbar, 10,000; Olivia Haggerty, 100 hurdles; Meagan Gray, pole vault

#6 - Isabella Rose, 10,000; Men's 400-meter relay; Carl Williams, high jump; Bradley Daboub, shot put; Gordon, shot put; Charles Nguyen, hammer; Makayla Stephens, heptathlon

#7 - Grayson Haws, 1500; Eric Alldritt, 10,000; Liam Meirow, 3000 steeplechase; Emma Dahl, 3000 steeplechase; Stephens, high jump; Thomas Cheval, long jump

#8 - Elena Arriaza, 10,000; Bryce Douglas, 110 hurdles; Medinah Spencer, 400 IH; Sarah Scott, 3000 steeplechase; Kenzie Shell, pole vault

#9 - Trae Armstrong, 100; Haws, 800; Douglas, 400 IH; Mia Mukes, 400 IH; Men's 1,600-meter relay; Everette Favor, pole vault; Greg Vann, long jump; Jenny Carmichael, discus; Marcus Mitchell, triple jump

#10 - Amanda Van Buren, 100; Jacob Burcham, 1500; Tyler Hart, 400 IH; Shonderius Howard, high jump; Daboub, discus

Of those Sooners ranked in the top 10, eight are true or redshirt freshmen while another 14 are competing as seniors in their final Big 12 Championship.

Action begins at 11 a.m. Friday with the start of the men's 10-event decathlon. The women's 7-event heptathlon starts at 11:30 a.m. The men will compete in five events on day 1 while the women are scheduled for 4 events on the first day. Field event finals will start at 1 p.m. and will feature the men's and women's hammer and the men's and women's javelin. The men's and women's 10,000-meter run final will close out the first day at 8:15 p.m.

On Saturday, the multis open the competition with the men's starting at 10 a.m. and the women at 11 a.m. Field event finals start at 3 p.m. and the running prelims start at 4 p.m. The final events of the night, the 3,000-meter steeplechase, are finals and set to start at 7:45 p.m. It will be final events only on Sunday, starting with field event finals beginning at 2:30 p.m. Running event finals will start at 5 p.m. and the team trophy presentations are scheduled for 9 p.m.

While a win at the Big 12 does not automatically send you to the NCAA West Prelims May 25-27 in Austin, the conference meet is the final opportunity to improve a qualifying time. The qualifiers for the NCAA will be announced Thursday, May 18. The top 48 in individual events and the top 24 in relay events will compete in the East and West prelims.

The top 12 individuals and relays from each of the two prelim sites will advance to the national championship. The top 24, determined by the descending order list, in the decathlon and heptathlon will advance directly to the NCAA Championship.