Sooners Begin Outdoor Season With Five Wins

March 17, 2018 | Track and Field

By: Patrick Dunn

NORMAN – The University of Oklahoma track and field team began their outdoor season this weekend at the TCU Invitational held at the Lowdon Track and Field Complex on the campus of TCU in Fort Worth, Texas.

The weekend was highlighted by five event titles on Saturday, including a sweep in the high jump competition and three out of the top five finishers in the women's 200-meter dash.

Head coach Jim VanHootegem recapped the weekend before looking ahead, “We were pleased with the energy and overall competitiveness of our team this weekend. We came away healthy and felt like it was a good first meet of the outdoor season for us.”

“Now, we're looking forward to those who rested this weekend joining our team for competition next weekend in San Diego,” VanHootegem added.

The Sooners' competition began Friday with the women's discus. Sophomore Meia Gordon took second with a best throw of 178-05 (54.39 meters). Freshmen Lauren Jones and Alyssa Miller took third and sixth, respectively, with best marks of 158-11 (48.43 meters) and 142-11 (43.57 meters). Sophomore Sierra Sheen finished 10th with a throw of 133-08 (40.75 meters).

In the women's hammer throw Friday, the Sooners claimed two top-five finishes with Lauren Jones taking fourth with a throw of 172-09 (52.66 meters) and sophomore Camille Burge finishing fifth, her best throw measuring 164-02 (50.05 meters).

Day two of the meet began with the javelin throw, in which OU freshman Josh Haus finished seventh with a best throw of 172-06 (52.57 meters). In the men's long jump, fellow Sooners' freshman Langdon Williams took home a top-ten finish, jumping 21-11.75 (6.70 meters) to take eighth.

The Sooners claimed their first event titles of the 2018 outdoor season with a high jump sweep on Saturday. Freshman Falyn Reaugh took first in the women's event, clearing 5-08 (1.73 meters) before senior Carl Williams claimed first in men's competition, jumping 6-08.75 (2.05 meters). Out of collegiate competition in the women's pole vault, junior Meagan Gray placed second with her best mark measuring 12-11.75 (3.96 meters). Fellow junior Sydney King took sixth and freshman Abby Bilsbury finished eighth out of collegiate competitors, clearing 12-06 (3.81 meters) and 12-00 (3.66 meters), respectively. In the men's pole vault, OU sophomore Lucas Kelley placed third, clearing 15-07.25 (4.76 meters).

OU took home two top-five finishes in the women's shot put with sophomore Meia Gordon finishing 2nd with a best throw of 53-01.50 (16.19 meters) and freshman Lauren Jones taking fourth, her best mark being 47-01 (14.35 meters). Freshman Alyssa Miller placed 15th, throwing 40-02.75 (12.26 meters). In the men's shot put, sophomore Bradley Daboub finished second, throwing 57-09.50 (17.61 meters).

Beginning the day's track events, the Sooners swept the 4x100-meter relay races. The women's team of Amanda Van Buren, Hailey Patterson, Ja'Leesa Giles, and Leya Buchanan took first, finishing in 44.33, a time good for eighth all-time in Sooners' history. The Oklahoma 'A' men's team of Bennie Wesley, Joseph Sheffield, Jackson Webb, and Xavier Brown won the men's 4x100 with a time of 39.87, also good for eighth all-time in OU history. The Oklahoma 'B' men's group took seventh in 42.32.

Coach VanHootegem added, “The field competitors really set the tone to begin, then it was a good way to start the track day winning the men's and women's 4x100 relays.”

Freshman Camri Austin earned a second-place finish for the Sooners in the women's 100-meter hurdles, crossing the line in 13.51. Senior CeCe Jackson took 14th in the event, finishing in 14.67. Competing in the women's 1,500-meter final, junior Hayley Redwine placed 12th, finishing in 4:46.58.

In the men's 110-meter hurdles, sophomore Bryce Douglas placed fourth with a time of 14.35 seconds. Freshman Isaiah Levingston brought home a top-ten finish in the men's 400-meter dash, finishing in a time of 48.36. Fellow freshmen Larry Murray Jr. finished 14th in 50.05, while Myles Wheeler took 17th with a time of 52.66.

The women's 100-meter dash saw three top-ten finishes out of collegiate competition for the Sooners. Freshman Camri Austin took fifth out of collegiate competitors with a time of 11.65 seconds, sophomore Amanda Van Buren placing sixth in 11.68 and Ja'Leesa Giles finishing eighth in 11.73. In the men's 100-meter dash, freshman Joseph Sheffield took third out of collegiate competition, crossing the line in 10.39. Sophomore Xavier Brown placed eighth out of college competitors with a time of 10.55, while sophomore Jackson Webb claimed 11th in 10.61 seconds.

The Sooners claimed their fifth event title on the weekend in the women's 200-meter dash with Leya Buchanan taking first with an outdoor personal best time of 23.42. Other top-ten OU finishes included Ja'Leesa Giles taking fourth in 23.76, Amanda Van Buren in fifth in 23.83, and Evette Blanks ninth out of collegiate competitors with a time of 24.16. Senior Elise Moore claimed fourth in the women's 800 meters run with a time of 2:14.68 while fellow senior Lauren Gibbs finished 11th in 2:20.86.

Saturday's field events concluded with the men's and women's triple jump competition. On the women's side, junior Najuana Strickland placed fourth with a best jump of 39-03.75 (11.98 meters). Freshman Nura Muhammad took sixth, jumping 38-06.25 (11.74 meters). In the men's triple jump, OU junior Marcus Mitchell placed third with a best mark of 49-10 (15.19 meters) while freshman Garry Williams claimed fourth with a jump of 49-07.75 (15.13 meters).

The TCU Invitational finished Saturday evening with the men's and women's 3,000-meter runs. In the men's event, Sooners' junior Zach Gentry took second with a time of 8:44.64 while fellow junior Brendan Taylor placed third out of collegiate competitors in 8:51.96.

The Oklahoma track and field team returns to action next weekend at the Aztec Invitational in San Diego, Calif. on the campus of San Diego State University.

For more information on Oklahoma track and field, follow the Sooners on Twitter and Instagram (@OU_Track) and like Oklahoma Sooners Track & Field and Cross Country on Facebook.