Sooners Shine at Aztec Invitational

March 24, 2018 | Track and Field

By: Patrick Dunn

NORMAN —The University of Oklahoma track and field team impressed this weekend at the Aztec Invitational, held Friday-Saturday at the Aztrack Sports Deck on the campus of San Diego State.

OU head coach Jim VanHootegem recapped the West Coast meet, "Our Friday was really good, starting with the hammer throwers. The distance team did a nice job in the evening, too. A lot of good things also happened with the sprinters and jumpers this weekend."

“Obviously a school record mark with Jess Woodard in the women's discus is a great thing. When you think of OU track and field, it's pretty special to throw the farthest anyone has ever thrown. I might've been more impressed with her efforts to come back and win the shot put. I think she was pretty tired and struggling but she found a way in the end. That's what leaders do and good athletes do," VanHootegem added.

The Sooners began competition on Friday with four victories, beginning with the women's hammer throw where senior Ashley Bryant won the event with a PR throw of 208-3 (63.48 meters). The mark stands at second all-time in OU history. Also setting personal records in the women's hammer was freshman Lauren Jones and sophomore Camille Burge with throws of 173-11 (53.01 meters) and 169-0 (51.52 meters), respectively, to take sixth and eighth.

In the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, Sarah Scott took first to claim the Sooners second event title on the weekend with a time of 10:27.44. Liam Meirow won the invitational section of the men's steeple with a time of 9:21.86.

It was a Sooners sweep in the 5,000 meters Friday evening. On the women's side, sophomore Isabella Rose took first with a time of 17:17.30, while Eric Alldritt claimed the men's title, finishing in 14:46.47. Two personal bests were set in the 1,500-meter runs. Senior Belle Wallace took third in the women's invite with a personal best time of 4:21.39. OU claimed two top-five spots in the men's 1,500. Sophomore Heath Warren took second with a PR time of 3:49.53, while sophomore Calvin Miller placed third in the event, finishing in 3:51.89.

The Sooners began day two of competition at the Aztec Invitational with a third-place finish in the women's 4x1 relay, finishing in a time of 45.94. In the men's 4x1 relay, Oklahoma 'A' took third with a time of 40.55, while Oklahoma 'B' finished seventh in 42.34. Freshman Camri Austin had a strong performance in the women's 100-meter hurdles, claiming third with a time of 13.80. Senior CeCe Jackson finished 17th in 15.16.

Two more PRs were set in the 400 meters for the Sooners. In the women's 400-meter dash, freshman Evette Blanks placed second with a personal best time of 54.89. In the men's section, freshman Isaiah Levingston took fourth out of collegiate competition with a PR time of 48.33.

Saturday morning's field events included the long jump competition in which five Sooners took home top-10 finishes. In the women's long jump, freshman Essence Thomas took fifth place with a PR mark of 19-6.25 (5.95 meters). Senior Thomas Cheval claimed the men's long jump title with a jump of 24-8.25 (7.52 meters). Finishing eighth in the event was junior Greg Vann, jumping 23-6 (7.16 meters). Freshmen Langdon Williams and Garry Williams finished ninth and tenth in the event with jumps of 23-3.25 (7.09 meters) and 22-11.25 (6.99 meters), respectively.

More top-five finishes were claimed in the afternoon's field events for the Sooners. In the women's high jump, freshman Falyn Reaugh took home a tie for first, clearing 5-7.25 (1.71 meters). In the men's pole vault, sophomore Lucas Kelley and senior Steven Jazdyk tied for fourth place, clearing the bar at 15-1.50 (4.61 meters). Junior Meagan Gray tied for first out of collegiate competition in the women's pole vault, clearing 13-0.25 (3.97 meters), while fellow junior Sydney King took fifth out of collegiate competitors with a mark of 12-6.25 (3.82 meters).

In the women's discus competition, senior Jess Woodard finished second with a personal best throw of 187-5 (57.13 meters), a mark that stands for first in Sooners history. Also claiming a top-five finish was freshman Lauren Jones with a PR mark of 160-10 (49.04 meters). Competing in the men's discus, sophomore Bradley Daboub and freshman Cooper Campbell finished ninth and 17th with respective throws of 162-3 (49.45 meters) and 145-4 (44.30 meters).

Concluding the meet's field events was the men's triple jump and women's shot put events. In the men's triple jump, freshman Eneko Carrascal finished fourth out of collegiate competition with a mark of 47-2.50 (14.39 meters). The Sooners added another victory in the women's shot put with Jess Woodard throwing 57-7 (17.60 meters) to take first in the event.

Competing in the women's 100-meter dash, senior Leya Buchanan claimed second with a PR time of 11.29, a time good for fourth all-time in OU history. Sophomore Amanda Van Buren finished in 11.78 seconds to take ninth in the event.

Three personal bests were set in the 800 meters competition. In the women's race, senior Elise Moore placed fifth with a PR time of 2:12.48. On the men's side, sophomore Calvin Miller took second out of collegiate competitors with a personal best time of 1:51.53. Also setting a PR was sophomore Heath Warren, finishing in 1:54.52 to finish seventh out of collegiate competition in the event.

The Sooners went 1-2 out of collegiate competition in the women's 400-meter hurdles with Medinah Spencer claiming first with a time of 59.74, while Mia Mukes took second in 1:00.51. In the men's 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Bryce Douglas finished seventh out of collegiate competitors with a time of 54.69.

OU claimed three of the top five spots in the women's 200-meter dash. Senior Ama Pipi won the event with a time of 23.14, while sophomore Amanda Van Buren and freshman Ja'Leesa Giles took third and fourth, finishing in 23.83 and 23.92, respectively. In the men's 200-meter dash, sophomore Xavier Brown set a PR with a time of 21.29 to claim second. Fellow sophomore Jackson Webb also recorded a personal best time of 21.42 to take seventh place.

In the final track event of the meet, the Sooners' men's relay team finished fifth in the men's 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:20.36.

"To come away from a track meet where a lot of good things happened in all four of those areas (throws, jumps, sprints, distance), that's a sign we had a pretty good track meet and that we're doing the right things as a team. It was a good week in San Diego and now we're looking forward to moving on to the Texas Relays,” Coach Jim VanHootegem said.

The Sooners return to the track in Austin, Texas, to compete at the Texas Relays, beginning Mar. 28 at the Mike A. Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas.

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