OU Finishes Duo of Meets

Friday, January 25

Lubbock, Texas

TBA

University of Oklahoma

Texas Tech Classic & Multis

January 26, 2019 | Track and Field

By: Athletics Communications

NEW YORK CITY — The Oklahoma men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up a pair of meets across the country on Saturday. Over the span of three days, the Sooners competed in 19 events at the Dr. Sander Invitational/Columbia Challenge in New York City, while eight Sooners traveled to Lubbock, Texas, for three events at the Texas Tech Classic and Multis.

At the historic New York City Armory, both the men's and women's teams finished in sixth place overall. The women's team earned 51 points, while the men's team collected 53 points.

"I think we handled the conditions well," OU head coach Jim VanHootegem said. "There's a little more stress when you come to New York. I think that was a good step forward. We are a team that can do those sorts of things.

"I think this is the first time I felt a little bit of some tiredness amongst the team. They didn't necessarily let it affect their energy," VanHootegem continued. "Obviously, there were some great performances. It was definitely an outstanding weekend for our distance runners."

The Sooners started the day strong in the men's 3,000-meter races. Senior Jacob Janzen (8:24.42) and junior Zach Gentry (8:27.76) grabbed a 2-3 finish in their heat, with Gentry claiming a personal-best mark. In the overall standings, Janzen took 22nd place, with Gentry behind him at 24th and junior Brendan Taylor (8:42.12) finishing in 34th place.

On the women's side, OU saw freshman Haley Herberg finish as runner-up with a time of 9:24.53, putting her sixth in the Sooners' all-time top-10 3K marks. At ninth place, senior Sarah Scott clocked in at 9:38.51, and freshman Elise Boisvert crossed the line in 10:06.03 to complete her first collegiate 3K and finish in 25th place overall.

The Sooners collected two more top-10 finishes in the men's mile from junior Heath Warren and sophomore Ackeen Colley. Warren followed up his win at the Corky Classic two weeks ago with a seventh-place 4:10.82, while Colley took 10th, crossing the line in 4:12.91.

All three Oklahoma women in the 400-meter dash turned in impressive performances, led by sophomore Jai'lyn Merriweather's fourth-place 55.45. Sophomore Dai'lyn Merriweather ran an indoor personal-best 55.52 to earn fifth place, while freshman Kennedy Blackmon finished eighth at 55.96 in her collegiate 400-meter debut. Each Sooner placed in the top eight from a field of 42 competitors.

When it arrived at the pit for the triple jump, Oklahoma caught fire. Sophomore Essence Thomas won the event, leaping 41-8.75 (12.72m). Three other Sooners collected top-10 finishes and personal-best marks: Nichole Ezeoke (fourth; 12.33m), Allanah Lee (fifth; 12.30m) and Najuana Strickland (seventh; 12.06m). Ezeoke moves on to the program's all-time performance list at 10th.

The Sooners saw nearly the same success in the men's triple jump, led by sophomore Papay Glaywulu's second-place 51-10.5 (15.81m). Golden Eke continued his strong freshman indoor season by topping his previous best triple jump mark. Eke finished in seventh place with a jump of 49-4.25 (15.04m).

Back on the track, OU competed in the women's 200-meter dash. Sophomore Ja'Leesa Giles led the Sooners in the dash, securing fifth place and clocking in at 24.20. Juniors Amanda Van Buren and Mahendra McWhite recorded a 24.68 and 25.58, respectively, and sophomore Camri Austin tallied a 25.08.

Freshman Bayley Campbell closed out the Columbia Challenge on a strong note for OU. He improved his program all-time top-10 mark, which he threw at last week's Sooner Challenge, to 61-11 (18.87m). Campbell sits at third on the list. Sophomore Edward Jeans finished in 12th place with a toss of 53-9.25 (16.39m).

On the Texas Tech campus in Lubbock, Texas, five Sooners competed in the women's pole vault Saturday to wrap up action at the Texas Tech Classic and Multis. Junior Meagan Gray and sophomore Colleen Clancy went 3-4, both clearing 13-4.25 (4.07m). The mark is a personal record for Clancy, who moves on to OU's all-time top-10 performance list at number six. Four of the top six performers on the list are active Sooners.

Earlier in the weekend, freshman Kristo Simulask took second place in the heptathlon, recording the third-best score on OU's all-time top-10 performance list at 5.506 points.

"It was good to see some of the pole vaulters take a step forward at Texas Tech," VanHootegem said. "It was an outstanding debut for Kristo (Simulask) in the heptathlon. Definitely, another weekend where we can point to a lot of steps forward, but everyone has got to be hungry to continue taking those steps forward."

Up next, the Sooners host their second indoor home meet of the season, the annual J.D. Martin Invitational. The meet is set to begin Saturday, Feb. 2, at 10 a.m. CT in Mosier Indoor Facility. Admission is free to fans.

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.