University of Oklahoma Athletics

OU Track & Field Heads to ISU Invitational :: Sooners return to scene of past success.

OU Track & Field Heads to ISU Invitational :: Sooners return to scene of past success. OU Track & Field Heads to ISU Invitational

Sooners return to scene of past success.




Senior Raoul Harvey will lead the Sooners into Ames this weekend for the ISU Invitaitonal. Last year, Harvey and the Sooners used the ISU track to post an NCAA provisional mark in the 1600-meter relay.

Feb. 7, 2002

Audio

  • Coach Price

    NORMAN, Okla. - The OU track and field teams will head north this weekend for the Iowa State Invitational. Part of the Sooner team left today and the rest who are going to Ames will leave Friday.

    Action begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday with events scheduled through 6:30 p.m. Friday, then resuming at 10 a.m. Saturday. The final event is scheduled for 6:50 p.m. Saturday.

    National Rankings
    The Sooner men are ranked ninth in the nation in this week's Trackwire top 25.The OU men are one of nine men's or women's teams from the Big 12 to earn a spot in the top 25.

    The Last Time Out
    A huge performance by the Sooner pole vaulters was the highlight of the second annual J.D. Martin Invitational on Feb. 2. Sophomore Leslie Dunlap got the action going by posting an all-time Big 12 best in the pole vault with a 13-5.75. The mark was an automatic NCAA qualifier for the 2002 NCAA Championships to be held March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Ark. It was set a meet and school record, breaking the school mark Dunlap set earlier this season. It marked the fifth time in five indoor meets this season for Dunlap to clear an NCAA provisional or automatic mark. The men then moved to center stage on the vault runway and it took an NCAA provisional mark just to finish in the top eight of the competition. OU senior Michael McNamara won the meet on fewer misses with a 17-10.5. OU junior Michael Westlund was second, also with a 17-10.5. OU freshman Austin Landreth finished eighth with a 17-0.75 to be the final qualifier from the pole vault. A pair of Sooners, Moses Washington in the 600 and Aldwynn Sappleton in the 800, each won their event in meet record time, then joined Raoul Harvey and Ernest Lewis on the winning mile relay which claimed a meet record. Another Sooner, L'eron George, won the 200 in meet record time, improving a mark he set last year.

    Last Year at ISU
    OU freshman Leslie Dunlap posted a season best in the pole vault of 12-9.5 to win the women's pole vault title. Dunlap's winning mark set a stadium record and beat the NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Senior Janel Hayes finished third in the long jump with an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 20-3.75. It set an OU school record, breaking the mark she set in 2000. The quartet of Ernest Lewis, Moses Washington, Raoul Harvey and LaBoris Bean combined for a 3:08.23 in the 1600-meter relay to win and post an NCAA provisional qualifying mark. Other Sooners who placed among the best in the meet included LaKisha Robinson, who ran a 1:24.55 to win the 600-yard run title, Lewis, who finished second in the open 400 with a season-best and NCAA provisional time of 46.73, Bean, who was seventh with a season-best 47.52, Staneshia Bell,, who finished second in the women's 60 with a 7.50, Alesha Peel, who was third in the women's 60-meter hurdles with an 8.37, Bambi Carson who recorded her third consecutive 50-plus effort in the shot put, finishing fourth in the event with a toss of 50-3.25, another NCAA provisional mark, and Jimyria Hicks, who finished third in the 200. Sooner volunteer coach, Kurt Hanna, won the men's pole vault title with a jump of 17-6.50.

    Big 12 Athlete of the Week -- Add Another One
    OU sophomore Leslie Dunlap was named women's Big 12 Track and Field Athlete of the Week for the second time this season after winning J.D. Martin Invitational title with an NCAA automatic qualifying mark of 13-5.75. Dunlap also earned conference track and field athlete of the week on Jan. 21 after finishing fourth in the women's elite collegiate division at the USA Track and Field Pole Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. Dunlap is currently the fourth ranked pole vaulter in the nation and the mark Saturday was an all-time best in the Big 12 Conference for women. It changed the school record she had set just two weeks ago at the Oklahoma Track Classic and set a meet record. It also was the third time for her to clear 13-0 or better in the last four meets.

    Other Sooners who have been honored include Michael McNamara (Jan. 21) and Jason Stanley (Jan. 7).

    NCAA Update
    The Sooners have two automatic qualifiers for the 2002 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to be held March 8-9 in Fayetteville, Ark. Michael McNamara became OU's first automatic qualifier when he cleared 18-0.5 at the Oklahoma Track Classic. Leslie Dunlap moved from provisional to automatic with her effort at the J.D. Martin Invitational.

    OU has three provisional qualifiers. Freshman Jason Stanley got an NCAA provisional in the 60-meter hurdles in his first collegiate meet on Dec. 1. Junior Michael Westlund improved his provisional mark to 17-10.5 at the J.D. Martin and freshman Austin Landreth cleared 17-0.5 to join the provisional list.

    Next Up
    The Sooners will return to Norman to host the final indoor meet of the 2002 season, the Sooner Indoor, next Saturday. Action will begin at 10 a.m. at the Mosier Indoor Facility.