Track: OU set for trip to Arkansas
The University of Oklahoma indoor track & field team returns to Fayetteville, Ark., for its third meet of 2008, the Razorback Invitational hosted by the University of Arkansas. The two-day event kicks off Friday in Arkansas’ Randal Tyson Complex.
The meet will feature Oklahoma’s largest group of competitors on the season as more than 40 OU athletes will compete across 25 events.
The trip also marks OU’s second of the season to Fayetteville after competing in the Arkansas Invitational, Jan. 11. Three individual titles were claimed by Sooners in the event as Tony Clement took top honors in the 800-meter run while Sheldon Leith claimed the title in the 60-meter hurdles and Shardae Boutte finished first in the long jump.
The Oklahoma men, ranked 17th in the Trackwire Top 25, claim eight top-three spots in the Big 12 rankings, led by senior horizontal jumper Boutte. Boutte, the reigning Big 12 outdoor triple jump champion, is currently ranked first in the conference and third in the nation in the long jump after his personal-best jump of 24 feet and 11.75 inches in the Arkansas Invitational.
The long jump is one of six events that features an Oklahoma student-athlete atop the rankings in the Big 12 Conference. Marcus Pugh (55-meter dash), Tony Clement (800- and 1000-meter run), Rob Sorrell (3000-meter run) and Sheldon Leith (60-meter hurdles) all claim top honors in their respective events.
The Oklahoma men will also be boosted by the season debut of four-time NCAA All-American Chip Heuser in the pole vault.
On the women’s side seven Sooners grace the top-three spots in conference rankings, led by sophomore Latoya Greaves, who is atop the list in both the 55-meter hurdles and the 60-meter hurdles. Greaves is also ranked 15th nationally in the 60-meter hurdles.
The OU women will be a factor in both the 400-meter dash and the 4×400 relay as three Sooners are ranked in top four of the Big 12 in the 400. Tijahnni Newton, Jasmine Still and Leslie Cole are ranked second, third and fourth, respectively, and help comprise the 4×400 relay that is ranked second in the conference.
The meet will feature several notable teams including four Big 12 Conference foes in Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas and Texas A&M. The Sooner men face three top-10 teams in No. 5 LSU, No. 9 Arkansas and No. 10 Baylor while No. 1 LSU, No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 9 Arkansas and No. 11 Texas highlight the field facing the Sooner women.
The event is slated to begin Friday with the men’s heptathlon at 12 p.m. in the Randal Tyson Track Complex.
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