Three Sooners Claim Titles at Texas A&M Challenge
COLLEGE STATION, Texas — OU claimed three individual wins to help lead the Big 12 to a win Saturday at the Texas A&M Challenge, a conference challenge between the Big 12, Sunbelt, Southland and Conferences. The Big 12 men finished with 271 team points, 52 of which came from OU athletes, topping the 152 of the Southland Conference, the second-best finisher. On the women’s side, the Big 12 women compiled 362.5 points, 124 from OU, to top all competitors. The Southland Conference was second with 104 points.
The Sooners were led by Ti’Anca Mock, Chenale Smith and Jasmine Simmons, winners in the long, high and triple jump, respectively, as the Oklahoma program accounted for 18 top-three finishes.
It was a sweep for the top two spots in the women’s long jump as Mock claimed her first long jump title of the season with a top jump of 19-10.25 (6.05). Mock was joined in the final standings by Jasmine Simmons who was second with a distance of 19-2.00 (5.84). The final marks for both were season bests as Mock moved to eighth on the national descending order list. OU led the event from wire-to-wire as Simmons was the event leader thru the first four rounds before Mock overtook the lead for the final two rounds.
As it was in the long jump, it was a Sooner sweep of the top two spots in the high jump as Smith continued her personal best improvement in the event, winning with a height of 5-7.75 (1.72). Kristen Rice was second with a 5-5.75 (1.67). The win is Smith’s first of her collegiate career and comes one week after Smith improved her PR by two inches at the Arkansas Invitational.
Simmons closed out the Oklahoma title run for the day in the triple jump with a top mark of 42-6.75 (12.97), just five inches away from a new PR. Simmons fouled on her first two attempts before unleashing her top jump on her third attempt to move atop the leader board where she topped Baylor’s Jessica Ubanyionwu, who entered the meet ranked fourth to Simmons’ sixth. The win moved Simmons into the nation’s lead.
Candyce McGrone recorded the fourth fastest 60-meter dash in OU history as she finished third with a time of 7.39. A transfer from Florida State, McGrone was followed across the line by another Sooner newcomer as Shawna Anderson was fourth with a time of 7.48. Sherine Wells finished eighth in the event with a time of 7.59.
McGrone followed that up just 35 minutes later with the fourth-fastest 200-meter dash in OU history, finishing third with a time of 23.56. The time is the third fastest in the nation this season behind Saturday’s 23.25 of Texas A&M’s Jessica Beard and the 23.44 of Texas A&M’s Jeneba Tarmoh. Shawna Anderson was sixth with a time of 24.39.
A recent mid-year addition to the Oklahoma roster, Alexandra Acker added her name to the OU record book as she cleared the fifth-best height in program history, 12-8.25 (3.87), to tie teammate Sarah Pappas for second in the event. Pappas holds the fourth-best height in OU history with a 2010 mark of 12-10.00 (3.91).
The men’s mile saw two Oklahoma freshmen make their collegiate debuts and respond with top-three finishes. Colin Slattery was the first across in second with a time of 4:14.90 while Richard Renteria was third with a time of 4:15.91. Slattery narrowly missed picking up a win in the event, finishing just behind the time of 4:14.85 run by Baylor’s Zac Flowers, a junior.
Jessica Engel returned to an indoor track for the first time in two years after redshirting the 2010 indoor season and promptly responded by clocking the fastest 3,000-meter run in the Martin Smith era, finishing second with a time of 9:47.72. The time is also the sixth fastest in Oklahoma history as Engel was less than a second away from winning the event. Engel was followed across the finish line by teammate Molly Ferguson who was third with a time of 9:57.00.
The women’s 4×400-meter relay of Shakeeri Cole, Sherine Wells, Shelleyeka Rolle, Candyce McGrone claimed second in the event with a time of 3:44.29. The Sooners led after each of the first three legs before Texas A&M took over on the fourth and final leg to win with a time of 3:43.38.
In the men’s version of the 3,000-meter run, redshirt-freshman Patrick Gomez competed in his first event wearing the Oklahoma uniform and claimed second in the event with a time of 8:37.65. Gomez came close to running down the event winner, North Texas’ Patrick Strong, who won the event with a time of 8:37.35.
The women’s 800-meter run results had three Sooners in the top five as newcomer Shakeeri Cole was third with a time of 2:13.30. Natalie Crain was fourth in a time of 2:14.42 and was followed by freshman Kelsey Brown in fifth with a time of 2:14.82.
Alex Madkins opened his junior year with a third-place finish in the men’s long jump. Madkins’ top mark of 23-3.50 (7.10) came on his sixth and final attempt as he moved from fifth to third with the effort.
The men’s 4×400 relay of Remuro Henry, Mookie Salaam, Trayvion Jones, Marcus Anderson closed out the day of action in College Station with a third-place finish, clocking a time of 3:10.56.
Salaam, the 2010 Big 12 champion in the 60-meter dash, ran a longer distance on Saturday, finishing fourth in his first ever collegiate 400-meter dash with a time of 47.64. Eric Bailey was sixth with a time of 47.73.
Next week Oklahoma hosts its first home meet of the 2011 season, the 11th annual J.D. Martin Invitational. Action inside the Mosier Indoor Facility is slated to begin at 10 a.m. Admission to the event is free.
Oklahoma Final Results:
Women’s 60-Meter Hurdles: 8. Jesica Ejesieme 8.99; 14. Claire McConnell 9.34.
Women’s 60-Meter Dash: 3. Candyce McGrone 7.39; 4. Shawna Anderson 7.48; 8. Sherine Wells 7.59
Men’s 60-Meter Dash: 11. Marcus Anderson 7.00
Men’s Mile Run: 2. Colin Slattery 4:14.90; 3. Richard Renteria 4:15.91.
Women’s 400-Meter Dash: 5. Shelleyeka Rolle 56.40; 18. Jesica Ejesieme 59.56; 20. Scottesha Miller 59.66
Men’s 400-Meter Dash: 4. Mookie Salaam 47.64; 6. Eric Bailey 47.73; 15. Trayvion Jones 49.61; 18. Nathaniel Winfrey 50.27
Women’s 800-Meter Run: 3. Shakeeri Cole 2:13.30; 4. Natalie Crain 2:14.42; 5. Kelsey Brown 2:14.82
Men’s 800-Meter Run: 5. Frezer Legesse 1:52.70; 6. Taylor Wardall 1:52.94; 7. Alex Muntefering 1:53.78; 10. Malcolm Wankel 1:54.47; 16. Ross Larimer 1:56.95.
Women’s 200-Meter Dash: 3. Candyce McGrone 23.56; 6. Shawna Anderson 24.39; 17. Sherine Wells 25.43; 34. Ti’Anca Mock 26.65
Men’s 200-Meter Dash: 8. Remuro Henry 21.84; 12. Evan Pierson 21.98; 13. Marcus Anderson 22.00; 15. Daniel Nix 22.04; 18. Jeremy Rankin 22.21
Women’s 3,000-Meter Run: 2. Jessica Engel 9:47.42; 3. Molly Ferguson 9:57.00; 8. Hilary Krein 10:13.01.
Men’s 3,000-Meter Run: 2. Patrick Gomez 8:37.65
Women’s 4×400-Meter Relay: 2. Shakeeri Cole, Sherine Wells, Shelleyeka Rolle, Candyce McGrone 3:44.29
Men’s 4×400-Meter Relay: 3. Remuro Henry, Mookie Salaam, Trayvion Jones, Marcus Anderson 3:10.56; 10. Daniel Nix, Eric Bailey, Evan Pierson, Nathaniel Winfrey 3:18.38.
Women’s Long Jump: 1. Ti’Anca Mock 19-10.25 (6.05); 2. Jasmine Simmons 19-2.00 (5.84); 9. Kristen Carson 17-10.25 (5.44); 30. Claire McConnell 15-7.50 (4.76).
Women’s Shot Put: 18. Claire McConnell 32-10.50 (10.02).
Women’s Pole Vault: 2. Alexandra Acker 12-8.25 (3.87); 2. Sarah Pappas 12-8.25 (3.87); 7. Morgan Nichols 10-6.25 (3.21)
Women’s High Jump: 1. Chenale Smith 5-7.75 (1.72); 2. Kristen Rice 5-5.75 (1.67)
Men’s High Jump: 17. Landon Sharp 6-4.75 (1.95)
Men’s Long Jump: 3. Alex Madkins 23-3.50 (7.10)
Women’s Triple Jump: 1. Jasmine Simmons 42-6.75 (12.97)
Updated 01-16-2011
READER COMMENTS
