March 7, 2013
NORMAN, Okla. - Three University of Oklahoma student-athletes and the men's distance medley relay team are set to compete at the 2013 Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships Friday and Saturday, March 8-9, at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., at the University of Arkansas.
The meet will be broadcast live on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app on Friday, March 8 beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET and Saturday, March 9 beginning at 7 p.m. ET. A full highlight package of the 2013 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships will air on Sunday, March 17 at 7 p.m. ET on ESPNU. Prior to the start of the ESPN coverage, fans can watch the meet live online through ArkansasRazorbacks.com.
Redshirt senior Kevin Williams makes his NCAA debut and opens the competition for Oklahoma on Friday at 8:15 p.m. CT in the men's 5,000 meter run. Williams has run the event twice this season with a winning, personal-best time of 13:38.57 at the Flotrack Husky Invitational, and a third-place finish at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships (13:58.73).
The quartet of Frezer Legesse, Jamel Wood, Malcolm Wankel and Patrick Casey will follow William's lead at 9:00 p.m. on Friday with the distance medley relay. Both Legesse and Wood were members of last year's DMR that finished sixth at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships. The event marks Wankel's NCAA Championship debut, while it will be Casey's first trip to the meet in the Crimson and Cream.
Just a week ago the group combined to break the program record after they stopped the clock in 9:29.44 at the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind. Frezer Legesse ran the first leg of 1,200-meters, and was followed by Jamel Wood and Malcolm Wankel who ran 400 and 800 meters, respectively. Patrick Casey, who took home two individual Big 12 titles in Ames, Iowa, anchored Oklahoma with his 1,600-meter run to propel the quartet past the 9:30.00 barrier to own the school record.
Senior Claire McConnell will make the first trip of her career to the NCAA Indoor Championship meet in the women's pentathlon on Saturday morning. The combined events will run on a rolling schedule with 30 minutes between each event. The pentathlon competition is scheduled to begin at 11:45 a.m. with the 60-meter hurdles.
Defending shot put national champion and redshirt senior, Tia Brooks, will wrap up competition for the Sooners at 4:00 p.m. in the women's shot put. She enters the competition as the nation's leader in the event with a leading mark of 61-6.75 (18.76m). A three-time All American in the event (two indoor, one outdoor), Brooks was second in the event in 2011 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
Last year Brooks clinched the title with a record throw of 62-4.00 en route to becoming only the second NCAA female to throw 62 feet or better in the event. Additionally, she followed her indoor championship with her first title at the outdoor Division I Track and Field national meet to become the 12th woman in NCAA history to sweep indoor and outdoor titles in the same season.
