April 17, 2008
The Sooner Athletic Conference Track Meet, featuring some of the best athletes in the NAIA, hits the campus of Oklahoma Baptist University Saturday.
The SAC Track Meet features some of the best athletes in the NAIA. Oklahoma Baptist has won national indoor and outdoor titles three times since 2005.
The Wayland Baptist women won the indoor national championship this season and will challenge the Lady Bison, who were fourth this year and won it all in 2007 and 2005 indoors. In that 2007 title, OBU was the only team to top Wayland Baptist.
The women's side may be dominated by those two schools, but St. Gregory's, which finished 22nd in March in the national indoor meet, would like to make a statement in their final conference meet before disbanding the team.
OBU's men won the outdoor national championship last season and finished second by less than a point at this year's indoor nationals. OBU is a solid favorite on the men's side, but in the most recent indoor national meet, Oklahoma Christian was 15th, Wayland Baptist and St. Gregory's tied for 24th and Southern Nazarene was 44th.
The meet also has several exciting potential match-ups and talents.
On the women's side OBU is ranked first in the 4x400 and WBU second. The Pioneers have the top-ranked 4x100, while OBU is second. Wayland's Kimberly Smith is ranked second in the 200 meters and OBU's Marrisa Moseley is ranked third.
The women's section also includes for Wayland Baptist Smith as the top-ranked woman in the 100 meters, Purity Biwott ranked second in the 800 and 1500, Erin Britton third in the 800, Caroline Karunde second in the 10,000 and the top-ranked 4x800 team.
OBU brings Moseley as the fastest in the 400 nationally and Sherene Pinnock and Montouya Moore one and two in the 400 hurdles.
The men's 800 could be the top race of the day, featuring second-ranked Justin Duncan of OBU and third-ranked Kirby Dunn of Wayland Baptist. Dunn is also ranked No. 1 in the 1500.
OBU's men also have the No. 2 hurdlers in both the 110 high (Lamar Baskin) and the 400 intermediate (Ross Harlan). The Bison 4x100 is the fastest so far in the NAIA and the 4x400 is rated third.
The meet also features the No. 3 man in the 400, Joe Hughes of St. Gregory's, and the No. 3 pole vaulter, SNU's Adam Ergenbright.