NORMAN —
Brittany Borman wanted to be a heptathlete. Tia Brooks wanted to be a sprinter. As it turns out, they are neither. Also, they’re in London, waiting for their turn on the Olympic stage.
Not bad.
Borman just finished her collegiate career at Oklahoma. Brooks still has two more years in crimson and cream.
Now, they’re red, white and blue.
At the NCAA national meet in June, each secured a national title, Borman in the discus and Brooks in the shot put.
At the Olympic Trials, each punched their London ticket on the same day, Brooks with a third-place finish and Borman with the longest throw of her life on her last throw of the Trials, winning the event and surpassing the Olympic ‘A’ standard all at the same time and all on her birthday.
At some level, Borman has Brooks to thank.
“Tia threw before I did, so after I saw that she had made it, I was emotionally drained,” Borman said. “I was so happy for her. We were hugging and crying. It was just unbelievable.”
If it was draining, it was also liberating.
“I just told her, once I made it,” Brooks said, “’Now, it’s your turn.’”
Borman threw 201-feet, 9-inches, beating her previous best throw at the Trials by about 13 feet. Brooks didn’t have to sweat her entry, earning it when her second heave traveled 60-2.
Though not exactly favorites in London, the Games have a history of bringing the most out of their competitors. Brooks, at least, knows she can throw farther, her personal best coming during the 2012 indoor season, when she reached 62-4.
“Tia’s never been outside the country and this is Brittany’s first real international meet,” said OU assistant track coach Brian Blutreich, who is accompanying both to London as their personal coach. “I think our goal is to try to make the finals and then go from there.”
Very good friends — Brooks will be a part of Borman’s wedding, which is upcoming — before traveling a long way to London, both came a long way to be Sooners.
Brooks is from Grand Rapids, Mich. At East Kentwood High School, she had misgivings about the shot put.
“I didn’t want to be the stereotypical thrower,” she said. “You know, a big girl who can’t run and who isn’t athletic … One of my coaches sat down with my parents and said, ‘Look, she could be really good at this. She has natural talent, and can you just make her try it. This could be her way into college.’”
A compromise was reached. Brooks would be allowed to sprint, but she would also throw.
Borman, from Festus, Mo., began her collegiate career at UCLA, along the way turning down the recruiting efforts of Blutreich.
“Coach Blu recruited me out of high school and I was like, ‘No way, I’m not going to just throw, I’m going to do heptathlon. And he’s like, ‘I’m telling you, you’re just going to be a thrower.’”
By the time she’d finished her freshman year with the Bruins, she was already focusing on the throws, reaching NCAA regional competition in the shot put, discus and javelin.
By 2010, she was throwing for Blutreich at OU, where twice she became Big 12 discus champion in 2010 and 2011, and Big 12 javelin champion in 2011 and 2012.
It’s all worked out.
They’re Olympians.
“To have one of your best friends going,” Brooks said, “is really cool.”
That, too.
Sports
Different paths put OU track & field Olympians on same road
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Central Oklahoma softballers make World Series again
Hayley Hudson gave Central Oklahoma a 5-4 lead with a run-scoring single in the fifth inning and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos staved off a seventh-inning Winona State threat to capture the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional championship Saturday afternoon at Edmond North High School.
The Warriors put two runners on with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in a bid to pull out a late win and force a deciding game in the best-of-three series, but left fielder Devyn Frazier made a running catch in foul territory for the final out to set off a wild celebration on the field.
UCO improved to 47-11 — a school-record for wins — with its 23th consecutive home victory and advanced to the Division II World Series for the second straight year. The Bronchos will face Armstrong Atlantic in the eight-team World Series at 11 a.m. Thursday in Salem, Va.
“I’d say that was a nail-biter,” head coach Genny Stidham said. “It was a good game, both teams played well. Winona has a great team and they didn’t give up, but we came up with some big plays and came out on top. -
Central Oklahoma golf coach picks up award
Central Oklahoma’s Michael Bond has been named the NCAA Division II Central Region Coach of the Year by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association, with Aly Seng and Erica Bensch both earning All-Central Region honors.
Bond led the Bronchos to perhaps the best season in school history in 2012-13 with top-five finishes in 10 of their 12 tournaments. UCO won three titles, including the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association crown and its first-ever regional championship, and finished 10th in the Division II national tournament. -
Workman's blast cranks UCO's engine; Bronchos cruise to 5-2 win
Nicole Workman’s solo home run gave Central Oklahoma a lead it would never relinquish and the No. 19-ranked Bronchos went on to topple Winona State 5-2 in the first game of the NCAA Division II Central Super Regional Friday night at the Edmond North High School Softball Complex.
Workman blasted her 14th homer of the season to lead off the second inning, with UCO adding three runs in the third and one more in the fifth to take a commanding 5-0 lead before the Warriors created some anxious moments in their final at bat.
WSU scored two runs and had runners on second and third on with just one out in the top of the seventh, but Kalynn Shrock got the final two batters to close out her fourth straight complete-game outing of the postseason and put the Bronchos in control of the best-of-three series. -
Richters rip competition at KickingBird
The KickingBird 2-man scramble was won by Jeff and Josh Richter, finishing with a 57.9 on May 11.
Jeff Jester and Kevin Wright wrapped up second-place honors with a 59.9 and Rick Morales and Ronnie Roberts placed third (60.1).
In the second flight, the top score was 60.4 by Jerry Bernhardt and Ted Carter. Picking up silver was the tandem of Jerry Fuller and Ramona Jacobi (61.2) and the third-place squad was Dyke Hoppe and Mark VanSickle at 62.0.
Morales was closest to the pin on No. 6 and Jeff Richter landed a dart on hole 14. -
Eagles' season finished; Lopez earns national honor
Southeastern, Fla. eliminated Oklahoma Christian 4-0 om the National Christian College Athletic Association World Series in Mason, Ohio today to advance to the tournament semifinals, while OC closes at 26-26.
OC would have advanced to the semifinals with a win, but completed a terrific turnaround from an 8-34 season in 2012. The Eagles made only the second national-tournament appearance in the program's history, with the other coming in 1972, when OC finished third in the NAIA World Series. -
Multiple baseball camps offered in Edmond
Edmond Schools baseball coaches Kyle Roberts (Edmond Memorial), Jeff Shafer (Edmond Santa Fe) and Karl King (Edmond North) will instruct the Edmond All-Star Baseball Camps starting May 28 at Edmond North High School.
A pair of all-skills camps will take place for kids ages 5 and older from May 28-31 and June 3-6. Times are the same, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.
On June 7, a pitcher/catcher camp will be offered for ages 8 and older with the identical time frame. Cost is $35 for the pitcher/catcher camp and $125 for the all-skills camp.
For further inquiries, contact Karl King at 863-3570. -
Arthur Hills eating up Bronchos
Central Oklahoma’s struggles continued at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championships in Daytona Beach, Fla. Friday.
The Bronchos made 10 double bogeys and two triple bogeys en route to a season-high 329 score on the rugged 6,228-yard, par-72 Arthur Hills Legends Course at LPGA International, leaving UCO in 10th place with a three-round total of 975.
Nova Southeastern has an 881 total heading into Saturday’s final round, giving the four-time defending champion Sharks a one-shot lead over second-place Lynn. -
Bronchos will make 12th appearance in national golf championship Monday
No. 18-ranked Central Oklahoma will make its 12th appearance in the NCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in Hershey, Pa. next week.
The 54-hole stroke play portion of the tournament runs Monday-Wednesday at the 7,061-yard, par-71 Hershey Country Club East Course, with the top-eight teams from the 20-team field advancing to match play. -
Online registration for 2013 UCO Endeavor Games now open
Registration is now open online for athletes and volunteers for the 2013 University of Central Oklahoma Endeavor Games, June 6-9, the nation’s largest multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities.
Athletes of all ages or sporting experience are invited to register for the event. Community members are also encouraged to register to volunteer with more than 300 volunteer opportunities available.
Similar to the summer Paralympic Games, athletes may register for multiple adaptive sports, which include cycling, indoor archery, outdoor archery, powerlifting, sitting volleyball, shooting, table tennis, track and field, wheelchair basketball, and, for the first time at the UCO Endeavor Games, paratriathlon. The paratriathlon will be limited to athletes over the age of 16 with previous paratriathlon experience. -
Deer Creek drops Carl Albert again for state title
They did it again.
The Deer Creek girls soccer team knocked off rival Carl Albert in the Class 5A state soccer title game for the second consecutive season.
The Lady Antlers, led by freshman Lauren Haivala’s two goals, topped the Titans 2-1 May 10 at Noble High School.
On May 7, Deer Creek blanked Tulsa Edison 2-zip in the semifinals for a chance to play for its fourth state championship in girls soccer. - More Sports Headlines
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