Freezing temperatures did not stop the OU throwers from winning four weekend titles.

Last weekend marked the first competition of the Sooner outdoor track season. A group of eleven throwers competed in the Tulsa Duals on both Friday and Saturday.

While javelin athletes withstood the below freezing conditions to compete in the Tulsa meet, other throwers changed gears and traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, to compete in the Horned Frog Invitational.

In Fort Worth, sophomore Brittany Borman won her first event title in the discus competition with the fourth best throw in OU history. Likewise, redshirt freshman Holden Mitchell won the men’s hammer throw title.

In the javelin competition senior Amy Backel won the event title with an eight foot lead against second place. Backel was an All-American in the javelin in 2008 and was not able to compete during the 2009 season due to an elbow injury.

This weekend also marked several first appearances for Sooner athletes. Freshman Justin Shirk holds the third best throw in U.S. high school history and the Pennsylvania state record in the javelin competition. He finished first in the event last weekend.

Similarly, red shirt senior Chad Radgowski, the 2007 SEC javelin champion, transferred to OU from LSU and redshirted during 2009. He finished second behind Shirk.

Sophomore Luke Bryant finished second in the discus event and red shirt junior K.P. Singh finished fourth in the men’s weight throw. Singh recently won the Big 12 title in the indoor weight throw.

Next weekend, the athletes will travel to Stanford, California for the Stanford Invitational.

Athlete of the weekend:

Freshman Justin Shirk won the title in men’s javelin. He holds the third farthest throw in U.S. high school history and Pennsylvania state record.