4-12-08 Joe Gray wins 3000m at J.D. Martin Invite @ OU Jake Merritt PR’s with 21.82 in 200m 4-9-08 Kris Eklund and Jake Merritt take 2nd and 3rd in HJ at Oklahoma Christian. Leonarde Smith adds 4th in 200m. 3-29-08 4x1 runs 42.28 to take 3rd at Oklahoma Baptist. Merritt takes 2nd in 100m, Jensen takes 2nd in 200m.
6-16-07 Alan Ball places 3rd in 2007 Aquarium Run 5k
5-5-07 Merriman takes 2nd in OBU 100m.
4-19-07 Kansas Relays at KU. Pure Speed will compete in 4 relay events and have 4 individuals compete.
3-31-07 Pure Speed takes 6 top top 8 finishes at Cowley Tiger Invite.
3-9-07 Pure Speed wins 4x1 and takes 8 top 10 finishes in outdoor opener at Butler Invite.
2-3-07 OU Indoor-Norman, OK
1-24-07 Henry Hall joins Tulsa Talon football roster www.tulsatalons.com
1-12-07 Terry Josserand runs 48.58 at Arkansas Invite.
12-4-06 Team Pure Speed dominates Tulsa Talon Arena Football tryout with 2 athletes advancing to training camp. See football page for more details.
11-11-06 Alan Ball takes 13th in Tulsa 5K Run out of 755 competitors.
11-06-06 Pure Speed wins OSU Co-Rec Cross Country meet in dominant fashion.
9-5-06 The team is in its second week of practice. Anyone interested in tryouts contact Coach Mennem at purespeedtrack@yahoo.com.
9-4-06 Check out Pure Speed’s blog at trackshark.com. http://www.trackshark.com/blogs/purespeedtrack
8-21-06 T-shirts for sale in 6 different designs! Contact us if interested! Photos of shirts under t-shirts and gear page.
7-18-06 Elite hammer thrower Delisa McClain joins team. Delisa placed 13th at USATF Nationals with a throw of 201-2.
6-17-06 Pure Speed dominates Sooner State Games with wins in the 100m, 200m, LJ, HJ, TJ, 4x1, and 4x4.
6-10-06 Two new athletes join Pure Speed. A 6'10 high jumper and a 1:50.89 800m runner. Check out athlete bio's for more info.
6-20-06 Courtney Gougler scheduled to compete at USATF Junior National Champs in shot put and discus.
6-17-06 Pure Speed dominates Sooner State Games with wins in the 100m, 200m, LJ, HJ, TJ, 4x1, and 4x4.
6-10-06 Two new athletes join Pure Speed. A 6'10 high jumper and a 1:50.89 800m runner. Check out athlete bio's for more info.
4-8-06 James "Bullet" Hall splits 46.5 on Oklahoma Baptist 4x4 Relay at Texas Relays with a final time of 3:09.96 as they finish 4th in the college section.
--Terry Josserand runs 52.32 in 400H at Texas Relays and takes 2nd in heat for Oklahoma State as he qualifies for regionals.
1-22-06
Pure Speed Track had its first TV appearance Sunday night on "You Make the Call". The show is hosted by Ruben Diaz on News Channel 8 Tulsa. A team t-shirt was shown while the website and a description was given. The show is a sports talk show that covers local and national sports.
2006 Seasonal Outlook
Pure Speed looks to make huge strides in the 2006 track season. They will be running a few indoor meets to tune up for the outdoor season so they can hit outdoors full speed.
Last season Pure Speed ended the season with a 42.6 win in the 4x100m. They look to open up this season in the 42s and be in the low 41s and 40s by mid to end of season. With some possible additions to the team they could even run faster than that. Pure Speed has a nice pick of sprinters to put together a sprint relay with six runners that have gone under 10.65 in the 100m, and this is not counting new recruits that will be added to the team before the outdoor season opens.
Pure Speed hopes to snag a few college football players that have completed college eligibility, to the team. The team is also currently building on the womens team and should have a strong 4x100m relay ready for outdoors.
The team will have a strong presence in the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay. Pure Speed should have at least five runners competing in these events through the season. They will also have a good presence in other events as well. Clark and Middleton will be competing in the 400m, and Mennem and Fuller will be long jumping. The team will have a solid 4x200m relay and Sprint Medley relay for the relay meets. With an addition or two to the team there should be a strong 4x400m relay as well.
On the women’s team there should be some great times posted from Feyishara Bashorun, Brionna Chess, and Karla West. Bashorun and Chess will be leading the short sprinters and power a great 4x100m relay with some expected new members to the team. West expects a good season in the mid-distances and hurdles. Bashorun looks to improve on an 11.7 PR in the 100m, and a 57.3 in the 400m.
Medford grad creates own track club at OSU By Bruce Campbell Staff Writer Enid News and Eagle July 27, 2005
Kent Mennem had only one problem with Oklahoma States track team after transferring to OSU from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Cowboys didnt have a sprint relay. That was why Mennem went out for the team in the first place. So the Medford graduate quit the Cowboys team and formed his own track club Pure Speed Track and Field, which put a strong emphasis on sprints. "Its nothing against OSU at all," he said. "Theres not a lot of teams that have a good sprint and a good distance program. We had a good sprint relay at Medford (Class B state champions), and Ive always wanted to run that. I knew some guys that we could put together a good sprint relay that could compete against colleges." Cowboy coach Dick Weis told the Stillwater NewsPress he supports the club. He said opportunities for sprinters were limited because he could carry only 22 men on his team. The club works out at the OSU track in the evenings after the Cowboys practice. "The nice thing now is that we can make up our own schedule," Mennem said. "When we need to rest, we can rest. Everyone is going to school or working. Its been a lot easier for me to train because I can set my own schedule." Mennems sprint relay ran 42.63 at the recent Sooner State Games. He is planning a schedule of meets from junior colleges to NCAA Division I to professional competitions. The team may go to as many as two meets a week in the spring, depending on schedules and funds. His runners range from 18-year-olds to 30-somethings. One-time Dover resident Dexter Johnson, who graduated from Midwest City, is competing. All the runners live in the Stillwater area. Mennem hopes to participate in some field and distance events as well and is trying to recruit some women members. "Were still trying to get the word out," he said. Mennems parents once ran the Grant County Silver Bullets Track Club. An older brother was once an assistant track coach at Medford. " I pretty much grew up around track, so Im pretty comfortable running this," Mennem said. "Everybody on the team is pretty experienced with sports." Mennems top priority is funding. His brothers insurance company out of Medford is a sponsor. They are talking about holding a basketball tournament as a fund-raiser. "We want to build up our account for the spring for uniforms and traveling expenses," he said. Mennem told the Stillwater NewsPress the team would like to get down in the low 40s in the relay. Mennem was a four-time gold medalist at Medford, winning the 200 and 400 meters and anchoring the 400- and 1,600-meter relays. Now he is concentrating on the sprint relay, the long jump and the 200. He will run the 60 meters indoors and will run the 100 meters. Mennem avoids the 400 meters now, citing it puts too much toll on knees that were injured in high school football. He does more strength training. "This has been a lot of fun," he said. |
|
2005 The Enid News & Eagle. |
.
Area track-and-field club hits the ground running
By Jacob Longan
Sports Writer
Stillwater News Press
June 27, 2005
Kent Mennem wanted to focus more on sprinting and didnt see a lot of opportunity to do that in this area.
So the member of the distance-heavy OklahomaState track team quit that team and formed his own club, Pure Speed Track and Field.
"It started off with a couple of guys," Mennem said. "Im still getting e-mails and calls from interested people."
Mennem and his team, which is up to 10 members, compete at various meets. In fact, on Saturday, Mennem, Langstons James Hall and Junnell Wright and TarletonStates Tramaine Wright combined to win the 4x100-meter relay with a 42.6.
Mennem still had eligibility left at OSU, but he felt he could achieve more in sprinting by going this route. Of course, starting a club track team in a region where they are virtually non-existent is not easy.
"With the athletes in the Stillwater area, I knew I could put together a sprint relay and compete at a high level," Mennem said. "We are trying to qualify for club nationals, but we didnt get the time we needed in the sprint relay. Hopefully, we can go next year."
Based on the name of the club alone, you could guess sprints are the groups focus. But it does more than just the 100m and 200m right now the members also compete in the 400m, the 400m hurdles, the long jump and the high jump.
"Weve already talked about running the longer distances, too," Mennem said.
There is some money to be made in these events, but Mennem insists the focus of the club is about competition rather than dollars.
And there appears to be no friction between Mennems squad and the OSU staff.
"All the coaches have seen us on the track," Mennem said, noting that his team trains at the OSU track. "We dont interfere with their practices."
OSU coach Dick Weis said he supports Pure Speed. He said that he was all for local sprinters having more opportunity, but added that he can only have 22 people on his teams roster.
While Weis is providing one form of support, the club is seeking another financial.
"Our only sponsor is my brothers insurance company, Mennem Insurance in Medford," Mennem said. "We are looking for other sponsors as well, even if its just a small amount."
For anyone interested in sponsoring the team, they can reach Mennem at (405) 614-1678 or e-mail purespeedtrack@yahoo.com.
Mennem is a realist, though. He knows the best way to pick up sponsors is to make a name for the group. How do they plan to do that?
"We ran a 42.6 (in the sprint relay) at the Sooner State Games," Mennem said. "Wed like to get to the low 40s or high 39s and get to the club nationals and get funded to go to other states to compete. Once we start hitting those times, we will start getting calls from other meets to run. If we did that, wed receive more sponsors as well."
