Jayda Coleman, Vernon Turner nominated for 2022-2023 Big 12 Athlete of the Year

Oklahoma’s Jayda Coleman and Vernon Turner are the Sooners nominees for Big 12 Athlete of the Year.

The 2022-2023 athletic season has come to a close as we approach the start of the 2023-2024 season.

Two Oklahoma Sooners were nominated for Big 12 Athlete of the Year. One was softball star Jayda Coleman and the other was track and field star Vernon Turner.

Coleman started every game for the record-setting 61-1 Sooners who won the program’s third straight national championship. She was named the 2023 Big 12 Player of the Year. She was also an NFCA first team All-American selection for the third straight season.

She led the Big 12 in home runs (17), runs (71) and on-base slugging percentage (1.321).

She also led the Women’s College World Series with five runs scored, earning WCWS all-tournament team honors.

Off the field, she was selected to the OU president’s honor roll with a 4.0 GPA in the fall and to the dean’s honor roll with a 3.5-plus semester GPA in the spring.

Turner was named the 2023 Big 12 Men’s Outdoor Performer of the Year. He won the Big 12 men’s indoor and outdoor high jump titles while tying his school record in the outdoor high jump.

He was the runner-up in the men’s high jump at both the NCAA indoor and outdoor championships.

Off the field, he is pursuing a master’s degree in public relations and is a three-time Academic All-Big 12 first-team honoree. He volunteered at Norman high schools, teaching students about the importance of human relations.

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The 2022-23 Big 12 Athlete of the Year nominees will be featured each day at 10 a.m. CT and 2 p.m. CT, listed in alphabetical order by school through Friday, July 28.

Each institution nominated one male and one female athlete of any classification that competed for the institution during the school year. Student-athletes were required to be in good academic standing and had to be from a league-sponsored sport.

The 10 schools that competed during the 2022-23 academic year are eligible.

The winners will be announced Monday, July 31. Stay tuned to Big12Sports.com and the league’s social media platforms to see the rest of the candidates.

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Sooners Wire Team of the Week: OU Track and Field

Oklahoma left the 2022 Big 12 Indoor Championships in Ames, Iowa, with four individual titles and several school records.

Oklahoma made it a memorable trip to Ames, Iowa, for the 2022 Big 12 Indoor Championships. The Sooners men’s and women’s track and field teams left with four individual titles to earn the Sooners Wire Team of the Week Award.

Payden Montana

Junior Payden Montana threw a 56-8 (17.27m) in women’s shot put to capture her first conference title. The Berwick, Pa., native’s previous OU indoor best was 55-5.75 in 2021 at the K-State Winter Invite.

Vernon Turner

Redshirt senior Vernon Turner took home the gold in men’s high jump, clearing at 7-3.75. His all-time indoor best came at the Tyson Invitational in 2018 when he registered a jump of 7-7.75, but this has to feel sweet after three previous second-place finishes at the Big 12 Indoors. Here’s a look at the All-American’s winning jump.

Olivia Lueking

Freshman Olivia Lueking captured the women’s pole vault title with a height of 14-6. Her vault was a new program record, a meet record and a facility record.

Rayvon Allen

Redshirt senior Rayvon Allen tied his personal best and snagged his first Big 12 Indoor Champion title with a leap of 25-10 in the men’s long jump. Allen is Oklahoma’s outdoor program record holder with a long jump of 26-10.5 in 2021.

Other school records

Redshirt senior Isaiah Levingston finished the men’s 600-yards with a school record time of 1:08.18 in the prelims. Senior Kristo Simulask finished in second place in the men’s heptathlon after recording a personal best and a new school record of 5,727 points.

“The conference championship is like no other meet on the season. It provides the unique opportunity for the highest competition environment that cannot be duplicated otherwise. Our teams fought event after event to prove that we are one of the best teams in this league. It was such a blessing to see the programs rise to the occasion. From the conference champions, new record setting performances, and every point tallied this weekend, our Sooner pride shines through,” Oklahoma head men’s and women’s track and field coach Tim Langford said.

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