Story & Photos
By Michael Kinney
It was never a foregone conclusion. Even though seemingly all of her family had attended the University of Oklahoma, Jordan Atkinson said she had kept her options open when looking at where she wanted to continue her track & field career.
However, in the end, she came to the same conclusion her father/coach, mother, older sister and uncle had come to back in their prep days. On signing day (Nov. 14) the Mustang High senior sported a Sooners sweatshirt and signed her national letter of intent to run track at OU, just like her family.
“It’s amazing,” Atkinson said. “I’m just so thankful for this opportunity. I’ve prayed for this for so long and I’m so thankful that my parents and my friends and family have brought me to where I am and that God has helped me stay so strong throughout this whole process. I’m just so excited and I’m so happy. I am so happy I get to stay home. I really love Oklahoma. I’m so excited.”
Atkinson, who collected three gold medals (100, 200, 4×100) last season at the 6A state track and field championships, had offers from other schools around the country. That includes Baylor, which was at the top of her list.
But OU had too much going for it in the end.
“People think it’s because my family has gone here for all of their college careers. But I’m going here because I genuinely just love Oklahoma,” Atkinson said. “I want to stay home. I am going here because I see the way that they work in their program, and I’m excited to be a part of that. I think the Sooner family is something that is so unmatched to be completely honest. It’s unique and I love it, and I love how hard they work and how close they all are with each other, and I’m just excited to be a part of something like that.”
Atkinson will miss out on being on the same team as her older sister Jada, who is entering her final season at Oklahoma. Yet, she will not be alone when she steps on the Norman campus. Mustang teammate Kassidi Watkins also signed to run track for the Sooners.
OU had always been Watkin’s dream school, but it took a while for the all-American long jumper to get on their radar. But once she did, it didn’t take long for her to make a decision.
“Honestly, when I went there, it just felt like home, and why not stay home if I could,” said Watkins, who also collected state titles in the long jump and 4×100 relay. “We started having conversations probably beginning of the school year. Then we planned my visit and I signed to go there a week and a half after I visited. I took my last visit on a Tuesday and I signed to OU the next Wednesday. I knew it was home.”
Along with Watkins and Atkinson, the Sooners signed Zalaya Dupre, Ashley Lister, Lilly Samanski, Brianna Rivers as part of their 2025 class. However, the pair of Lady Broncos were the only signees out of the state of Oklahoma.
“The signing period for the class of 2025 has begun on a very positive note for us,” said OU coach James Thomas. “I want to thank our new signees, their families, coaches and support networks for placing their trust in our program and staff. I truly appreciate the significance of this collegiate decision, and I hope our signees see the same potential in us that we see in each of them. Our staff is committed to identifying future Sooners who share our program’s vision. This strong start aligns with our overall goals as we strive for excellence that is synonymous with OU. Thank you for choosing to be a part of this journey with us.”
Atkinson and Watkins helped lead the Lady Broncos to the program’s first-ever state track and field championship earlier this year. At that time neither knew they would be going to the same college to continue their career.
However, Jordan’s father and Mustang coach Shanon Atkinson may have hoped they would. When he left Southmoore last year for MHS, he had already envisioned how the two standouts would work together.
“I’ve been watching Kassidi as an athlete since she was in seventh grade. And so when I would go to these junior high meets, obviously I’m watching my own junior high kids and scouting them, but I’m also scouting the competition,” Shanon Atkinson said. “I saw Kassidi as a seventh-grade, eighth grader knowing that she was going to be a stud. And so she’s one of the reasons that I came to Mustang was so I could put her and Jordan on the same team. I wanted them to be on the same team. And that’s what I’m saying if people could just take a step back and look at how God works. I came here because of her, because of Kassidi, and now these two girls are going to the University of Oklahoma together. I mean, that’s wild.”
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