Track Takes on NYC for New Balance Invitational
2/2/2012 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Feb. 2, 2012
NEW YORK - Baylor's track and field team will take on some of the elite teams in the country at the prestigious New Balance Collegiate Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the Armory Track in New York, N.Y.
Entering just the third meet of the season, head coach Todd Harbour's squad already boasts six performances in the nation's top 25, and 20 in the top 10 in the Big 12 Conference. With only the NB Collegiate Invitational and next weekend's Texas A&M Open before the indoor conference championships, the Bears will look to solidify their positions among the league's best.
Baylor's women have four of the six top-10 NCAA marks for Baylor, including two in the throws. With junior Skylar White already ranked 10th in the shot put with her first-week toss of 54 feet, 5.5 inches, sophomore Erin Atkinson moved up to eighth in the weight throw with a nine-foot improvement. Her toss of 67-6.75 broke the BU school record she set during her first meet as a Lady Bear two weeks prior, and ranks her second in the Big 12. White currently ranks third in the conference in the shot put.
Defending Big 12 hurdle champion Tiffani McReynolds improved her season time to 8.22 at the Razorback Invite last week to move to the top spot in the Big 12 and rank eighth in the NCAA. In the field events for the women, senior Jessica Ubanyionwu has yet to meet her marks from previous years, but ranks second in the Big 12 and 14th in the NCAA at 41-4.5.
For the men, sophomore Blake Heriot ranks in the top 25 in the nation in the open 400 meters, as well as part of the 4x400-meter relay. Individually, Heriot is third in the league and 15th in the NCAA with a time of 47.34. The 4x400 relay, which also featured Zwede Hewitt, Justin Allen and Drew Seale, took over the top spot in the Big 12 and ranks third in the nation with a time of 3:07.17.
Heriot is also one of three Bears ranked in the top 10 in the Big 12 in the 200 meters with his fifth-ranked time of 21.46. Junior Everett Walker is eighth at 21.55, and senior Zwede Hewitt is ninth at 21.56.
For the women on the track, junior Brittany OgunMokun is ranked third in the league in the 800 meters after her time of 2:09.96 at Arkansas. Freshman Rachel Johnson is in solid position in the 3,000 meters, ranking eighth with a time of 9:28.46. Another freshman, Kaitlin West, moved into sixth in the league in the triple jump with a leap of 38-10.5.
The Baylor women's 4x400-meter relay currently ranks fifth in the league, while the men's and women's distance medley relays are sitting seventh in the Big 12.
Running events start the meet at 10:25 a.m. on Friday, and 9 a.m. on Saturday at the Armory. Portions of the meet will be streamed live and live results will be available at ArmoryTrack.com.
Players Mentioned
