Baylor
Larry Wieczorek Invitational
Track & Field Travels to Iowa City
1/16/2019 11:45:00 AM | Track & Field
47 Bears will be in competition at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational.
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Hoping to build on a successful opening weekend that saw the team win six event titles and come within inches of breaking a 28-year-old school record, Baylor track and field will go back on the road for the Larry Wieczorek Invitational that begins Friday in Iowa City, Iowa.
"Just bringing them back after that long Christmas break and getting on an indoor track, you're always nervous, you just don't want to lose anybody," coach Todd Harbour said. "I thought we competed hard, stayed relatively healthy. We're going to leave a few home this week with little things, nothing crazy. But, we'll get some good competition this weekend in Iowa."
Event winners at the season-opening Ted Nelson Invitational last weekend in College Station included sprinters Maxwell Willis and Kennedy Bailey in the 60 meters and 60-meter hurdles, respectively, and half-milers Danny Leland and Morgan Stewart.
"Kennedy struggled a little bit last year making that transition, but that was a big win for her in the 60 hurdles," Harbour said.
"I had a lot of ups and downs, so coming into this year I just made sure I focused on all the small details to help me," said Bailey, who posted a personal-best time of 8.44 seconds. "Going out there, it's like I shocked myself, but I knew that I had worked so hard, it just felt really amazing."
The highlight of the opening meet was actually a runner-up finish by freshman KC Lightfoot in the pole vault. His mark of 18-1 ¾ makes him the No. 2 individual performer in school history and just three inches shy of the record set by Baylor Hall of Famer Bill Payne in 1991.
"We've been watching him do it here in practice for the last couple of weeks," Harbour said of Lightfoot, a two-time state champion from Missouri who won last year's meet in 18-0. "He's had some 18-5 jumps in practice over a bar, so you know that's what he could do. For a freshman to go down there and do that in his first collegiate meet, that's pretty big stuff."
Lightfoot said he was hoping for a little higher – he had two attempts at 18-5 – "but you can't really complain."
"I already had confidence," he said. "What we really got out of that meet was any butterflies. There weren't too many, but any butterflies. That was my first Division I college meet, so now I know what to expect. It's just smooth sailing from here and hoping for higher bars."
Breaking Payne's school record seems like a foregone conclusion after just one meet.
"I've jumped it on our indoor strip a couple times, so it will happen," Lightfoot said. "It's going to happen whenever it feels like happening, I guess."
Other than the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Ala., this is a rare trip out of the region for the Bears, who will compete in the Texas Tech Invitational next weekend in Lubbock. Also competing this weekend at Iowa are Arizona, Missouri and Iowa State, along with Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin from the Big Ten.
"This will be a good meet," Harbour said. "Iowa has a great track team, so we're excited to go there. We went to the Michigan meet last year, and they really wanted us to come to this meet. This is the track they ran the World Championships on in Portland a few years back, so it's a really fast track. I think our sprinters will really love it."
Friday's schedule kicks off with the men's pole vault and women's weight throw and high jump at 2 p.m. The running events start with the 3,000 meters at 5:30 p.m., with Saturday's running events beginning at 2:30 p.m. with the women's 60-meter hurdle prelims.
"I'm just really hoping that all the little things come together and I get everything down and hopefully get another PR," Bailey said.
WACO, Texas – Less than a week removed from the season opener, Baylor track & field is back on the road for the Larry Wieczorek Invitational Friday and Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa.
"We are excited to head to Iowa this weekend for what will be an outstanding meet," head coach Todd Harbour said. "We look forward to continuing to build on the success we started the season with."
The Bears are coming off a successful weekend in College Station in which six student-athletes came away with event titles.
Danny Leland, Maxwell Willis, Kennedy Bailey, and Morgan Stewart will all be in competition this weekend looking to build off their victories in College Station.
Also back in action is freshman KC Lightfoot, who officially put the Baylor indoor pole vault school record on alert with the sixth-best jump in school history (second-best performer) in his first collegiate meet.
Freshmen Alyssa Miller (No. 7 high jump performer), Lindsay Zatta (No. 5 pole vault performer), Samone Turner (No. 5 weight throw performer), and Cole Hardan (No. 2 weight throw performer) all quickly made their marks in the school record book one meet into their collegiate careers, and will look to keep it going this weekend.
In all, 47 Baylor student-athletes will be in competition in Iowa City. The schedule will remain full steam ahead, as the Bears go straight to Lubbock the following weekend before taking a one-week breather.
Live results at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational can be found here, while those with a FloTrack membership can watch the meet live here.
For continued updates on the Baylor Track & Field team, follow the team's social media accounts all season long: @BaylorTrack.
Players Mentioned
