Friday, March 24
Waco, Texas
All Day
Baylor
vs
Clyde Hart Classic
TF Racks Five Wins in Day Two of Clyde Hart Classic
3/25/2023 7:18:00 PM | Track & Field
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
With a demanding schedule of four-straight "mini-nationals" that includes next week's Texas Relays and the Michael Johnson Invitational, Baylor track and field just tried to knock a little rust off while easing into the outdoor season with the first Clyde Hart Classic.
After picking up three wins, a new school record in the hammer throw and six sub-21.0-second times in the men's 200 meters on Friday, the Bears claimed five more event wins on Saturday and capped it all off with a title by the women in the 4x400-meter relay at Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.
"More so on our guys' side, we had some that ran at (the NCAA National Indoor)," second-year head coach Michael Ford said. "A lot of kids got a spring break, and they didn't get a spring break. I know if they stay healthy and we stay mentally prepared to get through nationals, they're going to run a lot longer than everyone else. We just said, we'll pick one or two races at the Clyde Hart Classic and then get ready for Texas Relays."
Hart, a legendary quarter-miler coach who spent 56 years at Baylor, had to be pleased that Baylor swept the men's and women's 400 meters races and closed out the meet bearing his name with solid showings in the 4x400 relays.
Mariah Ayers, who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200, won the women's 400 in 53.32, edging Minnesota's duo of Janielle Josephs and Jayla Campbell. And then Dillon Bedell, the leadoff leg on Baylor's 4x400 relay that placed fifth at nationals, held off TCU's Donnie James and David Seete to win the men's 400 in 46.27.
"I was happy with Mariah running the 400. She didn't want to run it, but she did," Ford said. "And Dillon Bedell ran a great quarter. I was impressed with that."
Returning from Baylor's 4x100 relay that finished fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and set the program record, Kamden Jackson and De'montray Callis were joined by freshman Ricquan Graham and South Dakota transfer Demar Francis in running a winning time of 39.78.
"We just wanted to get the stick around, just get a good time," said Jackson, who also finished second in the 100 meters (10.31) and fourth in the 200 (20.82). "I'm going to tell y'all a little secret, we're deep. We've got a couple guys that we can interchange, a couple short sprinters, even a couple of long sprinters, too. So, we can interchange at any point in time."
Friday night, Francis placed second in the 200 with a time of 20.54, just five hundredths of a second behind Minnesota's Devin Augustine. Baylor landed six of the top eight spots in the 200, with Matthew Moorer third, Jackson fourth, Bedell fifth, Callis seventh and Graham eighth.
"The sprinters and the 400 group have been going back and forth on who's the bestter 200-meter runners," Ford said. "For the quarter-milers, that was more of a warm down, and it's also going to help me with their pacing through a quarter. For the sprinters, it was more strength work for them."
Sophomore Imaobong Uko, the winner the night before in the 200 with a 23.21 clocking, ran the leadoff leg on the 4x400 relay with Kavia Francis, Gontse Morake and Lily Williams that recorded a nearly two-second victory with a time of 3:34.40.
"Running that in the first meet is pretty good," Uko said. "Just like they say, no place like home. It felt pretty awesome."
While the 200 is more like "my part-time job," Uko was held out of Saturday's 400-meter race, her main event.
"I don't really know what God has for me," she said. "I really just want to have a good season. That's all I can say, I really want to have a good season. I feel like today, the (4x400 relay), was a good start for me."
Baylor's only other win on Saturday came from UC San Diego transfer Noah Monroy, who passed TCU's Noah Winters in the last 75 meters to win the 3,000 meters in a personal-best time of 8:29.39.
"To be honest, when the bell lap happened, (Winters) had quite a distance on me," Monroy said. "So, I was not confident that I could get him. And then, halfway through the last lap, Coach (David) Barnett) yelled, 'Noah, this is your race right here!' I think the crowd helped me through the rest."
Monroy, who competed and scored in the last three cross country meets in the fall, also placed third in Friday's 1,500-meter race in 3:50.68. Fifth-year senior Ryan Day won the 1,500 in a Big 12-best 3:46.90.
"He has a strange story, because he got in school and missed almost two months of cross (country)," Ford said. "He's just coming along real slow, and Coach Barnett and Coach (Abbie) Fredrick are doing a great job with him."
In what turned out to be the last event of the day, national leader Isaiah Schafer of Minnesota won a hotly contested shot put competition with a throw of 62-0 ½. Baylor senior Cole Hardan had the lead after the first two throws and placed second at 59-11 ¾, while freshman Gary Moore moved up to third with a final throw of 58-6 ½.
On Friday, Moore was fourth in the hammer throw with a program-record toss of 199 feet, 1 inch.
Baylor will be right back at it with the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, which begin Wednesday at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
WACO, Texas – Baylor track and field closed the Clyde Hart Classic on Saturday evening at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium. The squad combined for five wins on the day, including the men's 4x100 and women's 4x400-meter relays.
THE RUNDOWN
Ricquan Graham, Demar Francis, Kamden Jackson and De'montray Callis opened up the day for the Bears on the track in style, taking the win in the 4x100-meter relay behind a 39.78-second race. That squad featured Jackson and Callis, who both set the program record in the event at the 2022 NCAA Regional meet in Fayetteville, Ark.
Baylor's last win of the day came from Imaobong Uko, Kavia Francis, Gontse Morake and Lily Williams on the track in the 4x400-meter relay. The group opened the season with a 3:34.40.
Dillon Bedell and Mariah Ayers swept the title in the quartermile on Saturday, as Bedell won the men's event with a 46.27, while Ayers took the women's title after 53.32 seconds. Williams was next up in the women's race and was followed by Kourtney Kennard, while the men had Nicholi Brown finish ninth, Preston York 11th and Luke Anthony 28th.
Noah Monroy had a strong, late kick in the last 200 meters of the men's 3,000-meter race, to take first place in the event. The transfer from UC San Diego clocked an 8:29.39, while Devin Duran followed in 10th at 9:12.45.
Senior Ben Conacher earned the silver medal from a jump-off in the pole vault competition on Saturday with a 17-2 ¾ clearance. Nate Butler finished fifth, followed by Luke Anthony in ninth.
In the women's pole vault, Lillianna Ifft led the Bears for a fifth-place finish, while Kierstyn Ballard had her 2023 season debut for seventh place.
Jackson was the silver medalist in the men's 100 meters, boasting a 10.31, before Graham finished in fifth, Aren Spencer in 17th and Nicolas Rodriguez in 26th.
There was a tie for silver in the women's high jump between two Bears, as Aïcha Moumin and Moorea Long both crossed 5-6 successfully.
For two more silver medal finishes, Cole Hardan and Mikayla Long both took home second in their respective shot put competitions. Hardan hit 59-11 ¾ , leading Gary Moore Jr. in third and Cooper Mack in seventh. Long threw for 50-1 ¾ in the women's competition.
Bria Bullard (11.71) led the Bears in fourth in the women's 100 meters, leading Michaela Francois in fifth, Summer Sergeant in 11th, Koi Johnson in 16th and Nikayla Fitzgerald in 22nd.
Kade Hulett was the lone Bear finisher in the men's 800 meters. In the women's competition, Jackie Addy crossed in 10th, while Jordan Ledington was 13th, Alaina Zamorano was 14th and Kate Avery was 17th.
Brooke Botha finished sixth in the women's javelin throw with a 118-9 fling, while Rylie Smith finished in ninth.
Ukurugenzi Kojo, a transfer from Ole Miss, made his green and gold debut with a seventh-place finish in the men's high jump at 6-4 ¾.
The men's 4x400 squad, who didn't run any member of the NCAA Indoor All-American group, saw Jackson, Graham, York and Brown clock a 3:09.32 for third place.
QUOTABLE
Head coach Michael Ford
On the meet…
"I thought it was good. We got some rust off some kids that ran last at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. We needed to see where they were because next week, Texas Relays, it's kind of like a mini-nationals. Even though they didn't win, I was really happy with the men's 4x400 relay. With the guys we had on there with sprinters, a walk-on quarter-miler and a walk-on 800-meter runner, I thought they ran well. I was impressed with the ladies, because we basically had three legs back from nationals on our relay. I was happy with Mariah [Ayers] and Dillon Bedell running a great quarter."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears travel to Austin for the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays March 29-April 1.
Baylor Bear Insider
With a demanding schedule of four-straight "mini-nationals" that includes next week's Texas Relays and the Michael Johnson Invitational, Baylor track and field just tried to knock a little rust off while easing into the outdoor season with the first Clyde Hart Classic.
After picking up three wins, a new school record in the hammer throw and six sub-21.0-second times in the men's 200 meters on Friday, the Bears claimed five more event wins on Saturday and capped it all off with a title by the women in the 4x400-meter relay at Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.
"More so on our guys' side, we had some that ran at (the NCAA National Indoor)," second-year head coach Michael Ford said. "A lot of kids got a spring break, and they didn't get a spring break. I know if they stay healthy and we stay mentally prepared to get through nationals, they're going to run a lot longer than everyone else. We just said, we'll pick one or two races at the Clyde Hart Classic and then get ready for Texas Relays."
Hart, a legendary quarter-miler coach who spent 56 years at Baylor, had to be pleased that Baylor swept the men's and women's 400 meters races and closed out the meet bearing his name with solid showings in the 4x400 relays.
Mariah Ayers, who qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200, won the women's 400 in 53.32, edging Minnesota's duo of Janielle Josephs and Jayla Campbell. And then Dillon Bedell, the leadoff leg on Baylor's 4x400 relay that placed fifth at nationals, held off TCU's Donnie James and David Seete to win the men's 400 in 46.27.
"I was happy with Mariah running the 400. She didn't want to run it, but she did," Ford said. "And Dillon Bedell ran a great quarter. I was impressed with that."
Returning from Baylor's 4x100 relay that finished fifth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and set the program record, Kamden Jackson and De'montray Callis were joined by freshman Ricquan Graham and South Dakota transfer Demar Francis in running a winning time of 39.78.
"We just wanted to get the stick around, just get a good time," said Jackson, who also finished second in the 100 meters (10.31) and fourth in the 200 (20.82). "I'm going to tell y'all a little secret, we're deep. We've got a couple guys that we can interchange, a couple short sprinters, even a couple of long sprinters, too. So, we can interchange at any point in time."
Friday night, Francis placed second in the 200 with a time of 20.54, just five hundredths of a second behind Minnesota's Devin Augustine. Baylor landed six of the top eight spots in the 200, with Matthew Moorer third, Jackson fourth, Bedell fifth, Callis seventh and Graham eighth.
"The sprinters and the 400 group have been going back and forth on who's the bestter 200-meter runners," Ford said. "For the quarter-milers, that was more of a warm down, and it's also going to help me with their pacing through a quarter. For the sprinters, it was more strength work for them."
Sophomore Imaobong Uko, the winner the night before in the 200 with a 23.21 clocking, ran the leadoff leg on the 4x400 relay with Kavia Francis, Gontse Morake and Lily Williams that recorded a nearly two-second victory with a time of 3:34.40.
"Running that in the first meet is pretty good," Uko said. "Just like they say, no place like home. It felt pretty awesome."
While the 200 is more like "my part-time job," Uko was held out of Saturday's 400-meter race, her main event.
"I don't really know what God has for me," she said. "I really just want to have a good season. That's all I can say, I really want to have a good season. I feel like today, the (4x400 relay), was a good start for me."
Baylor's only other win on Saturday came from UC San Diego transfer Noah Monroy, who passed TCU's Noah Winters in the last 75 meters to win the 3,000 meters in a personal-best time of 8:29.39.
"To be honest, when the bell lap happened, (Winters) had quite a distance on me," Monroy said. "So, I was not confident that I could get him. And then, halfway through the last lap, Coach (David) Barnett) yelled, 'Noah, this is your race right here!' I think the crowd helped me through the rest."
Monroy, who competed and scored in the last three cross country meets in the fall, also placed third in Friday's 1,500-meter race in 3:50.68. Fifth-year senior Ryan Day won the 1,500 in a Big 12-best 3:46.90.
"He has a strange story, because he got in school and missed almost two months of cross (country)," Ford said. "He's just coming along real slow, and Coach Barnett and Coach (Abbie) Fredrick are doing a great job with him."
In what turned out to be the last event of the day, national leader Isaiah Schafer of Minnesota won a hotly contested shot put competition with a throw of 62-0 ½. Baylor senior Cole Hardan had the lead after the first two throws and placed second at 59-11 ¾, while freshman Gary Moore moved up to third with a final throw of 58-6 ½.
On Friday, Moore was fourth in the hammer throw with a program-record toss of 199 feet, 1 inch.
Baylor will be right back at it with the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, which begin Wednesday at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin.
WACO, Texas – Baylor track and field closed the Clyde Hart Classic on Saturday evening at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium. The squad combined for five wins on the day, including the men's 4x100 and women's 4x400-meter relays.
THE RUNDOWN
Ricquan Graham, Demar Francis, Kamden Jackson and De'montray Callis opened up the day for the Bears on the track in style, taking the win in the 4x100-meter relay behind a 39.78-second race. That squad featured Jackson and Callis, who both set the program record in the event at the 2022 NCAA Regional meet in Fayetteville, Ark.
Baylor's last win of the day came from Imaobong Uko, Kavia Francis, Gontse Morake and Lily Williams on the track in the 4x400-meter relay. The group opened the season with a 3:34.40.
Dillon Bedell and Mariah Ayers swept the title in the quartermile on Saturday, as Bedell won the men's event with a 46.27, while Ayers took the women's title after 53.32 seconds. Williams was next up in the women's race and was followed by Kourtney Kennard, while the men had Nicholi Brown finish ninth, Preston York 11th and Luke Anthony 28th.
Noah Monroy had a strong, late kick in the last 200 meters of the men's 3,000-meter race, to take first place in the event. The transfer from UC San Diego clocked an 8:29.39, while Devin Duran followed in 10th at 9:12.45.
Senior Ben Conacher earned the silver medal from a jump-off in the pole vault competition on Saturday with a 17-2 ¾ clearance. Nate Butler finished fifth, followed by Luke Anthony in ninth.
In the women's pole vault, Lillianna Ifft led the Bears for a fifth-place finish, while Kierstyn Ballard had her 2023 season debut for seventh place.
Jackson was the silver medalist in the men's 100 meters, boasting a 10.31, before Graham finished in fifth, Aren Spencer in 17th and Nicolas Rodriguez in 26th.
There was a tie for silver in the women's high jump between two Bears, as Aïcha Moumin and Moorea Long both crossed 5-6 successfully.
For two more silver medal finishes, Cole Hardan and Mikayla Long both took home second in their respective shot put competitions. Hardan hit 59-11 ¾ , leading Gary Moore Jr. in third and Cooper Mack in seventh. Long threw for 50-1 ¾ in the women's competition.
Bria Bullard (11.71) led the Bears in fourth in the women's 100 meters, leading Michaela Francois in fifth, Summer Sergeant in 11th, Koi Johnson in 16th and Nikayla Fitzgerald in 22nd.
Kade Hulett was the lone Bear finisher in the men's 800 meters. In the women's competition, Jackie Addy crossed in 10th, while Jordan Ledington was 13th, Alaina Zamorano was 14th and Kate Avery was 17th.
Brooke Botha finished sixth in the women's javelin throw with a 118-9 fling, while Rylie Smith finished in ninth.
Ukurugenzi Kojo, a transfer from Ole Miss, made his green and gold debut with a seventh-place finish in the men's high jump at 6-4 ¾.
The men's 4x400 squad, who didn't run any member of the NCAA Indoor All-American group, saw Jackson, Graham, York and Brown clock a 3:09.32 for third place.
QUOTABLE
Head coach Michael Ford
On the meet…
"I thought it was good. We got some rust off some kids that ran last at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. We needed to see where they were because next week, Texas Relays, it's kind of like a mini-nationals. Even though they didn't win, I was really happy with the men's 4x400 relay. With the guys we had on there with sprinters, a walk-on quarter-miler and a walk-on 800-meter runner, I thought they ran well. I was impressed with the ladies, because we basically had three legs back from nationals on our relay. I was happy with Mariah [Ayers] and Dillon Bedell running a great quarter."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears travel to Austin for the 95th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays March 29-April 1.
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