T&F Back in Lubbock for Big 12 Indoor Championships

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

With the outdoor season opening with next week's Baylor Invitational, Baylor track and field will try to make some noise at the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships that begin Friday at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center in Lubbock.

"It'll be a different Big 12, of course, because we've been adding more teams. And even next year, it'll be different, too," said Baylor head coach Michael Ford, who was named the men's sprints/hurdles coach for Team USA for the 20024 Olympic Games in Paris. "So, just trying to figure out where we'll be point-wise. I think if we give our good effort, we'll perform well."

Ranked first in the Big 12 in the 400 meters and 600-yard run, junior Nathaniel Ezekiel will be one of the favorites in a deep field of 400-meter runners that includes senior teammate Demar Francis. Ezekiel is ranked sixth nationally with a time of 45.39, while Francis is sixth in the Big 12 in the 400 (46.19) and fifth in the 200 (20.74).

"We're probably going to run him in the quarter," Ford said of Ezekiel, "just because of the seeding going into nationals. He could probably win either one, but since the 600 isn't a national NCAA event, we probably won't run it anymore."

Other than Ezekiel, Baylor's best for a Big 12 title this weekend is Florida transfer Alexis Brown, who is ranked second in the league and third nationally in the long jump with a school-record mark of 21 feet, 6 ¼ inches that she set two weeks ago at the Clemson Tiger Paw Invitational.

"That runway was super-fast," Brown said. "I was like 'I can use this runway, use this board; people jump far on that track.' So, going into it, I was like, 'I want to jump 21-mid,' and that's what I did."

After dealing with stress injuries in three years at Florida, Brown had an MRI after her first two indoor meets last year competing for Baylor, "and they found an extra bone (in my foot)."

"I went to Austin, and they were like, 'We think this is what's been causing all these injuries, all these foot pains,''' she said. "I was glad they figured that problem out and we were able to get down to it."

Brown is also a threat in the 60-meter dash, with a season-best time of 7.34 seconds, and could even run a leg on the 4x400 relay if needed.

"I actually started out as a sprinter," Brown said. "I started jumping my junior year of high school. I went to a small school, so they were like, 'We need the points, so let's try long jump.' I started doing it and was like, 'Oh, this is fun.' I think in order for me to jump far, I have to be running fast, so sprinting definitely helps me jump farther."

While the men's 4x400 relay is "a work in progress," Ford said he has options in the women's relay with Imaobong Uko, Mariah Ayers, Kavia Francis, Jasmine Gryne, Gontse Morake and Louisville transfer Tiriah Kelley. The women ran a season-best time of 3:36.18 at Clemson with Uko, Morake, Ayers and Kelley.

"Out of those six young ladies, we'll figure it out," Ford said. "Whoever survives will run this weekend. Even Alexis. Hopefully, I won't need her on there. But I think we have a good shot. I think we have the bodies to get to nationals, but we're going to probably have to run about 3:30, and our best has been 3:36. We've got to drop six seconds. Just trying to figure out where we're going to do that."

Kelley, who is ranked sixth in the conference in the 200 meters at 23.44, said all four runners are "capable of dropping a second or two individually in our splits and getting there . . . getting to 3:29, for sure."

In the field events, Baylor's best hopes are freshman pole vaulters Alencia Lentz and Molly Haywood, who are tied for ninth nationally with marks of 14-5 ¼. Only Oklahoma's Olivia Lueking has gone higher, winning the Badger's Windy City Invite with a mark of 14-6 ¾.

"They could probably beat each other and go 1-2," Ford said.

The top 16 times and marks nationally will qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will be held March 8-9 at the TRACK at new balance in Boston.

Going into this weekend, Baylor currently has five entries in the top 16: Brown (long jump), Ezekiel (400), Koi Johnson in the triple jump and Haywood and Lentz in the pole vault.

Kelley would like to join that group, but she would have to drop about half a second off her season-best time.

"I definitely believe that I can," Kelley said. "My time has been dropping every single meet, and I'm just going to pray that it keeps dropping. Leave it in God's hands and still do what I know to do. By the grace of God, I can make it to nattys (NCAA Championships) and PR."

LUBBOCK, Texas – Baylor track and field is set to open the 2024 indoor championship season at the Big 12 Conference Championships, held at Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center. Bears begin competition at 3 p.m. on Friday and 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Big 12 Now on ESPN+ will carry the stream with James Westling and John Nownes on the call during each day's evening session. Results will be live online through PrimeTime Timing.

Fans in Lubbock can purchase a two-day $20 option or a single-day $10 option at the Texas Tech Ticket Office, near the entrance of the indoor track.

WELCOME TO CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
BU kicks off the two-meet championship stretch for the 2024 indoor track and field season with this weekend's conference meet. The indoor season officially closes at the NCAA DI Indoor Track and Field Championships in Boston, Mass., at the TRACK at new balance on March 8-9. Qualifiers for nationals will be announced by the NCAA on Feb. 28.

LAST TIME OUT
Before the week off, Baylor closed out the regular season in South Carolina at Clemon's Tiger Paw Invitational. At that meet, Alexis Brown bettered her long jump program record to 21-6.25, a mark that has her at No. 3 in the NCAA this year. Nathaniel Ezekiel and Demar Francis also recorded indoor personal-best marks in the men's quarter mile to take top-10 finishes in the jam-packed field of 80 runners.

FAMILIAR TERRITORY
No strangers to the Texas Tech indoor track, the Bears will compete in their 15^th meet in the seventh season of the facility this weekend. There have been eight program records broken at the Sports Performance Center and both Nathaniel Ezekiel (2024) and KC Lightfoot (2021) set collegiate records. In its three conference meets, 11 Baylor Bears have stood atop the conference championship podium.

RECORD BREAKERS
Gary Moore Jr. (weight throw) and Alexis Brown (long jump) set program records on the first day of competition in the season-opening McFerrin-12 Degree Invitational in College Station, Texas. In the final meet of the regular season, Brown improved her PB and put another new long jump record in the books. Junior Nathaniel Ezekiel also broke the collegiate 600-yard record in 1:04.44 at the Corky Classic, the first Bear in just under three years (KC Lightfoot, 2021, pole vault) to make a national record.

BEARS TO BOSTON
With the top 16 marks headed to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in two weeks, Baylor currently has five entries temporarily qualified to the championship meet. Freshman pole vault duo of Molly Haywood and Alencia Lentz are tied at No. 9 with their 14-5 ¼ performance at the Corky Classic. Brown is third in the long jump, Koi Johnson is 15^th in the triple jump and Nathaniel Ezekiel is sixth in the 400.

To stay up to date throughout the year on all things Baylor track and field, follow the team on Facebook, X and Instagram: @BaylorTrack.

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T&F Back in Lubbock for Big 12 Indoor Championships

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Players Mentioned

Mariah Ayers

Alexis Brown

Nathaniel Ezekiel

Demar Francis

Jasmine Gryne

Molly Haywood

Koi Johnson

Tiriah Kelley

Alencia Lentz

Gary Moore Jr.

Gontse Morake

Imaobong Uko

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