T&F Take on Big 12 Indoor Championships

Friday, February 28

Lubbock, Texas

Baylor

Big 12 Indoor Championship

T&F Take on Big 12 Indoor Championships

2/27/2025 2:05:00 PM | Track & Field

Live Scoring

Bears set for conference championship meet

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

LUBBOCK, Texas – For the Big 12 Indoor Championships that start Friday at Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center in Lubbock, Baylor junior sprinter Tiriah Kelley has some rather lofty goals and expectations.

"Personally, I want to PR again," said Kelley, who ran a school-record 22.73 time in winning the 200 meters at the season-opening Corky Classic at the same venue.

"And I want us to win. I want the men and women to do better than we've done in a very long time since Baylor has won a conference title (2017, Big 12 women's indoor), and I really believe we have the athletes to do it this year."

Kelley owns three of the Baylor women's dozen top-10 Big 12 marks, including a No. 2 time in the 200 that ranks sixth nationally.

"I know that I had the title for No. 1 in the world for about two or three weeks," Kelley said. "Since then, I haven't been able to race those girls who have now passed me. I'm excited to get back to being No. 1 and just doing my personal best."

While Kelley is a lock for the 200 meters at next month's NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach, Va., the women's 4x400 relay is much more of a longshot with a season-best time of 3:35.55. Kelley is the second leg on a relay that includes freshmen Samenna Mathew and Aaryona Kinchen and senior Calisha Taylor.

"Our two middle legs (Kelley and Taylor) are our best two," head coach Michael Ford said. "If we can keep them in the mix, we have a little freshman (Kinchen) running at the end, if we can just keep her close. . . . We're probably going to have to run 3:30 to make nationals. I'm not sure if we can do that yet, but if they can get after it, I think we can get in at 3:31."

Kelley said that kind of improvement isn't crazy, "I think it's 100% attainable."

"I think some of the girls on our 4x4 just have to realize that they are capable of doing it and just execute. Simply that," Kelley said. I believe they can do it, 100%."

On the men's side, the 4x400 relay of freshman Abbas Ali and seniors Demar Francis, Dillon Bedell and Nathaniel Ezekiel are in a strong qualifying position at No. 3 in the Big 12 at 3:04.91.

"I feel like we could get up there in the top five (nationally), for sure" said Francis, who's also ranked fourth in the Big 12 in the 200 meters at 20.86. "We just need to clean up our handoffs. That would chop some seconds off and probably get us to 3:03 or 3:02. That would put us in a good place to get a good seed at nationals so that we can go there and do something good."

Ezekiel ran a school-record time of 44.92 in the 400 at the Jake Scott Invitational two weeks ago in Lubbock that's ranked No. 2 in the world this year and No. 1 in the Big 12. The time is elevation-adjusted to 45.03.

"He's got a weird range," Ford said. "I think he's been running 21.3 for his first 200. And if I put him in the 200, he'd probably run that. But he's just so strong that he's able to come back and run 23 on the last part of his race. That's the big difference this year with him."

Sophomore pole vaulter Molly Haywood also set a school record with a 15-0 ¼ mark three weeks ago at a meet in College Station. Ranked No. 1 in the Big 12, Haywood is one of eight 15-foot pole vaulters nationally.

"The confidence level from Big 12's last year and going to indoor nationals, I think that built her confidence," Ford said. "And then, going to Peru for the Under-20 World Championships and winning that title, I think that just elevated her even more, gave her a lot more confidence going into this season. And then Coach (Brandon) Richards, he's the guru in the pole vault. He's put his magic touch on everything, and that's why she's doing so well."

Both days of the meet will be streamed by ESPN+, with live results available at Big 12 Indoor.

LUBBOCK, Texas – Baylor track & field is set for the 2025 Big 12 Indoor Championships hosted by Texas Tech from February 28 to March 1 at the Sports Performance Center.

All 16 teams in the conference will come together to compete in the two-day meet. Last season, the women finished fifth and the men in tenth.

Baylor's women have been ranked inside the top 25 of the USTFCCCA National Track & Field Rating Index for the entire indoor season, including five different event groups ranked in the top 25. Individually, the Bears boast 12 top 10 marks in the Big 12, including five in the top 25 nationally. On the men's side, Baylor sits inside the top 25 heading into Championship season. The Baylor men have nine top 10 performances in the conference, featuring a trio of top 25 times in the country.

The Bears' 2025 Indoor season has already seen seven school programs fall. Senior Alexis Brown has led the pack, breaking her own record in the long jump three separate times alongside the 60m record. The women have produced 15 top 10 marks, with the men at five, in Baylor indoor program history thus far into the season.

Athletes competing must finish in the top eight of their event to earn All-Big 12 status.

The competition begins on Friday at 10 a.m. CT for multi events and at 3 p.m. CT for both field and running events. On Saturday, multi events begin at 10 a.m. CT, field events begin at 1 p.m. CT, and running events begin at 2 p.m. CT.

Both days of the competition will be streamed on ESPN+. The Friday stream can be found here and the Saturday stream can be found here. Live results can be found here.

BEARS TOP MARKS IN THE BIG 12
Women:
60m:
3. Alexis Brown: 7.14
8. Royaltee Brown: 7.29
8. Tiriah Kelley: 7.29

200m:
2. Tiriah Kelley: 22.73

600 Yards:
6. Sima Lucero: 1:21.06

4x400 Relay:
3. Baylor: 3.35.55

Pole Vault:
1. Molly Haywood: 15-0.25
8. Tenly Kuhn: 14-2.75

Long Jump:
1. Alexis Brown: 22-3.75
2. Janae De Gannes: 21-1.25

Triple Jump:
8. Iyanna Webb: 43-3

Pentathlon:
7. Logan Todorovich: 3,864 points

Men:
60m:
10. Laurenz Colbert: 6.73

200m:
4. Demar Francis: 20.79
6. Laurenz Colbert: 20.88
9. Austen Diggs: 20.98

400m:
1. Nathaniel Ezekiel: 44.92
8. Demar Francis: 46.69

60 Hurdles:
3. Demario Prince: 7.57

4x400 Relay:
3. Baylor: 3:04.91

Shot Put:
7. JL Van Rensburg: 62-3

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