With the NCAA Championships looming, Baylor track & field heads to Lubbock for the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday (Feb. 22-23) at the Sports Performance Center on the campus of Texas Tech University.
“It is always an exciting time of the year,” head coach Todd Harbour said. “We have quite a few athletes that are ready to compete at a high level. We are hoping for a great weekend as a team and also trying to get a few more athletes qualified for the NCAA meet.”
The Big 12 Championships represent the final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships March 8-9 in Birmingham, Ala. Heading into the conference meet, the Bears have seven marks either in the NCAA top 16 or on the bubble.
Freshman and reigning Big 12 Athlete of the Week KC Lightfoot, fresh off breaking a 28-year-old Baylor school record Friday in Lubbock, is currently No. 6 in the country with his jump of 18-7.5 in the pole vault and ranks No. 1 in the Big 12. Fellow pole vaulter Riley Richards is in the No. 16 spot in the NCAA with a mark of 17-10.5.
Wil London stands No. 8 in America in the 400 meters at 45.73, which was tops in the country at the time. The senior from Waco is currently No. 3 in the Big 12. London also anchors the fourth-ranked Baylor men’s 4x400-meter relay team alongside Matthew Moorer, Trey Fields, and Jayson Baldridge. With a time of 3:04.49, the Bears’ 4x4 is No. 1 in the Big 12.
On the women’s side, Kiana Horton holds the No. 6 time in the country in the 400 meters at 52.56, which is good for the No. 2 spot in the Big 12. The senior from San Antonio is the anchor of the women’s 4x400-meter relay as well, which is currently No. 13 in the NCAA and No. 2 in the conference.
Right on the cusp of qualifying for the NCAA Championships is triple jumper Alex Madlock, who ranks No. 17 in the country. The sophomore from Bangs, Texas, has registered a mark of 42-11 (13.08m) to rank as the third-best jump in the Big 12 this season.
Also ranked in the Big 12 are Aaliyah Miller (No. 4 in the 600 meters) and Sydney Washington (No. 4 in the 60 meters).
The Baylor men’s team is ranked No. 26 in the country (eighth in the South Central Region) and holds the No. 7 spot in the Big 12. The women’s team is ranked No. 56 in the country (fifth in the South Central Region) and is No. 8 in the conference.
Competition in Lubbock begins Friday at 10 a.m. CT with the multi-events and runs through the men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relays Saturday at 5:40 p.m. CT and 5:55 p.m. CT, respectively.
Live results for the Big 12 Championships can be found athttp://pttiming.com/events/87931151 [na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com]. Fans can watch the action live with a FloTrack subscription athttps://www.flotrack.org/events/6255146-2019-big-12-indoor-championship [flotrack.org].
