Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech Track Makes Final Attempt at NCAA Championships
March 05, 2003 | Track and Field
March 5, 2003
Lubbock, Texas - A handful of Texas Tech tracksters will head to Ames, Iowa, this weekend for the ISU Last Chance meet looking to qualify or improve their qualifying marks before the NCAA Indoor Championships next week.
The Tech men will only be competing in vertical jumps this weekend with four pole vaulters and a high jumper making the trip to the Southwest Athletic Center. Bobby Most (Laredo, Texas) has already qualified for the NCAA Championships but his season-best mark of 17-feet, 5.75-inches ranks as the 15th best mark in the NCAA, so he will be looking to improve his standing. Buster McLain (Gruver, Texas) and Ken Wilson (Lewisville, Texas) have season-best vaults of 17'-0", while Jared Thornhill (Snyder, Texas) has an indoor best elevation of 16'-8.75". All three will be looking to at least equal Most's mark.
Chad Pharis (Vernon, Texas) set a new personal best (PR) mark of 7'-0.25" at the Husker Invitational earlier this year, but will need to improve by an inch or more to receive an invitation to the indoor championships.
For the women, only Licretia Sibley (Fort Worth, Texas) and Rachelle Evans (Dallas, Texas) will make this weekend's trip. Sibley provisionally qualified last weekend at the Big 12 Championships in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.38 seconds. Her time currently is the 35th fastest in Division I and needs to be bettered by a second or more to make the field in Fayetteville, Ark., next weekend. Evans has a season-best time of 54.81 and will have to equal her career-best mark of 53.89 to have a shot at the NCAA Championships.
A pair of Red Raiders, Mike Beasley (Abilene, Texas) and Albert Booker (Trent, Texas), seemingly already have a spot locked up at the 2003 championships and will use this weekend to rest before competing again next weekend.
The 2003 indoor season will conclude in Fayetteville March 14-15 with the NCAA Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center. The outdoor season will begin the following weekend as the Red Raiders travel to San Antonio, Texas, for the UTSA-Whataburger Relays.
