Texas Tech Opens Outdoor Season With 27 Gold Finishes

Saturday, March 20

Lubbock, Texas

All Day

Texas Tech Athletics

TTU Invitational

Albert Booker sets school record time of 45.64 in the 400m dash.

Texas Tech Opens Outdoor Season With 27 Gold Finishes

March 20, 2004 | Track and Field

March 20, 2004

LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech track and field team did not waste any time cracking open the outdoor season with the team turning in seven regional qualifying marks and three top-five school marks today at the TTU Invitational in Lubbock, Texas.

The team fared quite well in throws with a combined six first-place finishes with both Megan Schuessler and Jason Young placing first in two events. Schuessler turned in two gold finishes in the shot put and the discus. She finished with a mark of 44'-8.25"(13.6m) in the women's shot put and 149'-8.0" (45.63m) in the discus throw. Olivia Clardy finished second behind Schuessler with a mark of 144'-3" (43.97m).

Tech's men took top honors in the shot put with Brad Kring and Aki Heikkinen finishing first and second, respectively. Kring threw a distance of 54'-00" (16.46m) while Heikkinen turned in a mark of 43'-11.75" (13.40m). Kring was just 0.5" of setting a regional qualifying mark. Young, with a toss of 185'-00" (56.40m) , finished in first while Kring followed with a mark of 150'-3" (45.81m) for a second-place finish. Jason Young took first in the hammer with a throw of 183'9" (56.00m) while Brad Kilpatrick was runner-up with a mark of 148'-0" (45.12m). Clardy threw a mark of 161'-3" (49.16m) in the hammer to take home the gold.

Clifton Eddington took home first in both the long jump and triple jump, with a mark of 23'-0.75" (7.03m) in the long jump and 47'-7.00" in the triple Jump. Derik Melton finished third with a mark of 40'-9.50" (12.43m). Geralda Dukuly jumped two first-place marks with 18'-11.75" (5.78m) in the long jump and 38'-11.75" (11.88m) in the triple jump. Tori Polk finished second in the long jump with a mark of 18'- 8" while Bliss Williams turned in a mark of 18'-5.25" (5.62m) for a third-place finish. Janalyn Givens finished second in the triple jump with a mark of 38'-2.25" (11.64).

Lacy Wilson was within '0.25" of a regional qualifying mark with a high jump of 5'-7.75" (1.72m). Misty Coley finished second, behind Wilson, with a mark of 5'-3.75" (1.62m). Chad Pharis took home first clearing a mark of 6'-9.75" (2.08m).

Benson Cheserek was just over 14 seconds short of qualifying for regionals with a time of 9:22.22 in the 3,000m steeplechase. Pedro Vargas finished second with a time of 10:34.46. Katie Leonard finished first in the women's 3,000m steeplechase with a time of 11:16.42, the fourth-best time in school history. Stefanie Calhoun finished second with a time of 11:33.79, her first career appearance in the steeplechase.

The Texas Tech women swept the pole vault with the team turning in the top six finishes. Krista Grantham cleared a height of 11'-9.75" (3.60m), the fourth-best mark in school history, to take first. Kelley Schulz finished in second jumping a height of 11'-3.75" (3.45m) while Callie Diffie finished third with a mark of 10'-00" (3.30m). Jared Thornhill won the men's pole vault and set a regional qualifying mark with a jump of 16'-4.75" (5.00m). Sage Thames was runner-up, clearing a height of 15'-11.00" (4.85m).

In the men's sprint relay the women's A team of Rachelle Evans, Shereefa Lloyd, Ashley Stevens and JaToya Moore finished first with a time of 46.60 while Tech's B team turned in a second-place of 48.44. The men's A team took first with a time of 41.20 and with a time of 43.32, Tech's B team finished in second.

Tech again swept an event with five Red Raiders securing the top five finishes, this time in the women's 1500m. Tracie Akerhielm finished first with a time of 4:46.29. Ruth Camacho finished in second with a time of 5:04.90 while Kelly Blikre turned in a time of 5:07.17 for a third-place finish. On the men's side, it was a close finish race between Kyle Atwood and Frank Ngeno. Atwood finished first with a time of 4:02.12 while Ngeno chomped at his heels with a second-place finish in a time of 4:02.16. Steven Morales finished third with a time of 4:08.22.

The team turned in its first regional qualifying mark in a track event with Licretia Sibley's 54.01 in the 400m, also a first-place finish. Tori Polk finished second with a time of 55.13 and Rachelle Evans in third with a time of 57.80. The men's team would add their own regional qualifying marks as well as a school record in its 400m race. Albert Booker took first as well as set a school record with a time of 45.64. Booker's time and Matt Stewart's of 46.62 were both regional qualifying marks.

Shereefa Lloyd turned in a time of 11.60 to win the 100m dash, a regional qualifying mark. Ronita Johnson finished third with a time of 12.08. Tyree Gailes took first in the 100 with a time of 10.55 with Shawon Harris finishing third in the 110m hurdles with a time of 14.65.

In the 800m, Camacho finished second with a time of 2:21.92 with Stefanie Calhoun finishing third in a time of 2:22.20. On the men's side, Jonathan Johnson added a regional qualifying mark of 1:50.03 and a first-place finish. Atwood finished third with a time of 1:57.10.

In the 400m hurdles, Tech took the top two places in women and three in men. Byron Scott turned in a time of 53.39 for a first-place finish while Shawon Harris and Chris Hickman finished second and third with times of 53.90 and 55.30, respectively. Lexi O'Neal clocked a time of 1:09.27 for a first-place finish while Staci Benefield finished in second with a time of 1:10.30.

In the 200m, Stewart set a regional qualifying time with a second-place finish in a time of 20.93. Sibley finished second in the women's race with a time of 24.19 and Polk finished third with a time of 24.24.

Tech took home the top five spots in the 3,000m with Brionne Yosten running a 10:09.09 for a first-place finish. Tracie Akerhielm ran a time of 10:27.86 to finish in second with Abby Schubert finishing third with a time of 10:30.93. Benson Cheserek and Frank Ngeno ran tightly throughout the race with Cheserek finishing first in a time of 9:00.8 and Ngeno closely behind with a time of 9:03.33.

The meet wrapped up with the women's 4x400 team running a 3:59.07 for a first-place finish. The men's A team clocked a time of 3:12.08 and a second-place finish. Tech's B team finished third in a time of 3:23.49.

Complete results can be found at www.texastech.com. Tech heads south next weekend to compete in the UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas. This will be the first of many away meets for the team with the next home meet coming on May 13.