Texas Tech University Athletics
Team Rejoins to Host Texas Tech Open
February 01, 2007 | Track and Field
Feb. 1, 2007
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LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech track and field continues its indoor season as the team hosts its second meet, the Texas Tech Open on Saturday, February 3rd. The teams are coming off of a successful weekend that saw seven NCAA qualifying marks met, including two automatic and the first on the men's side.
The No. 5 Tech women currently have seven qualifying marks, led by two from each Irene Kimaiyo and Sally Kipyego. Each earned an automatic mark last weekend at the UW Indoor Invitational in the 3000M. The women's team also has two pole vaulters that have earned provisional marks, including a personal-best performance by Lindsey Walesheck last weekend.
The men had a strong second week of competition, as they found four qualifiers, including freshman Anthony Flemons in the triple jump. Chris Ashcraft, Kevin Chelimo and Marlon Odom also met marks in their respective events.
The efforts of both the men's and women's squads were well recognized and brought each of them higher in the latest Trackwire Top 25 poll. The women moved up to fifth place after sitting in a tie for 19th the week before. The men started out the season ranked 18th but fell out of the polls after a slow start. But the performance from the Dan DeHart Invitational and the UW Indoor in the second week of competition allowed the Red Raider men to return to the polls with a 20th ranking.
The Texas Tech Open on Saturday will be held at the Athletic Training Center with action set to begin with the women's weight throw at 10 a.m. The first running event, the women's preliminary heat of the 60M hurdles, is tentatively scheduled for 11 a.m. Complete results along with a recap of the event will be posted on www.texastech.com as soon as made available. Live stats may also be followed on http://www.spato.us/ttu, a link may be found on the sidebar of the Texas Tech track and field page.
On February 9-10, the Red Raiders will host their final indoor meet of the season. Team members are also scheduled to attend the highly competitive Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., the site of this year's NCAA Indoor Championships. For continuing coverage of the upcoming events, please visit the official Texas Tech athletic website, www.texastech.com.
Freshman Phenom
Being the 2006 2A triple jump champion and the long jump runner-up might set up high expections, but for Tech freshman Anthony Flemons it set goals. A goal was achieved at the Dan DeHart Invitational on Saturday, January 27th, when the Childress, Texas, native competed in the triple jump for the first time in his Red Raider career.
After already having the competition wrapped up with a distance of 51'-9.25", the only provisional mark met in the event, Flemons amazed on his sixth and final leap. He finished with a mark of 52'-8.25", which sits atop the nation's collegiate jumps by nearly 8 inches. Flemons missed the NCAA automatic mark of 16.10m by 1.75".
Although it becomes an apples and oranges comparison, Flemons won his state title with a distance of 49'-10.50"; his best mark in high school was 51'-10".
Up, Up and Away
One area of apparent strength on the Red Raider team is pole vault. Three Tech vaulters have achieved NCAA provisional marks in the event and five have set personal bests.
On the men's side, senior Chris Ashcraft put his best foot forward while competing in his hometown of Albuquerque, N.M., at the Dan DeHart Invitational. He vaulted to a height of 17'-0.75" to qualify and mark a personal best, beating his previous of 16'-7.25".
Newcomer Brian Porter did well in his first performance for the Red Raiders, as he finished with a height of 15'-7". He bested the effort by a foot in his second meet, clearing 16'-7.5" at the Dan DeHart.
For the women, Amanda Alley started the season strong as she placed first at the Texas Tech Invitational. The sophomore Red Raider earned a provisional mark with a personal best height of 12'-11.5". At the same meet, junior Kelley Schulz had a personal best of 12'-5.5".
At the Dan DeHart, senior Lindsey Walesheck finished nine inches short of an automatic mark with a height of 13'-0.25". The Cedar Park, Texas, native best her previous personal mark of 12'-7.5"
The Freshmen of the Big 12
Texas Tech has an impressive list of student-athletes among the top 10 on the Big 12 performance lists, and a large portion of those Red Raiders are freshmen. Eight of Tech's 18 listed happen to be newcomers to the collegiate scene.
Tech has the second most male freshman in the top 10 in events that have at least 10 competitors. Nebraska is the only school with more, as 12 Husker freshmen are listed. Three schools, Baylor, Kansas, and Missouri, all have four.
Of the Tech freshmen listed, half of them are in the top five of their event. Brandon Washington is fourth in the 600Y, Justin Turner and Lyle Leong are fifth in the high jump, and Anthony Flemons tops the list for triple jump.
A Team Event
With the score being kept at the Dan DeHart Invitational on January 26-27th, the Red Raider men had no complaints. As a team, Tech finished in first place with 88 points, ahead of Arizona State with 75 and California with 70.
Six Red Raider men finished in the top three: Marlon Odom, 1st, 60M hurdles; Rodney Mims, 2nd, 400M; Chris Ashcraft, 1st, pole vault; Bobby Evers, 2nd, long jump; Anthony Flemons, 1st, triple jump; Team, 2nd, 4x400M relay.
The points were spread out among nine events, with 41 points coming from running and 47 from field. Four Red Raiders earned points in the long jump, as three did so in the 60M hurdles.
Right For Knight
Tech sophomore thrower Patience Knight started out strong in her first indoor meet of the season. Not only did she throw an NCAA provisional distance in the shot put, but she exceeded her personal bests in both the shot and weight throw.
The San Antonio native threw for 50'-8.25" in the shot on January 20th, shattering her previous best of 46'-10.75" from the Big 12 Championships last season. Her provisional mark is her first for indoor track and field.
In the weight throw, Knight finished in third, but overthrew her best mark from her freshman year by a foot. Her previous best of 50'-10.25", also recorded at the conference meet last season, was out-done by her toss of 51'-11.75" at the invitational on Jan. 19th.
In the season's second meet, Knight continued to better herself by again resetting her weight throw best. She threw for a distance of 53'-1" at the Dan DeHart, finishing 10th in the event loaded with strong competitors.
In Translation
After the Red Raider women had a remarkable cross country season, the team had hopes that those successes would translate into track success. Those hopes became more of a reality already.
The cross country team finished with many notable achievements, including the school's highest ever ranking of 13th and the first team qualification to the NCAA Championships. Much of those successes are due to the accomplishments of All-Americans Sally Kipyego and Irene Kimaiyo.
Many probably weren't surprised that Tech's first automatic NCAA mark came in a distance event, as Kipyego qualified in the women's mile event. Kimaiyo wasn't far behind as she hit a provisional mark in the same race.
At the UW Indoor Invitational, Kipyego and Kimaiyo each qualified with more automatic marks for the Tech women. In the 3000M event, Kipyego ran a nation's best time of 8:56.72, breaking the school and facility record. Kimaiyo also earned an automatic time of 9:12.75, beating the 9:15.00 that was needed.
Players Mentioned
