Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech Heads to College Station for Big 12 Championships
February 26, 2009 | Track and Field
Feb. 26, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas - The No. 10 Red Raiders and No. 17 Lady Raiders track squads head to College Station, Texas this weekend after its first Big 12 Indoor Championship.
The men look to Harrison Benjamin, Gil Roberts, Omo Osaghae and Brandon Washington lead their respective events. Benjamin leads the shot with a throw 59'-7" while Roberts has the second-fastest time in the nation in the 400M with a 46.17. Osaghae has a converted time of 7.72 in the 60M hurdles and Washington has the fastest 600Y time with a 1:10.53. Other Red Raiders with the potential to score big points in Anthony Flemons in the long and triple jumps and the 4x400M should challenge for first. The Red Raiders finished third last year behind Nebraska and Texas.
The Lady Raiders have a strong chance to win its first Big 12 Indoor Championship. The team is led by All-Americans Sally Kipyego and Patience Knight. Kipyego has the fastest times in the mile (4:32.01) and the 3,000M (8:48.77). Knight has the best in the shot put by over two feet. The Lady Raiders can gain valuable points from Amanda Alley (pole vault), Lillian Badaru (3K, 5K), Trudeann Clarke (400M) , Ozie Okolie (weight) and Tori Smith (60M H). The Lady Raiders finished in fifth place at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.
Tech begins competition on Friday at 11 a.m. with the combined events and the running at 2 p.m. Saturday's events all begin at 3 p.m. Live results and live streaming video of the Big 12 Indoor Championships can be found at www.big12sports.com.
Last Week
The last time out Tech had strong performance at both the Texas A&M Invitational and Tyson Invitational. Sally Kipyego ran an NCAA automatic and school-record time of 4:32.01 in the mile at the Tyson Invitational. Lillian Badaru ran a NCAA provisional time of 9:28.90 in the 3,000M at Tyson. Gil Roberts ran the second-fastest time in the nation in the 400M with a NCAA provisional and school record time of 46.17 at Texas A&M. Anthony Flemons added his name to the long jump declaration list with a jump of 25'-6". Terra Evans ran a NCAA provisional time of 7.40 in the 60M and a 23.87 in the 200M. Omo Osaghae ran a NCAA provisional time of 7.77 winning the 60M hurdles and Darrell Roddick moved his name up on the triple jump list with a NCAA provisional jump of 51'-1.50".
Rankings
The Red Raiders and Lady Raiders continue its stay in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association indoor rankings compiled by Tom Lewis, after five weeks of competition. The men stayed put at No. 10. The Red Raiders are the fifth ranked Big 12 school as eight total are in the top 25. The Lady Raiders dropped five spots to No. 17. Three Big 12 schools are ranked above and Tech is one of six in the Big 12 ranked.
Fastest-Time in the Nation Almost
Gil Roberts set a school-record at the Texas A&M Invitational with a time of 46.17 in the 400M. The time was not only a NCAA provisional but also was the world's fastest time ran this year. The title was short lived as Jordan Boase ran a 46.15 a few hours later.
Odds and Ends
Sally Kipyego is a 10-time Big 12 Individual Champion in her career. Kipyego (Mile, 3,000M), Patience Knight (shot put) and Julius Walker (60M) will try to defend their titles this weekend in College Station. Tech's best finishes at the Big 12 Indoor Championships for the men and women is third. The men finished third last season and the women placed third in 2007 and 2006.
12-Year Old School Record Broke
Tori Smith set a new school record in the 55M hurdles with a time of 7.85. She broke a 12-year old record of 7.89 held by Ami Peters set back in 1997.
National Lists
Gil Roberts 15th 200M 21.09 2nd 400M 46.17 Gilbert Limo 34th Mile 4:03.25 Omo Osaghae 3rd 60M H 7.72 Men's 15th 4x400M 3:10.00 Anthony Flemons 8th LJ 25'-6" Anthony Flemons 6th TJ 53'-00.25" Darrell Roddick 29th TJ 51'-1.50" Harrison Benjamin 20th SP 59'-7" Terra Evans 26th 60M 7.41 Terra Evans 22nd 200M 23.87 Trudeann Clarke 27th 400M 54.40 Sally Kipyego 1st Mile 4:32.01 Gladys Kipsang 58th Mile 4:47.10 Lillian Badaru 43rd 3,000M 9:28.90 Sally Kipyego 2nd 5,000M 15:54.36 Lillian Badaru 15th 5,000M 16:21.59 Women's 13th DMR 11:15.40 Kelsey Lloyd 26th HJ 5'-10" Amanda Alley 20th PV 13'-3.75" Patience Knight 6th SP 54'-9.25" D'Andra Carter 23rd SP 51'-2.75" Ozie Okolie 7th WT 66'-3.75"
High Mark
Anthony Flemons' jump of 53'-00.75" is the third-best jump in school history and a personal best for the junior.
Adding to the List
Sally Kipyego won the Big 12 Female Athlete of the Week for her performance at the Boston Indoor Games. She set a NCAA and school record running a time of 8:48.77 in the 3,000M.
Another School Record in the Books
Junior Ozie Okolie bested her school record in the weight throw by two feet and provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships with the throw of 66'-3.75".
Big 12 AOW
Sophomore Gil Roberts earned his first Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors for his performance at the Texas Tech Invitational on Jan. 17th. He won the 400M in impressive fashion with a NCAA provisional and personal-best time of 46.59.
School Record Broke
Omo Osaghae broke a year-old school record held by former teammate Shawon Harris on Sat., Jan. 17th. He won the 55M hurdles with a NCAA provisional and personal-best time of 7.17.
Star Studded Returners
Texas Tech has a total of eight All-Americans returning for the 2009 season. The group is highlighted by eight-time NCAA champion Sally Kipyego. Two-time All-American throwers Patience Knight and D'Andra Carter are the other women retuning. The men have Anthony Flemons, Tim Foster, Rodney Mims, Omo Osaghae and Gil Roberts.
History in the Making
Senior Sally Kipyego is entering her final season as a Lady Raider and has the potential to make history. During the fall, the Kenyan native became the first male or female in Division I history to win three-straight NCAA cross country individual championships. Kipyego has eight NCAA individual titles and could tie Wisconsin's Suzy Favor who has the most female individual titles in track & field and cross country NCAA history with nine.
Newcomers
Tech has 27 newcomers for the season. The men boast the fifth-best recruiting class in the nation by Track and Field News and the class is highlighted by Markus Henderson, Jamele Mason and Brandon Tucker. The women have a strong group of freshmen and transfers. Lillian Badaru has already made a name for herself as she earned her first All-American honor in cross country last fall.
New Additions
The Texas Tech track program added a new face as Roy Williams, a former TCU All-American, was hired to coach sprints and relays. Williams spent the last three years at the University of Texas at Arlington as the associate head coach of sprints, relays, jumps and hurdles. He coached an Olympic qualifier in the 200M and 4x100M relay and an All-American in the 110M hurdles during his tenure.
10-Year Anniversary This season marks the 10th year that head coach Wes Kittley has been with the Texas Tech track & field program. Since then his program has had nine NCAA champions
Players Mentioned
