Tech Hosts First Outdoor Meet of the Season

Tech Hosts First Outdoor Meet of the Season

April 08, 2009 | Track and Field

April 8, 2009

LUBBOCK, Texas -

The No. 14 Lady Raiders and No. 21 Red Raiders christen the newly renovated Terry & Linda Fuller Track Complex tomorrow at 3 p.m. as it hosts the first outdoor meet of the year.

The newly renovated track has a brand new Mondo Super-X surface on it, which is the same surface at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Sprint lanes, pole vault pits and long and triple jump pits have been put in the middle of the track as well as a fence and walkway around the entire track. The walkway will allow fans to see action from anywhere around the complex.

The new complex will host three meets with the culmination being the Big 12 Outdoor Championships on May 15th - 17th.

Eleven teams will be competing tomorrow in the meet including, Abilene Christian, Cameron, Eastern New Mexico, Lubbock Christian, New Mexico Highlands, New Mexico, North Texas, South Plains, TCU, Wayland Baptist and West Texas A&M.

Field events for the Texas Tech Open meet will being at 3 p.m. with the long jump and hammer throw. The running events start at 5:30 p.m. with the 3000M steeple chase. Live results of the meet can be found by going to www.texastech.com.

Last Week

Tech had a strong showing this last week at the 82nd Clyde Littlfield Texas Relays. Omo Osaghae ran a wind-aided NCAA Regional mark of 13.42. It is the fastest time by a Tech student-athlete in the 110M hurdles but is not a school record due to the wind. D'Andra Carter threw the nation's leading mark in the discus with a NCAA Regional mark of 180'-08". She won the Texas Relays title for the second year in a row as did Patience Knight. Knight won the shot put with a mark of 54'-6.50. Benjamin Harrison threw his first NCAA Regional mark with a 57'-6.50" and Terra Evans ran a NCAA Regional time of 11.46 in the 100M. The men's 4x400M (3:06.40) and the women's 4x400M (3:40.37) were both regional qualifiers. Sage Lasater cleared 12'-7.50" in the pole vault for her first NCAA Regional mark and Kelsey Lloyd cleared 5'-8.75" to qualify regionally for the high jump. Darrell Roddick added his name to the NCAA Regional list for the high jump clearing 6'-10.75". Others who hit regional marks were Amanda Alley (pole vault), Ozie Okolie (hammer) and Roddick (triple jump).

USTFCCCA Rankings

The Texas Tech men's and women's track squad both stayed in the STFCCCA rankings compiled by Tom Lewis. The Red Raiders are No. 21 this week. The men are the fifth-ranked Big 12 school. The Lady Raiders jumped up to No. 14 after being 18th last week. Tech is the fourth ranked Big 12 school on the women's side.

Fast Freshman

Terra Evans has the second-fastest time in the nation by a freshman in the 100M. She is ranked tenth nationally with an 11.46 and her time is the fifth-fastest ran in Tech history.

National Rank

400M Rodney Mims 27th 3K SC Gilbert Limo 16th 110M H Omo Osaghae 1st 110M H Jamele Mason 36th 400M H Jamele Mason 34th 4x400M Men 9th HJ Darrell Roddick 26th TJ Darrell Roddick 10th SP Harrison Benjamin 21st DT Brett McDaniel 43rd 100M Terra Evans 10th 4x400M Women 27th HJ Kelsey Lloyd 24th PV Amanda Alley 16th PV Sage Lasater 33rd SP Patience Knight 4th SP D'Andra Carter 33rd DT D'Andra Carter 1st DT Patience Knight 19th HT Ozie Okolie 11th

Two Weeks in a Row

Patience Knight was named the Big 12 Female Athlete of the Week for her performance at the ACU Invitational. She won both the shot put and discus at the met with NCAA Regional marks. She threw 164'-06" and 53'-11.25". It is the second-straight week a Texas Tech athlete has won the athlete of the week award from the Big 12.

Freshman Debut

Freshman Jamele Mason, in only two meets so far during the outdoor season has regionally qualified for two events. At the TCU Invitational he ran a 14.23 to qualify in the 110M hurdles and he turns around a week later to run a 52.22 to qualify in the 400M hurdles.

Female Athlete of Week

D'Andra Carter, the two-time All-American won the discus throw with a NCAA Regional mark of 172'-11" and is the second-best in the nation currently. Carter followed it up by placing third in the shot put with throw of 49'-6.5". Her shot put marks qualifies for the NCAA Regional meet as well.

An Amazing Career

Senior Sally Kipyego ended her career at the NCAA Indoor Championships becoming only the second female in NCAA Division I track & field history to win nine NCAA titles. She tied Suzy Favor as she won her third-straight 5,000M title which no other female has done.

Program Best Finishes

The Texas Tech track & field program had its best NCAA Indoor Championship in history. The women finished in ninth with 21 points. It is the highest finish and most points scored in the program's history. The men made history as they finished in 13th place with 18 points.

Another Level

Sally Kipyego became the first female in NCAA Division I history to win three NCAA Division I Indoor 5,000M titles.

All-Americans

Tech earned nine All-American honors this past week at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Sally Kipyego earned her 11th and 12th All-American honor in her illustrious career. Gil Roberts earned his second and third All-American award in the 400M and 4x400M relay. Tim Foster and Rodney Mims both earned their second award in the 4x400M relay. Patience Knight earned her second as well in the shot put. Omo Osaghae earned his first indoor and second All-American honor overall. Markus Henderson collected his first All-American honor in the 4x400M relay.

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.

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 and 97 All-American honors.