NCAA Indoor Championships Await Tech

March 10, 2011 | Track and Field

March 10, 2011

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -

The No. 23 Lady Raiders and No. 25 Red Raiders track teams will compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships held in College Station, Texas, at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium this Fri., March 11 and Sat., March 12.

The women's distance medley relay will be after its second-straight All-America honor. The relay set a school record of 11:07.18 at the Alex Wilson Invitational this past weekend. It is the seventh-fastest time heading into the meet.

Bryce Lamb is after his second All-America honor in the long jump. He placed fifth last season with a jump of 7.85M/25'-9.25". His teammate Darrell Roddick will be pulling double duty in the triple jump and high jump. He is ranked

The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships start this Friday at 4 p.m. with the women's weight throw. Live results can be found at www.flashresults.com.

USTFCCCA Rankings
The Texas Tech men head into the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at No. 25 in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings and the women are No. 23.

National Descending Order List
Gil Roberts, 400M, 46.39, 16th Bryce Brown, 60M Hurdles, 7.74, 10th Darrell Roddick,High Jump, 2.22/7'3.25", T-10th Bryce Lamb, Long Jump, 7.98/26'-2.25", 6th Darrell Roddick,Triple Jump, 16.23/53'-3", 8 Purity Biwott, 800M, 2:05.80, 16th Women's, DMR 11:07.18, 11th Shade Weygandt, Pole Vault, 4.40/14'-5.25", 3rd Ifeatu Okafor Shot Put, 17.10/56'-1.25", 7th Kelly Closse Shot Put, 16.29/53'-5.25", 20th Kelly Closse Weight Throw, 20.26/66'-5", 15th

Tech on TV
The NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships will be shown live on ESPN3 on both Friday and Saturday. A tape-delayed airing can be seen on March 16 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. EST.

Rare Double
Darrell Roddick is the only student-athlete in the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships to be competing in both the triple jump and high jump. The senior is ranked No. 8 in the triple jump with his mark of 16.23M/53'-3". He has cleared 2.22M/7'-3.25" in the high jump and ranks 11th.

Last Year's NCAA Indoor Championships
The Red Raiders scored 14 points last year and placed tied for 14th overall. The Lady raiders finished tied for 34th scoring seven points.

NCAA Newcomers
Three of the 11 student-athletes heading to College Station have appeared at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Caroline Jepleting, Kelly Closse and Ifeatu Okafor will make their first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Big 12 Champions
Tech added four Big 12 Championships to its history. Kyal Meyers won the men's pole vault for Tech's first indoor pole vault title. Darrell Roddick won the men's triple jump with a NCAA automatic jump of 16.29M/53'-3". It was Roddick's first title. Kelly Closse won the weight throw with a throw of 20.26M/66'-5". Gil Roberts won his second 400M title with a 46.39.

NCAA Qualifiers
One Red Raider and one Lady Raider have automatically qualified so far for the NCAA Indoor Championships. Bryce Lamb booked his ticket on his very first jump of the season. The sophomore jumped 7.98/26'-2.25" at the Texas Tech Invitational. Shade Weygandt qualified for the NCAA Champs at the Texas Tech Invitational clearing 4.40M/14'-5.25".

School Records Broke
Six school records have been broken so far this year. Terra Evans set the 60M record at the Tyson Invitational with a time of 7.37. Kelsey Lloyd's school record came in the 55M hurdles. The senior ran a 7.79 at the Texas Tech Invite. Shade Weygandt raised the bar on the pole vault record by clearing 4.40M/14'-5.25" at the Texas Tech Invite. At the Big 12 Championships two more were set. Devin Bailey set the 1000M with her 2:48.46 and Katie Grimes set the 60M hurdle record with a 7.38. The most recent record was the women's distance medley relay with an 11:07.18 at the Alex Wilson Invitational.

Last Year's Big 12 Championships
The Lady Raiders finished second last year at the Big 12 Indoor Championships scoring 115 points. It was the most points scored in program history. The Red Raiders placed fifth with 74.5.

Top Freshman
Kyal Meyers moved up the Big 12 list in his final meet before the Big 12 Championships. The freshman cleared 5.25M/17'-2.75". He is the top freshman in the NCAA tied at No. 22 on the national list.

Returning All-Americans
The Texas Tech track team will have 16 student-athletes returning from last season that earned All-America honors. A total of 26 honors were gained by those 16 student-athletes.

Family Connections
Texas Tech has some unique family connections in the track and field family. The Lady Raiders have two sets of twins on the team with Caroline and Winrose Karunde and Terra and Taylor Evans. The Karunde are both transfers to the program with Caroline from Wayland Baptist and Winrose from ACU. Terra has been here from the start of her collegiate career while her sister Taylor transferred from LSU this past summer.

Hurdle All-Americans
The Red Raiders have had an All-American hurdler every year since 2005. The streak began with Marlon Odom in 2005 in the 110M hurdles. Odom earned All-America honors in the 110M hurdles in 2006 and 2007 while also earning the honor in the 60M hurdles in 2007. Other names such as Bryan Scott, All-American in the 400M hurdles in 2006 and 2007, and Shawon Harris, All-American in 2006 in the 60M hurdles and 600M hurdles, have kept the streak alive. Harris was also named an All-American in the 110M hurdles and 60M hurdles in 2008. Omo Osaghae continued the streak for Tech in the 110M hurdles in 2008 and then the 60M hurdles in 2009. Osaghae recently was named All-American in the 60M hurdles making it five years in a row that Tech has had an All-American hurdler. Bryce Brown and Jamele Mason continued the streak earned All-America status in the 400M hurdles.

13 NCAA Individual Champions
Tech has compiled 13 NCAA Individual Champions in its program history. The most recent was from D'Andra Carter as she won the 2009 NCAA Discus title in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It was the first field event national title in program history and the 12th title on the female side.