Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Shine On Day One of Texas Tech Open
January 16, 2015 | Track and Field
Jan. 16, 2015
On the men's side, JaCorian Duffield and Bradley Adkins entered the season with the top returning high jump mark in the nation from 2014, and did not disappoint.
Duffield took three attempts to clear 2.15m/7-0.5, but cleared 2.20/7-3.0 on his first attempt, before flying over the bar set at 2.24m/7-4.25, a new school record, and the top mark in the NCAA. Not only that, it is the No. 6 indoor high jump mark in the world.
Adkins did not miss until 2.20m/7-3.0, but was unable to clear that distance. His mark of 2.15m/7-0.5 is tied for No. 3 in the country.
"JaCorian [Duffield] and Bradley [Adkins] are two incredible leaders," Texas Tech head coach Wes Kittley said. "It was great for them to come out and set the tone at this first meet in this fashion. I think there are big things to come from those two."
The Tech men picked up a win in the distance medley relay, as the quartet of Nick Rivera, Kemonie Briggs, Evans Tuitoek and Todd Mickey finished in 10:12.21.
In the 55m dash, Nigel Bethel made his Tech debut, running a 6.44 in the prelims and a 6.34 in the semis before holding himself out of the finals as a precautionary resting measure. Jerome Wilson (6.33) and Darien Tennon (6.41) took third and fourth, respectively.
Tech picked up runner-up finishes in the long jump (Jerome Wilson, 7.20m/23-7.50), 1,000 meters (Kendall McVey, 2:33.40), 55 meter hurdles (Tramaine Maloney, 7.48) and the 600 yards (Charles Jones, 1:10.43).
In the women's 55 meter hurdles, Le'Tristan Pledger set a new facility and school record in the semifinal round, with a blazing 7.65, only to beat that mark in the final, flying down the track in 7.60 to win the event.
Cierra White showed why she will be a force to be reckoned with in the sprints, winning the 55 meter dash in a personal-best 6.85.
Hannah Carson picked up win No. 3 on the day for the women with a huge personal-best launch of 15.31m/50-2.75 to win the shot put, and Reece Timmons won the pole vault, with a clearance of 3.65m/11-11.75, as Tech took the top four spots.
Shanice Stewart had a huge leap of 6.22m/20-05.00 to win the long jump. Gionna Jackson (5.73m/18-09.75) took fifth and Paetyn Revell (5.59m/18-04.25) placed sixth.
As a team, the women took home five event wins.
"We got off to a great start today," Kittley said. "Le'Tristan [Pledger] and Cierra [White] were lights out as expected, but it wasn't just them. We had a solid day across the board. Charles [Jones] looked great, and so did Jerome [Wilson]. I could go on and on with individual performances that stood out. I'm just really pleased with how we competed today."
The Texas Tech Open resumes tomorrow, with the field events starting at 10 a.m., and the running events getting underway at 11 a.m.
Players Mentioned
