Texas Tech University Athletics
Tech Hurdlers Lead The Way On Day One In Fayetteville
February 13, 2015 | Track and Field
Le'Tristan Pledger took third in the women's 60m hurdles with a season-best time of 8.12, on Friday.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- A couple of great finishes in the 60 meter hurdles led the way for the No. 12 women's and No. 14 men's Texas Tech track & field teams on day one of the Tyson Invitational, in Fayetteville, Ark., on Friday.
Le'Tristan Pledger improved in each round of the 60 meter hurdles, running an 8.24 in the prelims and an 8.13 in the semis before running an 8.12 in the finals to take third. She remains No. 3 in the nation in the event.
On the men's side in the 60 meter hurdles, Chris Caldwell improved in each round as well, running a 7.90 in the prelims before running a collegiate-best 7.80 to win his semifinal heat. In the finals, Caldwell blazed down the track in 7.74, to take second. That collegiate-best time moves him to No. 5 in the nation.
"It was a great venue here tonight," Texas Tech head coach Wes Kittley said. "I was really pleased with our long jumpers, Jerome Wilson and Keniel Grant, getting marks that put them in national contention. I also really loved seeing Chris Caldwell and Le'Tristan Pledger improve every round in the hurdles against some of the best in the country."
In arguably the most loaded field of the day, the men's seeded 400 meter dash, Joseph Richards (46.62) placed seventh, after running in a heat containing three of the nation's top 15 in the event.
In the men's long jump, Jerome Wilson leaped a season-best 7.66m/25-1.25 to take second place. His jump currently ranks 14th in the nation. Keniel Grant placed third, with a jump of 7.50m/24-7.25.
Steven Champlin ran a collegiate-best 46.97 to place third in the unseeded division of the men's 400 meter dash, and Charles Jones ran a collegiate-best 1:51.20 in the 800 meters, taking eighth place.
Kole Weldon took 10th place in the weight throw, with a launch of 19.39m/63-7.50, and will compete again tomorrow in the shot put. Kyle Thompson placed second in the pole vault, clearing 5.25m/17-2.75.
On the women's side, in the invitational division, Shanice Stewart placed sixth, with a leap of 6.12m/20-1.00. Montenae Speight placed 12th in the seeded division of the 400 meter dash, running a season-best 53.62.
A pair of Tech distance runners ran the 5,000 meters at the Iowa State Classic, on Friday, in Ames, Iowa. In the women's race, Sharlene Nickle placed 27th, with a time of 16:55.64. On the men's side, Evans Tuitoek took 50th place, finishing in 14:51.24.
Competition will resume tomorrow at the Tyson Invitational, with both the field and running events beginning at noon. The meet will be streamed live on Watch ESPN. At the Iowa State Classic, Tech will compete in the men's 3,000 meters at 9:45 a.m., and the men's mile at 11:25 a.m., on Saturday.
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