Texas Tech University Athletics
Shanice Stewart Shines On Day One Of NCAA Indoors
March 13, 2015 | Track and Field
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- There's a reason the meets aren't played out on paper. Shanice Stewart was a perfect example of that, placing fourth in the women's long jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships on Friday, after entering the meet as the last entry, the No. 16 seed.
Stewart, who entered the weekend ranked 16th in the event, threw down a huge personal-best leap of 6.36m/20-10.5 on her second attempt of the night to improve on her 11th-place finish at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Championships. Her jump is the third best in program history. Her first team All-American performance earned five team points for the Lady Raiders.
"This feels amazing," Stewart said. "I'm just so blessed that I was given the opportunity to do this. Going from 16th to fourth is an incredible feeling. I feel great going into the pentathlon tomorrow, as well. I just knew I needed to get here. Once I was able to do that, I knew anything could happen."
On the men's side in the long jump, Keniel Grant placed 11th, with a jump of 7.44m/24-5.0, earning second team All-America honors.
Tech sent its pair of hurdlers through to tomorrow's finals. Chris Caldwell ran the third-best time in Tech history, a personal-best 7.64 to automatically qualify on the men's side, and Le'Tristan Pledger ran a season-best 8.10 to automatically go through on the women's side.
In the women's 200 meter dash, Cierra White won her heat with a 23.31, and qualified for tomorrow's final in the event.
"Getting through today is so difficult," Texas Tech head coach Wes Kittley. "Shanice [Stewart] gave a glimpse of what tomorrow will be like. Anything can happen. She turned in such a clutch performance. Our hurdlers looked great as well. I'm really excited to see what tomorrow brings. I'm feeling positive that our kids will compete to the best of their ability."
Texas Tech will be back in action tomorrow at the NCAA Indoor Championships, with Stewart getting at the action started at 11:30 a.m., in the pentathlon. The meet will be streamed live on Watch ESPN starting at 6 p.m., but before then, arkansasrazorbacks.com will host a live stream for the field events, including the men's high jump, which features Tech stars JaCorian Duffield and Bradley Adkins.
Players Mentioned
