Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Stay Put In USTFCCCA Top 25
March 02, 2015 | Track and Field
Kole Weldon is poised to go into the NCAA Indoor Championships with the No. 14 shot put mark in the nation.
NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Texas Tech men's track & field team remained in the top 10 of the U.S Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) computer rankings this week, staying at No. 10.
The Lady Raiders received the No. 23 ranking this week. Both the men's and women's teams have maintained top-25 rankings throughout the indoor season. The only other two times the teams accomplished that feat were in 2009 and 2011.
At this moment, Tech is poised to send eight total athletes and a relay to the NCAA Indoor Championships.
On the men's side, Big 12 Champion JaCorian Duffield is still No. 1 in the high jump (2.28m/7-5.75), while Bradley Adkins sits at No. 5 after his performance at the Masked Rider Open (2.25m/7-4.5).
Chris Caldwell, fresh off his Big 12 60 meter hurdles championship, is ranked sixth in the nation in the event (7.73).
Joseph Richards III is on the bubble, as he is currently ranked 18th in the 400 meters, after running a personal-best 46.49 to take runner-up honors at the Big 12 Championships. The top 16 times in the nation qualify. There is a possibility he can qualify in the event due to athletes scratching the 400 meters to compete in other events, but he will be traveling to Fayetteville regardless, as a member of Tech's 12th-ranked 4 x 400m relay, which includes Steven Champlin, Kyle Collins and C.J. Jones.
Kole Weldon will return to Fayetteville ranked 14th in the shot put, the same location where he earned NCAA runner-up honors in the event two years ago.
Keniel Grant's monster leap of 7.86m/25-9.50 at the Arkansas Open, which bettered his personal best by nearly a foot, has him in the nation's No. 6 spot in the long jump.
Cierra White leads the way on the women's side after running a school-record 22.98 to win the Big 12 200 meter title. That run has her at No. 4 in the nation in the 200 meters to go along with being ranked ninth in the 60 meter dash.
Shanice Stewart holds the No. 16 national ranking in two events--the long jump (6.30m/20-8.00), and the pentathlon (4,152). She placed third in the Big 12 I both events this weekend in Ames.
Le'Tristan Pledger ran the 60 meter hurdles in a season-best 8.11, missing out on the conference title by .01 seconds. She ranks seventh in the nation in the event.
The Red Raiders have this week off before traveling to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, March 13-14, at the Randal Tyson Center.
Players Mentioned
