Red Raiders Set To Compete At 88th-Annual Texas Relays
March 25, 2015 | Track and Field
Bradley Adkins and the Texas Tech Red Raiders descend on Austin this weekend for the Texas Relays.
March 25, 2015
LUBBOCK, Texas -- The No. 10 men's and No. 13 women's Texas Tech track & field teams will compete at the 88th-annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, in Austin, Texas, this weekend, March 26-28.
The Red Raiders will begin competition on Thursday, with field events starting at 12:30 p.m., and running events beginning at 4:30 p.m. On Friday, field and running events get underway at 9:30 a.m. and on Saturday, running events get going at 8:15 a.m., and field events start at 9 a.m.
The meet will be broadcast on the Longhorn Network, and live results will be available at texassports.com.
"Even if you don't know a whole lot about track and field, there's a good chance you've still heard of the Texas Relays," Texas Tech head coach Wes Kittley said. "This will be a great opportunity for our athletes to go against some of the best competition in the nation, and do so in an unbelievable environment. On top of that, this complex is hosting this year's NCAA West Preliminary Round, so it will be good to get a meet under our belts at this facility before coming back in May. I think our athletes are going to put together some great performances this weekend."
This year's version of the Texas Relays will feature athletes from 687 high schools and 208 collegiate teams and 134 invitational athletes. A total of 6,625 athletes from 34 states and eight countries are expected to compete.
The Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are coming off a great opening weekend at the UTSA Challenge, highlighted by Chris Caldwell, who was responsible for three event wins, and was named Big 12 Athlete of the Week for his exploits.
Out of the Blocks
? Texas Tech's men's (No. 10) and women's (No. 13) track and field teams begin the outdoor season ranked in the USTFCCCA Preseason top 15 for the sixth-straight season.
? Mike A. Myers Stadium, host of this weekend's Texas Relays, will also host the NCAA West Preliminary Round, May 28-30. At that event is where athletes have a chance to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
? Texas Tech's Chris Caldwell won Tech's fifth overall Big 12 Athlete of the Week award of 2015, after winning three events at the UTSA Challenge. The five combined indoor and outdoor awards equal the most for one year in program history--Tech also earned five such awards during the 2007-08 season.
? Through one weekend of competition, Texas Tech currently has 22 men and women ranked in the nation's top 25 in their respective events.
? JaCorian Duffield and Bradley Adkins will make their 2015 outdoor debuts this weekend in Austin. Both got last week off after their 1-2 finish in the NCAA Indoor high jump final two weeks ago, in Fayetteville, Ark.
? Texas Tech is looking to become just the third team in Big 12 history to repeat as outdoor conference champions, following up on their historic 2014 title in Lubbock.
Who's Got Next?
Texas Tech track & field will return home next weekend to host the annual Texas Tech Open, which will be held April 3-4, at the Terry & Linda Fuller Track & Field Complex, in Lubbock.
Sights Set On Austin
The outdoor qualifying process differs a little bit from the one used for the indoor season. The top 48 athletes and top 24 relays in each event in the west region will advance to the NCAA West Preliminary Round, in Austin, Texas, May 28-30. From there, the top 12 athletes in each event from each region will advance to the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships, in Eugene, Ore.
Making History
Texas Tech has already had seven individuals combine to break nine different school records this season, with many of those having been broken twice already. Overall, Tech school records have been broken 15 times in 2015.
Last Year At The Texas Relays
All-American Kole Weldon broke a five-year-old record in the men's shot put, while sophomore Lady Raider Hannah Carson broke her own record in the women's javelin throw, at the 87th-annual Texas Relays.
On his fifth attempt of the evening Weldon, who finished third at the NCAA Outdoor Championships last year, launched a throw of 19.67-meters (64'-6.50") to break Harrison Benjamin's previous record of 19.60-meters (64'-3.75") set in 2009. The Jacksboro, Texas native now owns both the Texas Tech indoor and outdoor school records in the shot put. Earlier Friday, in the first event on the Texas Relays infield, Carson broke her own school record in the javelin throw for the second time in the last two weeks. The rising Lady Raider star let loose a soaring heave of 54.03-meters (174'-3") on her fifth attempt of the competition to once again break her own standard.
Texas Tech's string of record-breaking performances at the Texas Relays continued on the final day of competition inside Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin. This time it was in the high jump as junior JaCorian Duffield took down a 30-year-old record clearing 2.23-meters (7'-3.75") on his third and final try at the bar. With a smooth approach from the left side, Duffield planted, flew over the bar and finished the jump off with an emphatic celebratory fist pump.
Last Time Out
The Texas Tech men's track & field team put on a dominant performance on its way to winning the UTSA Challenge, in San Antonio, Texas, on Saturday.
The Tech men won nine different events, accumulating 175.5 points, 53 points clear of second-place Kentucky and 92 ahead of third-place Texas. Chris Caldwell led the way for the Red Raiders, winning the 110m hurdles behind an NCAA-best time of 13.60, winning the 100m dash, clocking a 10.51 and was part of the 4 x 100 meter relay, which ran a 40.69 to win the event.
Continuing with the sprints, Trevor Mackey won the 200 meter dash, clocking a 20.76, and Steven Champlin, Kyle Collins, Darien Tennon and C.J. Jones combined to run a nation's best time of 3:10.78 in the 4 x 400 meter relay. Kole Weldon followed up his performance in yesterday's hammer throw with a win in the discus, launching the disc 54.75m/179-7. Kyle Thompson won the pole vault with a clearance of 5.50m/16-6.75, Trey Culver leaped 2.10m/6-10.75 to win the high jump and Jerome Wilson jumped 7.13m/23-4.75 to take the long jump title.
On the women's side, Le'Tristan Pledger led the way with a win in the 100m hurdles, blazing down the track in 13.50. Cierra White ran the second-fastest 100m in the NCAA thus far (11.46) to win that event, and Reece Timmons cleared an outdoor collegiate-best 3.95m/12-11.5 to win the pole vault. She edged out teammate Haley Cook, who also cleared 3.95m/12-11.5, an outdoor collegiate best for her as well. The Lady Raider quartet of White, Pledger, Lygia Forman and Montenae Speight combined to win the 4 x 100m relay, with a time of 45.39. The Lady Raiders took second overall, scoring 165.5 points, which was just three points shy of first-place Kentucky.
Caldwell Tabbed As Big 12 Athlete of the Week
Texas Tech's Chris Caldwell has been named the Big 12 Male Track & Field Athlete of the Week, after winning three events at the UTSA Challenge over the weekend, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
The indoor All-American won the 110 meter hurdles with a nation-leading personal best of 13.60. He then won the men's 100 meter dash with a personal-best 10.51, a time that ranks 10th in the nation. In both races Caldwell defeated fields that included former NCAA Champion Andrew Riley. After that, Caldwell anchored Tech's 4 x 100m relay, which won the event in 40.69, a time which ranks 14th in the NCAA.
Caldwell's 110 meter hurdle mark of 13.60 is the fourth-fastest time run in the world this season.
Taking Flight
JaCorian Duffield and Bradley Adkins took first and second place in the men's high jump final at the 2015 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 14.
The Red Raider duo became the first pair of teammates to go 1-2 at the NCAA Championships in the high jump since 1974, when Oregon State's Mike Fleer and Tom Woods accomplished the feat. There were plenty of twists and turns along the way, as both jumpers had sole possession of first place at least once. When the dust settled, both had cleared a school record 2.29m/7-6.0, and Duffield was the NCAA champ on fewest attempts.
Players Mentioned
