Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raiders Remain In Top 10 In Final USTFCCCA Rankings
March 09, 2015 | Track and Field
C.J. Jones and the No. 9 men's 4 x 400 relay will head to Fayetteville as part of the No. 10 men's track & field team in the country.
NEW ORLEANS, La. -- The Texas Tech men's and women's track & field teams will head to the NCAA Indoor Championships ranked No. 10 and No. 22, respectively, according to the final U.S. Track & Field And Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) indoor rankings of the season.
This marks the third time since the inception of the USTFCCCA rankings that both the Red Raiders and Lady Raiders went through the entire indoor season ranked in the top 25, the others being 2009 and 2011.
On the men's side, Big 12 Champion JaCorian Duffield will go to Fayetteville as the No. 1 high jumper in the nation (2.28m/7-5.75), and will be joined by teammate Bradley Adkins, who sits at No. 5 (2.25m/7-4.5).
Chris Caldwell, fresh off his Big 12 60 meter hurdles championship, qualified for the NCAA semifinal in his event, with a season-best time of 7.73.
Tech's 4 x 400 meter relay of Kyle Collins, Steven Champlin, C.J. Jones and Joseph Richards III, which ran a 3:07.00 at the Arkansas Open, will travel to Fayetteville as the nation's No. 9 relay. Darien Tennon will serve as the relay's alternate.
Kole Weldon will return to Fayetteville to compete in the shot put as the No. 15 thrower in the event, in the same location where he earned NCAA runner-up honors 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, punched his ticket to nationals in the long jump at No. 6.
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 easily qualified her in the event, to go along with her qualification in the 60 meter dash.
Shanice Stewart qualified in two events in which she holds the No. 16 national ranking--the long jump (6.30m/20-8.00), and the pentathlon (4,152). She placed third in the Big 12 in both events. The top 16 athletes and top 12 relays in each event earned qualification.
Le'Tristan Pledger will represent the Lady Raiders in the 60 meter hurdles, after running a season-best 8.11 to take second at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.
The Red Raiders will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, March 13-14, at the Randal Tyson Center.
Players Mentioned
