Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
Wes Kittley Invitational
Texas Tech Sweeps Wes Kittley Invitational
April 11, 2015 | Track and Field
Texas Tech head coach Wes Kittley looks on as his teams sweep the invitational named in his honor, on Saturday..
ABILENE, Texas -- A slew of personal-best and nationally-ranked performances sparked Texas Tech to a sweep of the men's and women's team titles at the ACU Wes Kittley Invitational, on a windy Saturday in Abilene, Texas.
The No. 10 Red Raiders won eight events and scored 383 points, while the No. 14 Lady Raiders won nine events, on their way to 370 points at the second-annual meet named after Texas Tech head coach Wes Kittley.
"It's always nice when our kids perform well, but to do it at this meet was special," Kittley said. "We were great across the board today. When you have that amount of personal bests and win that many events at one meet, that's really something. I'm proud of the way we competed today, and I think days like this really help us as we move closer to the postseason."
Leading the way for the No. 10 men's team were Joseph Richards III (45.61), Steven Champlin (45.92) and Kyle Collins (46.23), who went 1-2-3 in the 400m dash, running the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 5 times in the nation in the process.
Cierra White and Le'Tristan Pledger were up to their usual tricks as White (11.32) won the women's 100m dash, and Pledger (13.16) took the victory in the women's 100m hurdles. White also won the women's 200m dash (23.23) and Pledger took second in the 100m dash, with a 11.72.
Kole Weldon won the men's hammer throw for the second consecutive week, with a toss of 59.55m/195-4, and followed that up with a win in the discus as well, with a best throw of 57.62m/189-0.
Viershanie Latham continued her strong outdoor season, sweeping the long jump and triple jump titles. Her triple jump of 12.92m/42-04.75 was an all-conditions collegiate best, and is the No. 7 mark in the NCAA.
Tech's jumpers on the men's side had a good day as well, as Jerome Wilson (7.42m/24-04.25) and Keniel Grant (7.40m/24-03.50) went 1-2 in the men's long jump, and Trey Culver (2.06m/6-9.0) won the high jump.
Kyle Thompson won the men's pole vault, with a personal-best clearance of 5.30m/17-4.50, and nearly cleared 5.40m/17-8.50 after that. Haley Cook (4.00m/13-1.50) completed the event sweep on the women's side, clearing a personal-best height for the second-straight week.
"We had a good meet overall," Texas Tech assistant coach Tom Slagle said. "We got great PR's from Haley Cook and Kyle Thompson. Haley has really started to put it together during the outdoor season, and Kyle has been making steady progress all year. I'm really pleased with where the vaulters are right now, and I'm looking forward to great things to come the rest of the season."
Reigning Big 12 Athlete of the Week Hannah Carson won the javelin once again, with a throw of 49.90m/163-08. She also won the discus with a personal-best 54.98m/180-4, and was the top collegiate in the shot put, taking second, with a throw of 14.48m/47-06.25.
Texas Tech swept the 4 x 100m relays, as Chris Caldwell, Richards III, Champlin and Trevor Mackey won the men's race with a 40.50, and White, Lygia Forman, Pledger and Montenae Speight ran a 44.74 to win on the women's side.
Clark Blunt won the men's 3,000m steeplechase, with a time of 10:09.51.
At the David Noble Angelo State Relays on Friday, Kami Norton (5,093) and Natalie Thompson (4,716) took third and fourth, respectively, in the women's heptathlon.
Texas Tech track & field will return to action next Saturday, April 18, at the Michael Johnson Classic, in Waco, Texas.
Players Mentioned
