Texas Tech Opens Weekend Competition With Three Event Wins

Friday, February 12

Fayetteville, Ark.

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Texas Tech Athletics

Tyson Invitational

Texas Tech Opens Weekend Competition With Three Event Wins

February 12, 2016 | Track and Field

C.J. Jones strengthened his lead on the Big 12 in the 800 meters with a time of 1:48.79 on Friday in Fayetteville.

Feb. 12, 2016

RELATED LINKS
Tyson Day 1 Results
Music City Day 1 Results
Postmeet Notes Day 1

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. -- Texas Tech track & field kicked off the weekend with a trio of first-place times and a pair of top 10 school record marks at the Tyson Invitational and Music City Challenge on Friday.

Texas Tech Opens Weekend w/ Trio of Event Wins & Two Top 10 School Record Marks - https://t.co/oJdjeyLItN #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/ObIGRewusw

-- TTU Track & Field/XC (@TTU_TF_XC) February 13, 2016

The Red Raiders swept both sections of the 800 meters at the Tyson Invitational on Friday. In the invitational section, C.J. Jones led from wire-to-wire and crossed the finish line with a time of 1:48.79. Not only was it a personal-best for Jones, but it was also the seventh-fastest time in school history and strengthened his lead on the rest of the Big 12 by almost two seconds.

Vincent Crisp completed the sweep with a victory in the collegiate section of the men's 800 meters. Crisp took the lead on the final lap of the race and put up a time of 1:50.64. The mark is also a personal-best and is the sixth-fastest time in the Big 12 this season.

Tech also had a pair of solid performances in both rounds of the men's 400 meters. Joseph Richards III put up a second-place time in his heat and fourth overall in the invitational 400-meter dash, clocking in at 46.49. His time ranks eighth in school history. Two weeks ago, he notched the fifth-best mark in the Texas Tech records at 46.39.

In the collegiate section of the 400-meter dash, Steven Champlin recorded a seasonal-best of 46.88 seconds to finish first in his heat and fourth overall. He is the third Red Raider to run under 47 seconds this season, joining Richards (46.39) and Kyle Collins (46.43). The trio plus Jones make up the fastest 4x400-meter relay squad this season at 3:07.40, which ranks fifth in the country.

Evans Tuitoek and Miguel Bautista went 1-2 among collegiate athletes in the men's 5000 meters at the Music City Challenge. Tuitoek tallied a time of 14:31.31, while Bautista checked in at 14:38.01. Coming into this weekend's competition, their marks top the Big 12 and were run on the same type of track (300-meter oversized track) that they'll compete on at the Big 12 Indoor Championships in two weeks.

Joseph Richards III finishes second in heat two of the invitational 400 meters at 46.49. It's the 8th-fastest time in school history!

-- TTU Track & Field/XC (@TTU_TF_XC) February 13, 2016

On the women's side, Jocelyn Caro and Hattie Schunk finished third and fourth behind times of 16:40.12 and 17:08.54, respectively. Coming into tonight, their times rank second and third in the conference.

Kaylee Hinton also posted a PR in the college section of the women's long jump, en route to a fifth-place finish. Her third jump of the afternoon landed at 6.02m/19-9, passing her previous PR of 5.95m/19-6.25, but she wasn't done there. With her final leap of the day, Hinton added to her personal standard, hitting the sand at 6.09m/19-11.75.

Viershanie Latham and Gionna Jackson finished sixth and eighth, respectively, in the long jump final with Hinton, putting up marks of 5.96m/19-6.75 (PR) and 5.89m/19-4.

In the men's pole vault invitational, Brandon Bray matched his personal-best of 5.31m/17-5 after sailing over the bar on his first attempt at the height. The clearance earned him a fourth-place finish in the event and kept him at 15th in the NCAA season.

The Red Raiders return to the track on Saturday for day two of the Tyson Invitational and the Music City Challenge, looking to build off the success they put together to open the weekend.