Tech Ready to Host Big 12 Championships

Friday, February 22

Lubbock, Texas

Texas Tech Athletics

Big 12 Indoor Championships

Tech Ready to Host Big 12 Championships

February 21, 2019 | Track and Field

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Red Raider men set to defend title, women chasing first-ever track championship.

By: Jeremy O'Brien

LUBBOCK, Texas – For the first time ever, the Big 12 Indoor Championships are set to Lubbock, as the Red Raiders are wrapping final preparations to play host to the conference meet Friday and Saturday.

"We're excited," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Wes Kittley. "This will be the first time we've had the opportunity to host at our new Sports Performance Center. It's an incredible facility, and we're excited to see the rest of the Big 12 come in here and hear what they think about it."

Texas Tech will enter Friday's Big 12 Championships boasting the conference's top-ranked men's and women's teams. The defending champion men's squad will enter Big 12s as a 230-point favorite according to the USTFCCCA's conference TFRI poll, which rewards point values to top times and marks for each team.

"This group is really focused," said Kittley of the men's team. "I think they're very confident because we've had a great year. However, they don't give these championships away. I expect a battle out of the whole conference."

The women's squad hold on the conference's top rank is more unexpected, as they were left out of the USTFCCCA's top-25 to begin the season. However, after standout seasons from Zarriea Willis, Sara Limp and Ivy Walker – plus immediate contributions from mid-years Chinne Okoronkwo and D'Jenne Egharevba – Tech has risen to as high as 11^th in the nation. In addition to a near-top-10 rank, the Red Raiders were introduced as the top women's squad in the Big 12 in the USTFCCCA's first conference poll, released last week. Tech currently holds a slim eight-point lead over defending conference champion Texas as they enter the weekend with an opportunity to chase down the first women's conference title in Tech track and field history.

"The ladies have never been in this position," Kittley said. "They've got an opportunity to fight for a championship. They're going to have to really be on par and have a great meet. They're confident, and they're so excited to run at home."

The Red Raiders will return three of their four indoor conference champions from last year's meet, all of whom are on the men's team. All three of these returning champions – Andrew Hudson, Divine Oduduru and Vincent Crisp – return as the favorites to win their respective events. Hudson and Oduduru currently sit first and second in the conference in both the 60m and 200m. The duo have each turned in a blazing 6.56 60m this season, making them tied for the fifth-fastest time in the world. The two sprinters are joined at the top of the conference by Derrius Rodgers (6.62) and Jacolby Shelton (6.67), making the Scarlet & Black owners of each of the top-four slots in the Big 12's 60m leaderboards.

Hudson and Oduduru also hold – even more firmly – the conference lead in the 200m. Hudson's 20.41 – the second fastest in the world this season – is rivaled in the conference only by teammate Oduduru, whose season-best time comes in at 20.51. Nearly a whole half-second separates the two from the next 200m runner, who is also a Red Raider. Shelton comes into conference weekend third in the event with a top time of 20.97.

Crisp will enter the meet as the defending champion in the 600-yard who also happens to own the all-time collegiate record at 1:08.18. The senior has dipped into the 1:08 range twice as he has tried to chase down his own record this season. He has gotten as close as 1:08.46 at the Jan. 18 Red Raider Invite. He holds nearly a 1.5-second lead on the next-fastest true 600-yard time entering Big 12s.

Sara Limp is one of two Tech runners from the women's team that will be entering the weekend with the top seed. The Californian has crushed her 400m races this season – both the open and relay. She put together a blazing 52-second split in the second leg of the 4x400 at the Corky Classic to spark a 3:36.84 relay, which currently ranks third. She has continued to improve in the open race all season long, and her work resulted in a 52.51 at the Texas Tech Shootout to put her atop the conference and 10^th in the world.

Also entering as a top track seed for the women will be Ivy Walker, whose 8.20 in the 60m hurdles from the Shootout counts as a lifetime best for the junior. Alaysha Johnson (8.33) and Kaylor Harris (8.36) will join Walker as hopefuls to score in the hurdles. Walker also has the chance to score in the long jump, for which she currently sits second in the conference with a top mark of 20'-7" (6.27m).

Chinne Okoronkwo will join Walker in the long jump, in addition to the triple jump and pole vault. The three-event athlete – who transferred to Tech from Wisconsin for the purpose of adding the vault to her event list – offers huge point potential to the women's squad. Okoronkwo is the team leader in the triple jump and pole vault, and is the only female athlete in the Big 12 to rank top-three in three different field events. The junior will enter the weekend second in the triple and third in the long and vault.

In the multi events, Axel Hubert will make his Big 12 debut in the heptathlon. The French native completed his first collegiate hep at the Texas Tech Shootout with a bang, setting the all-time school record with 5,746 points. The mark kicked off the freshman's career putting him in sixth in the nation. Rose Njoku will go for Tech in the pentathlon, boasting a season-best score of 3,627 points in the one hep in which she competed.

The Big 12 Championships will begin with the combined events at 10 a.m. on Friday, with track and field events scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Tickets may be purchased by single day or as a two-day package here.