Tech Hits Podium 13 Times on Day One

Friday, February 22

Lubbock, Texas

Texas Tech Athletics

Big 12 Indoor Championships

February 22, 2019 | Track and Field

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Red Raiders off to strong start heading into packed championship day.

By: Jeremy O'Brien

LUBBOCK, Texas –The first day of action at the Texas Tech-hosted Big 12 Championships wrapped up Friday evening with the Red Raiders in second on the women's and third on the men's. The women's squad tallied 36.5 points while the men sit at 37 through one day of competition.

Chinne Okoronkwo became the first and only Red Raider to lay claim to a Big 12 title on the first day of competition in Lubbock. Okoronkwo went 14'-2.5" (4.33m) in the pole vault to take the championship. The mark was the third-highest in program history, and helped assistant coach Tom Slagle pick up his first conference title as Tech's vault coach. Chloe Wall also scored, topping at 13'-6.5" (4.13m) in her Big 12s debut to score 3.5 points.

"I'm so happy for Chinne getting her Big 12 Championship," said Kittley. "And I'm so happy for [assistant] coach [Tom] Slagle for getting his first Big 12 Champion. I'm really happy for him as a coach."

Okoronkwo's 10 points provided a strong start to a women's squad battling to put themselves in position to win its first-ever conference title.

Tech's biggest points grab on the women's side also came courtesy of the long jumpers. Ivy Walker led the way with a 20'-1.75" (6.14m) to place fifth. Behind her was Chinne Okoronkwo, whose 19'-11.75" (6.09m) tied a personal record and was good for sixth. Chelsey Cole also earned a spot on the podium with a top leap of 19'-11" (6.07m), which was a PR.

On the throws side, Seasons Usual went for a career-best 61'-5" (18.72m) in the weight throw for a fourth-place finish that netted the women five points.

In addition to picking up 36.5 points on day one, the women also used the track prelims to place 13 runners in championship races Saturday.

This effort was led by Sara Limp and D'Jenne Egharevba, who each grabbed spots in two title races tomorrow. Limp qualified for the finals of the 400m with a 53.74, then went on to earn a lane in the 200m finals by tying her career best of 23.60. Egharevba began her day with a seventh-place finish in the 60m after running a program seventh-best 7.38. She then ran a 23.57 in the 400m to join Limp in Saturday's final.

Also in the 60m was Tiffani Johnson, who earned a lane with a fourth-place 7.35. The mark counted as the fifth-best in Tech history. The Red Raiders also packed Saturday's final of the other straightaway race, the 60m hurdles, by placing three in the top-eight. Alaysha Johnson ran a season-best 8.26 to win her heat, while Ivy Walker (8.27) and Kaylor Harris (8.45) got in via at-large spots.

"It was a good day and I'm really proud of our ladies and how they fought so hard," Kittley said. "We did all we could do. No matter what anyone else did, we had a really solid day."

The men's field events were solid, too. Tech used the field to rack up all but six of their 36.5 points Friday. Tech's largest points grab of the day came via its jumps crew, which racked up 19 in the long jump. They were led by Odaine Lewis, whose 26'-0" (7.92m) was good for second place and eight points. He was immediately followed by Charles Brown, who jumped 25'-7.25" (7.80m). Closely behind Brown was Justin Hall, who jumped a season-best 25'-5.5" (7.76m) to place fourth.

The men's runners were just as selfish as the women when it came to taking lanes in Saturday's title races, ending day one with 12 qualifiers. They, too, were dominant on the straightaway – especially in the 60m dash. Tech will go into Saturday owning half of the field in the short sprint after seeing three program top-10 prelim performances from their top-ranked 60m crew. Andrew Hudson led the way with a 6.57 to win his heat, which counted as the third-fastest in program history. Divine Oduduru and Derrius Rodgers both dusted their respective heats, too, each turning in a 6.61 to tie for fifth in Tech history. Kesean Carter also qualified with a career-best 6.71.

The trio of Hudson, Oduduru and Rodgers were not finished, however, as they all went on to claim title race lanes in the 200m as well. Hudson did so in dazzling fashion, running a 20.33 to set the Big 12 Championships record and increase his lead on the rest of the NCAA by nearly one-fifth of a second.

In the hurdles, Robert Teer ran an 8.13 to qualify for the finals in his Big 12s debut. Middle distance yielded good results for Tech, too, as the Red Raiders qualified two in the 600-yard and one in the 1000m. Vincent Crisp ran the 600-yard in 1:10.66 to make the final, while Chancellor Stephenson squeezed into the title race with an eighth-place, personal record 1:11.01. The 1000m qualification came in the form of Jonah Koech, whose 2:26.41 garnered a third-place finish.

Koech also anchored the distance medley relay to a time of 9:58.59. Koech was able to bring home a third-place finish with the help of opening legs Jett Buchanan, Isaac Marquez and Sven Cepus. The time was a season best for the Red Raiders.

"I feel like we did a great job filling up lanes," said Kittley. "We put ourselves in a good position for tomorrow."

Day two of the Big 12 Championships will get underway at 11 a.m. with the final three events of the heptathlon. Championship races will get underway at 2 p.m. Tickets may be purchased here.