Hubert, Okoronkwo Crowned Champions on Day Two

Saturday, May 11

Norman, Okla.

Texas Tech Athletics

Big 12 Outdoor Championships

Hubert, Okoronkwo Crowned Champions on Day Two

May 11, 2019 | Track and Field

Saturday Results Sunday Heat Sheets Live Results Meet Schedule Watch Live Follow @TexasTechTF on Twitter Follow @texastechtf on Instagram

Texas Tech picks up first two Big 12 Champions of weekend.

By: Jeremy O'Brien

NORMAN, Okla. – The Red Raiders crowned their first two Big 12 Champions of the weekend Saturday on the second day of action in Norman.

Axel Hubert brought Texas Tech its first event win of the weekend with his victory in the decathlon. After a strong showing in his first five events Friday, Hubert used Saturday to shatter the school record and complete his indoor/outdoor sweep of the men's multis. Hubert, the indoor heptathlon winner, PR'd in two more events Saturday to bring his personal best total for the weekend to five. Hubert entered the day tied for first, but he regained the lead right away with a win in the 110m hurdles. A runner-up distance in the discus and a win in the pole vault put him comfortably in the lead. Then commanding the lead, he used the javelin and 1500m to pace himself to a school-record 7,810 points.

"Right off the bat we got a Big 12 Champion," said Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Wes Kittley. "It was a personal best for him and I'm really proud of him."

Why not another PR? ?????

Axel's point total this weekend counts as a lifetime best ?????? moves him to #??6?? in the nation!

??#WreckEm | #Big12TF?? pic.twitter.com/gpa1lW2egF
— Texas Tech T&F/XC (@TexasTechTF) May 11, 2019

As the day began with a 10-spot for the men, it was only fitting 10 points came for the women to end it. This first title of the weekend for the women's side came courtesy of Chinne Okoronkwo, who vaulted a collegiate-best 14'-2" (4.32m) to take the top spot on the podium. The mark – the sixth-best in program history – helped the junior complete the sweep of the indoor and outdoor conference titles.

"It feels so good to sweep," Okoronkwo said. "I was pretty unsure going into pole vault because this outdoor season has been really rocky, but I just did what I've been doing in practice from short and made it work on the long run.

"Chinne had such a great mark," Kittley said. "I think her success will be a big boost to our women's team tomorrow."

The vault that completed the sweep! ??

With her W tonight, Chinne is now the defending conference champ in both the indoor ?????? outdoor pole vault! ??

??#WreckEm | #Big12TF?? pic.twitter.com/i5vuGza76X
— Texas Tech T&F/XC (@TexasTechTF) May 12, 2019

Though Okoronkwo's pole vault podium stop was her first at the top, it was her second time receiving a medal Saturday. The junior also medaled in the long jump, going 19'-9.75" (6.04m) for a sixth-place finish. She was joined in scoring by Ivy Walker, who gathered one point with her eighth-place finish.

The men's squad filled a plethora of Sunday's finals races. Kittley's middle-distance group claimed three of those alone in the 800m as Jonah Koech, Vincent Crisp and Sven Cepus finished top-nine in the half-mile to make it to Sunday. Koech (1:50.54) and Crisp (1:50.92) led the way for Tech, finishing top-three in their heat and earning automatic bids. Cepus, who also ran in the first heat alongside his teammates, snuck an at-large bid with a 1:52.17. Though far from a personal best, Koech's top-nine performance was impressive considering it came just two hours after picking up an automatic bid in the 1500m.

Kittley also had an 800m qualifyer on the women's side in the form of Maygen Smith, who also earned the opportunity to compete for a title on Sunday. Smith's race resulted in a personal-best 2:07.75, which placed her third in a fast heat.

Divine Oduduru was Tech's lone 100m runner to move on and represent Tech in the final. The junior glided his way to a smooth 10.11 – his second-fastest time of the season. The defending conference champion will run for a repeat at 6:35 p.m. Sunday. Jacolby Shelton was the next closest of the other four Red Raiders racing on the straightaway, missing the cut by just two-hundredths of a second with his 10.56.

MEN'S 100 | Divine breezes by!

An easy 10.11 from @odudurudivine1 counts as the second-fastest time of his Tech career and is plenty good enough to move him to tomorrow's final!

???: @FloTrack (https://t.co/XTyWE7LcRd)

??#WreckEm | #Big12TF?? pic.twitter.com/WCfyWoGro3
— Texas Tech T&F/XC (@TexasTechTF) May 11, 2019

Elsewhere on the track, Tech impressed in the 400m hurdles. This effort was led by Norman Grimes, Jr., who topped the competitors in his heat in dominating fashion. The sophomore, who currently sits second in the nation, was aggressive from the start and rode his pace to a blowout win and time of 49.83. He crossed nearly 2.5 seconds in front of the rest of the field, even letting up at the end and still going sub-50.

"The ultimate goal is to get into the final by spending as little energy as possible, but that's gotten me before and I've missed finals because I was thinking too much," Grimes said about the effort. "I think it's easier to just run a fast time and set that rhythm up to run fast tomorrow. I think it sets a tone of confidence for me."

MEN'S 400H | Norman, CHILL!@normangrimesjr dusts the entire field, jogs through the finish, and STILL runs sub-50 — something only 5?? runners in the country have done this season. ??

???: @FloTrack (https://t.co/XTyWE7LcRd)

??#WreckEm | #Big12TF?? pic.twitter.com/LLR1Oih5ts
— Texas Tech T&F/XC (@TexasTechTF) May 12, 2019

Damajahnee Birch led Tech in the women's quarter-hurdles as just one of two runners to dip below 59 seconds. The junior, who turned in a 58.97, took the win in her heat and will enter Sunday as the second seed in the championship race.

Also qualifying for Sunday championship races were Tiffani Johnson and Peyton Ricks in the 100m. Johnson ran her best time in nearly two months at 11.56 for the second-place finish and automatic bid in her heat. While Ricks' 11.77 was her slowest time of the season, it bought her an at-large bid into the final and afforded her a chance to make a run at points for the women's group.

The 200m created a Sunday bid for two Red Raiders and one Lady Raider. Andrew Hudson ran a 20.65 that blew away his heat and turned out to be the quickest time of the whole field. He will be joined Sunday by Keion Sutton, who snuck in with a 21.27 for the ninth and final spot in the championship heat. The women's final slot went to D'Jenne Egharevba, 23.47 in her second 200m of the season was good enough to send her to Sunday.

While many more potential points are on the board for the men Sunday, the jumps squad piled them up Saturday. Tech's men completed a 19-point swing in the long jump, taking the second- through fourth-place spots on the podium. Odaine Lewis led the way for Tech with a top leap of 25'-10.25" (7.88m). Justin Hall recorded the top Big 12 finish of his career when his fourth jump also resulted in a 25'-10.25" (7.88m). Charles Brown rounded out the Red Raiders piling on the podium with a fourth-place 25'-6.75" (7.79m).

High jump also produced three podium appearances for the men, led by Jake Benninghoff and his second-place performance. The sophomore's 7'-0.25" (2.14m) led him to what was also the best Big 12 performance of his career. Following Benninghoff's lead, freshmen Jack Scarborough (fifth place) and Jequan Hogan (seventh) also hit the podium in what was the duo's Big 12 Outdoors debut.

Tech's women's distance group picked up right where it left off Friday with another great performance Saturday. This came from Nokuthula Dlamini, who PR'd in the steeplechase with a 10:34.91 and gathered five more points for the women. It was Dlamini's first career appearance at the outdoor conference meet. On the men's side, Cornelius Kiprotich scored in the men's steeple in what was his outdoor Big 12s debut as well. He did so with a 9:15.05.

Points in the steeple! ??@Thulz96 runs a PR for 5?? points for the women, while Cornelius Kiprotich places fifth for 4?? points toward the men's score!

??#WreckEm | #Big12TF?? pic.twitter.com/9zgvUqUI6r
— Texas Tech T&F/XC (@TexasTechTF) May 12, 2019

On the lower field, Tech compiled a pair of fifth-place finishes in the shot put. Seasons Usual approached the podium for the women for the second time of the weekend with a top throw of 49'-10" (15.19m). The mark – a personal record – came in the second of three throws events in which she is competing this weekend.

"It's important to just take it one event at a time," Usual said. "My favorite event is the discus, but I'll do whatever I need to for my team. If I need to do the shot, I will, and it was nice to PR in it."

Points in the men's shot came courtesy of Duke Kicinski, who also came in fifth with a top toss of 57'-6.5" (17.54m).

The final day of the Big 12 Outdoor Championships will see the men looking to expand on a day-two lead with plenty of chances to do so. The women's team will look to gather as many points as possible after earning several lanes in Sunday races. The third day of competition will begin at 2:30 with the high jump.