Taking back a title: Texas Tech men dethrone Texas for Big 12 track crown

Caleb Dean, sitting in Jones AT&T Stadium during a football game last fall, asked the students around him the meaning of the Horns-down hand gesture.

The transfer from Maryland learns as fast as he runs.

Dean in the 60-meter hurdles and teammate Terrence Jones in the 60 meters set Big 12 indoor track and field championship meet records Saturday and Courtney Lindsey ran the program's second fastest 200 ever, leading the Texas Tech men to the conference title for the first time since 2018 and 2019.

After five Red Raiders took the top six places in the hurdles, they did a spontaneous pose atop the banked track at the Sports Performance Center. Dean, flanked by two teammates on each side, threw a Horns down.

"I've been definitely waiting for the right time," he said.

So had the team. Tech last won the Big 12 indoor title in 2018 and 2019, Texas won it the past two years and the teams were ranked No. 3 and No. 5 going into the meet. The Red Raiders finished with 159 points, Oklahoma State with 111 and Texas with 105.

"I didn't expect this," Tech coach Wes Kittley said. "I thought on paper we (Tech and UT) were both about 130 to 140 points. I thought they would be a lot closer to us. Just didn't work out that way."

The Red Raiders put the hammer down in rapid-fire fashion early Saturday afternoon.

First, Chris Welch won the triple jump, moving from second to first on his last attempt. Omamuyovwi Erhire took third and Keyshawn King seventh, so Tech outscored Texas 19 points to two in that event.

With that still a fresh jolt of energy, the Red Raiders' hurdlers and sprinters electrified the crowd in back-to-back events, outscoring Texas 32-2 in the 60 hurdles and 32-7 in the 60.

Dean (7.52 seconds), Antoine Andrews (7.59), Denim Rogers (7.77), Mike Dingle (7.85) and Samuel Alves (8.28) finished 1-2-3-4-6 in the hurdles. Moments later, Jones (6.48), Don'Dre Swint (6.57), Dean (6.58), Courtney Lindsey (6.59), Adam Clayton (6.65) and Nylo Clarke (6.74) finished 1-2-3-4-7-8 in the 60.

"It's the best performance I've ever been in," Jones said. "This group is probably the best group I've ever been in in my life. The energy is just unmatched."

And to think: Jacolby Shelton, who won the 60 in the conference meet the past two years and the 200 last year, was out with a hamstring strain. He was cheering on his guys, and there was plenty to cheer.

Before Saturday, the top 10 60-meter hurdles times in Tech history fell in a range of seven one-hundredths of a second. Dean broke the record — the 7.59 Andrews ran two weeks ago — by seven one-hundredths.

"Yesterday, when everybody made it to the finals in the hurdles and the 60 dash, all that adrenaline, all that momentum carried into today," Dean said. "I feel like the home crowd definitely helped as well."

With that crowd energized, it was Jones' turn. The 6-foot-4 junior from the Bahamas tied the NCAA record last year with a 6.45, and he ran 6.46 in Friday's preliminary. Tech coaches, wanting Jones to be healthy for next month's NCAA championships and the outdoor season, told Jones not to push for the record.

Instead, he celebrated on the last four steps to the finish line, forgoing form to extend his arms and look to the side.

"There's no one like him when he's healthy," Tech coach Wes Kittley said. "He's incredible. He's my Usain Bolt."

"It was long overdue," said Jones, who has battled injuries. "I'm happy to (win) conference for the first time. Took me two years, but I finally did it, so I feel pretty good about the race."

Lindsey tacked on insurance points, winning the 200 in 20.13. His personal best in the 200 before Saturday was 20.15, but he did that outdoors. Running indoors, on a 200-meter track with more turns, that kind of time is harder to pull off.

"Yeah, it is," he said. "I mean, starting off, it felt smooth. I knew I had to end it off strong and actually run through the line coming in on the 200. I felt good running it, though."

Zach Bradford gave the Tech men their first title in a field event, winning the pole vault Friday night for the fourth conference meet in a row — the past two indoor and the past two outdoor.

In the triple jump, Welch was third two years ago at the Big 12 indoor and second last year. He was sitting in second for the last three rounds Saturday when he stepped onto the runway for the last try and uncorked a jump of 53 feet, 1 1/2 inches to overtake Jaden Patterson from Kansas.

"It's a blessing from God himself," Welch said. "I prayed a lot for this, just being who I am as a person. And through the adversity I went through to get it, it's most definitely worth it to be an attribute to my team, so it feels great."

Welch, a 5-9, 157-pound senior from Dickinson, was a first-team all-American outdoor last year with a sixth-place finish at the NCAA meet.

Oklahoma State won the women's title with 146 points, and Tech took fourth with 93 1/2. OSU ended Texas' streak of five straight women's titles and eight of the previous nine.

Tech's Demisha Roswell won the 60-meter hurdles in 8.04, and in the triple jump Anne-Suzanna Fosther-Katta (45-1 3/4) and Onaara Obamuwagun (44-5 1/4) finished 1-2.

The NCAA indoor championships are March 10-11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The top 16 in individual events and the top 12 in relays qualify.

BIG 12 INDOOR

TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS

Friday-Saturday

at the Sports Performance Center

WOMEN

Team totals: 1. Oklahoma State, 146 points; 2. Texas, 136 1/2; 3. Oklahoma, 99 1/2; 4. Texas Tech, 93 1/2; 5. Iowa State, 59; 6. Baylor, 57; 7. Kansas, 54 1/2; 8. Kansas State, 38; 9. West Virginia, 37; 10. TCU, 20.

Combined Events

Pentathlon: 1. Pippi Lotta Enok, Oklahoma, 4,207 points; 2. Bailey Golden, Oklahoma State, 4,136; 3. Urte Bacianskaite, Kansas State, 4,028.

Field Events

Weight throw: 1. Abby Moore, Oklahoma, 68 feet, 6 inches; 2. Jasmine Greer, Kansas State, 67-8 1/4; 3. Emma Robbins, Kansas State, 66-7 3/4; 6. Malin Smith, Texas Tech, 62-6.

Pole vault: 1. Ariadni Adamopoulou, Oklahoma State, 13-9; 2. Olivia Cade, Texas Tech, 13-9; 3. Olivia Lueking, Oklahoma, 13-5.

Long jump: 1. Sydney Willits, Iowa State, 20-9 1/4; 2. Bailey Golden, Oklahoma State, 20-6 1/4; 3. Shalom Olotu, Kansas State, 20-3 1/2.

Shot put: 1. Marilyn Nwora, Texas, 56-10 1/4; 2. Payden Montana, Oklahoma, 54-11 1/4; 3. Abby Moore, Oklahoma, 53-9 3/4; 6. Field Gatlin, Texas Tech, 51-7 3/4; 7. Malin Smith, Texas Tech, 51-2 1/4.

Triple jump: 1. Anne-Suzanna Fosther-Katta, Texas Tech, 45-1 3/4; 2. Onaara Obamuwagun, Texas Tech, 44-5 1/4; 3. Grace Anigbata, TCU, 43-2 1/4.

High jump: 1. Rylee Anderson, Kansas, 6-2; 2. Trinity Tomlinson, Texas, 5-9 1/4; 3. Saara Hakanen, Oklahoma State, 5-9 1/4; 5. (tie) Alexis Ivy, Texas Tech, 5-7 3/4.

Running Events

5,000 meters: 1. Taylor Roe, Oklahoma State, 16 minutes, 8.37; 2. Cailie Logue, Iowa State, 16:18.36; 3. Gabby Hentemann, Oklahoma State, 16:23.07.

Distance medley relay: 1. Oklahoma State (Gabija Galvydyte, Ansley Scott, Kaylie Politza, Billah Jepkirui), 11:12.21 (facility record; old record, Texas Tech, Badaru, Boleware, Diaz, Kipyego, 11:20.75 in January 2009); 2. West Virginia, 11:23.76; 3. Iowa State, 11:26.72.

60 hurdles: 1. Demisha Roswell, Texas Tech, 8.04; 2. Gabrielle Gibson, Kansas, 8.11; 3. Katarina Vlahovic, Iowa State, 8.25; 7. Naomi Krebs, Texas Tech, 8.39.

60: 1. Julien Alfred, Texas, 6.97 (meet record; old record, Rosemary Chukwuma, Texas Tech, 7.17 in 2022; facility record; old record, Marybeth Sant-Price, FKElite, 7.08 in January 2022); 2. Rosemary Chukwuma, Texas Tech, 7.17; 3. Ezinne Abba, Texas, 7.17; 8. Demisha Roswell, Texas Tech, 7.44.

Mile: 1. Billah Jepkirui, Oklahoma State, 4:37.64 (facility record; old record, Wilma Vanonna, Texas-El Paso, 4:40.62 in 1989); 2. Taylor Roe, Oklahoma State, 4:39.53; 3. Maddie Salek, Oklahoma State, 4:45.41.

600 yards: 1. Rachel Helbling, Texas, 1:18.41; 2. Lily Williams, Baylor, 1:18.72; 3. Sylvia Schulz, Texas Tech, 1:20.06; 8. Lexye Price, Texas Tech, 1:23.60.

400: 1. Rhasidat Adeleke, Texas, 50.33 (meet record; old record, Courtney Okolo, Texas, 51.06 in 2016; facility record; old record, Georganne Moline, Nike, 51.39 in February 2018); 2. Kennedy Simon, Texas, 51.01; 3. Imaobong Nse Uko, Baylor, 52.19; 7. Zariere Dumas, Texas Tech, 53.61.

1,000: 1. Valery Tobias, Texas, 2:43.85 (meet and facility records; old records, Sinclaire Johnson, Oklahoma State, 2:44.23 in February 2019); 2. Halena Rahmaan, Texas Tech, 2:46.80; 3. Sivan Auerbach, Oklahoma State, 2:47.26.

800: 1. Aaliyah Moore, Kansas, 2:05.11; 2. Gabija Galvydyte, Oklahoma State, 2:05.11; 3. Brooke Jaworski, Texas, 2:06.38; 5. Fanny Arendt, Texas Tech, 2:08.40.

200: 1. Julien Alfred, Texas, 22.26 (meet record and facility records; old records, Kynnedy Flannel, 22.55 in February 2021); 2. Lanae Thomas, Texas, 22.63; 3. Rosemary Chukwuma, Texas Tech, 22.68.

3,000: 1. Ceili McCabe, West Virginia, 9:21.21; 2. Cailie Logue, Iowa State, 9:21.60; 3. Taylor Roe, Oklahoma State, 9:22.84.

1,600 relay: 1. Baylor (Kavia Francis, Imaobong Nse Uko, Mariah Ayers, Lily Williams), 3:33.28; 2. Texas Tech (Nayanna Dubarry-Gay, Zariere Dumas, Sylvia Schulz, Le-Taija Jackson), 3:34.71; 3. Texas, 3:36.04.

MEN

Team totals: 1. Texas Tech, 159 points; 2. Oklahoma State, 111; 3. Texas, 105; 4. Kansas, 96; 5. Iowa State, 76; 6. Oklahoma, 75; 7. Baylor, 60; 8. Kansas State, 29; 9. TCU, 27.

Combined Events

Heptathlon: 1. Kristo Simulask, Oklahoma, 5,939 points; 2. Denim Rogers, Texas Tech, 5,828; 3. Alexander Jung, Kansas, 5,721.

Field Events

Long jump: 1. Nikaoli Williams, Oklahoma, 25-4 1/2; 2. Solomon Washington, Texas, 25-1 3/4; 3. Tayton Klein, Kansas, 25-0 1/2; 7. Chris Welch, Texas Tech, 24-0 3/4.

Weight throw: 1. Cam Jones, Iowa State, 76-4 1/4; 2. Jeremiah Nubbe, Texas, 71-3 1/4; 3. Jacob Mechler, Texas Tech, 70-4 1/2; 8. Konner Wood, Texas Tech, 61-4 1/4.

Pole vault: 1. Zach Bradford, Texas Tech, 18-5 1/2; 2. Clayton Simms, Kansas, 18-1 3/4; 3. Ashton Barkdull, Kansas, 17-9 3/4; 7. Logan Fraley, Texas Tech, 17-1 3/4; 8. Kyle Stifflemire, Texas Tech, 17-1 3/4.

Triple jump: 1. Chris Welch, Texas Tech, 53-1 1/2; 2. Jaden Patterson, Kansas, 53-0; 3. Omamuyovwi Erhire, Texas Tech, 52-6 1/2; 6. Keyshawn King, Texas Tech, 51-5.

Shot put: 1. Patrick Larrison, Kansas, 64-5 3/4; 2. Diego Trevino, Oklahoma, 62-11 1/4; 3. Patrick Piperi, Texas, 62-10 3/4.

High jump: 1. Vernon Turner, Oklahoma, 7-5 3/4; 2. Devin Loudermilk, Kansas, 7-1 3/4; 3. Omamuyovwi Erhire, Texas Tech, 7-1 3/4; 4. Kaithon McDonald, Texas Tech, 7-1 3/4.

Running Events

5,000 meters: 1. Alex Maier, Oklahoma State, 14 minutes, 11.72 seconds; 2. Haftu Knight, Texas, 14:18.75; 3. Will Muirhead, Oklahoma State, 14:18.78; 4. Isaac Alonzo, Texas, 14:19.19.

Distance medley relay: 1. Oklahoma State (Fouad Messaoudi, Charlie Bartholomew, Juan Diego Castro, Ryan Schoppe), 9:31.52 (meet record; old record, Oklahoma State, 9:37.31 in 2015; facility record; old record, Texas Tech, Owen Likens, Chancellor Stephenson, Sven Cepus, Takieddine Hedeilli, 9:36.71 in February 2021); 2. Iowa State, 9:35.49; 3. Texas Tech (Paul Sherrill, Oskar Edlund, Marco Vilca, E.J. Rush), 9:48.55.

60 hurdles: 1. Caleb Dean, Texas Tech, 7.52 (meet record; old record, Keiron Stewart, Texas, 7.66 in 2011, Ronnie Ash, Oklahoma, 7.59 on oversized track in 2010); 2. Antoine Andrews, Texas Tech, 7.59; 3. Denim Rogers, Texas Tech, 7.77; 4. Mike Dingle, Texas Tech, 7.85; 6. Samuel Alves, Texas Tech, 8.28.

60: 1. Terrence Jones, Texas Tech, 6.48 (meet record; old record, Ronnie Baker, TCU, 6.51 in 2016); 2. Don'Dre Swint, Texas Tech, 6.57; 3. Caleb Dean, Texas Tech, 6.58; 4. Courtney Lindsey, Texas Tech, 6.59; 7. Adam Clayton, Texas Tech, 6.65; 8. Nylo Clarke, Texas Tech, 6.74.

Mile: 1. Fouad Messaoudi, Oklahoma State, 3:57.27 (facility record; old record, Haron Lagat, unattached, 3:58.48 in February 2008); 2. Ryan Schoppe, Oklahoma State, 3:58.47; 3. Crayton Carrozza, Texas, 3:59.77; 6. E.J. Rush, Texas Tech, 4:03.58.

600 yards: 1. Yusuf Bizimana, Texas, 1:08.00; 2. David Seete, TCU, 1:08.03; 3. Oskar Edlund, Texas Tech, 1:08.65.

400: 1. Matthew Moorer, Baylor, 45.66; 2. Hasani Barr, Baylor, 45.71; 3. Nathaniel Ezekiel, Baylor, 45.77.

1,000: 1. Juan Diego Castro, Oklahoma State, 2:20.29 (facility record; old record, Takieddine Hedeilli, Texas Tech, 2:23.70 in February 2021); 2. Nehemia Too, Iowa State, 2:20.81; 3. Alex Stitt, Oklahoma State, 2:21.34.

800: 1. Crayton Carrozza, Texas, 1:48.52; 2. Cebastian Gentil, Iowa State, 1:48.85; 3. Mehdi Yanouri, Oklahoma State, 1:49.54; 6. Marco Vilca, Texas Tech, 1:49.87.

200: 1. Courtney Lindsey, Texas Tech, 20.13; 2. Demar Francis, Baylor, 20.46; 3. Adam Clayton, Texas Tech, 20.59; 8. Nylo Clarke, Texas Tech, 28.73.

3,000: 1. Alex Maier, Oklahoma State, 8:04.77; 2. Rory Leonard, Oklahoma State, 8:09.49; 3. Fouad Messaoudi, Oklahoma State, 8:09.87; 5. Isaac Alonzo, Texas, 8:12.22.

1,600 relay: 1. Oklahoma (Zarik Brown, Salim Epps, Josh Bour, Muzuri Mattar), 3:02.72 (meet record; old record, Baylor, Wil London, Richard Gary, Caleb Dickson, George Caddick, 3:04.16 in 2016; facility record; old record, Texas A&M, Jamal Walton, Carlton Orange, Bryce Deadmon, Devin Dixon, 3:02.77 in February 2020); 2. Baylor, 3:02.89; 3. Oklahoma State, 3:07.37.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Taking back a title: Texas Tech men dethrone Texas for Big 12 track crown