Cowboys Finish Second and Cowgirls Third in Big 12 Indoor Tacks and Field
(This story originated with the Big 12 Conference office and staff.)
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas women and Texas Tech men were crowned the champions of the 2024 Big 12 Indoor Trak & Field Championship after a total of 19 events were contested on Friday and Saturday at TTU's Sports Performance Center. It marked the 14th Big 12 title for the Texas women while defending men's champion Texas Tech secured its fourth title.
The Longhorn women finished with 135 points. With only half a point separating second and third place, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State were the other teams that scored over 100 points with 104 and 103.50, respectively. Big 12 newcomer BYU tallied 71 points to place fourth while Baylor secured 44 points to round out the top five.
On the men's side, the Red Raiders almost surpassed their total last year (159) with 152 points with Oklahoma State finishing second with 92 points. The Longhorns collected 89 points, followed by Kansas with 81 points and Iowa State's 67.50 points as the top five finishers.
UT's Dajanea Oakley was announced the women's High Point Award winner with 20 points while TTU's Caleb Dean scored 17.50 points to take the men's award.
Texas Tech dominated the men's and women's 60-meter dashes with Rosemary Chukwuma and Don'dre Swint crossing the line at 7.23 and 6.55 seconds, respectively. On the women's side, Chukwuma was joined by teammates Alyssa Colbert and Success Umukoro as the top three finishers while the Red Raiders had four other runners that finished in spots 2-6.
Temitope Adeshina would secure the last individual title for the TTU women in the high jump as she cleared 1.90 meters.
Committing a false start in the 60-meter, TTU's Terrence Jones came out strong in the 200-meter while he sprinted the nation's fastest time of 20.21 in the event. The Red Raider men would then solidify its win in the last event, the men's 4x400 meter relay, with the group of Caleb Dean, Carl Hicks, Josh Bour and Shaemar Uter crossing the line at 3:02.76.
The Texas women clinched gold medals in four events Saturday. Emelia Chatfield secured her first Big 12 title, marking a personal best time of 7.95 in the 60-meter hurdles. UT freshman Nina Ndubuisi launched the shotput 18.07 meters, finishing in first ahead of her teammates who placed second and third. Akala Garrett extended the Longhorns' streak in the 600 yards to five consecutive wins with a time of 1:19.04 before the women's high point winner Oakley ran a personal best of 51.75 in the 400-meter run to take the win.
On the men's side, UT's Yusuf Bizimana secured the 1,000-meter title by cruising across the line at 2:22.40.
Oklahoma State secured both titles in the mile as Billah Jepkirui defended her title and set a facility record by running through eight laps in 4:37.14. Following his winning performance in the men's DMR, Ryan Schoppe earned his own Big 12 title with a time of 4:02.73.
Winny Bii leaped 13.66 meters in the triple jump to become the second Cowgirl to win the event at the Big 12 Championship. Previously winning the 1,000-meter run in 2021, OSU's Sivan Auerbach reclaimed her title with a time of 2:46.85.
OSU's Alex Maier collected his third consecutive Big 12 men's 3,000-meter title with a facility record time of 7:55.45, contributing to the second-place finish by the Cowboys.
Houston acquired two conference titles on Saturday. De'Vion Wilson beat out two of the top-10 leaders this season the 60-meter hurdles to claim the program's first Big 12 gold medal. His time of 7.55 on Saturday bested his 7.59 on Friday, which was the fastest in the hurdles during preliminaries. He was joined by men's heptathlon winner Grant Levesque as a gold medalist from the Cougars.
The UH women also earned two Big 12 titles Saturday in record-setting fashion. Kelly-Ann Beckford set a facility record and a Big 12 record with a time of 2:00.99 in the women's 800-meter before she joined teammates Sydni Townsend, Iman Babineaux and Michaela Mouton in the Big 12 record-setting performance in the women's 4x400 relay, marking a 3:29.42 in the event.
Kansas picked up three wins on the men's side. Grant Lockwood marked a time of 1:07.79 in the 600 yards en route to claiming the gold before Michael Joseph ran a 45.46 in the 400 meters. The Jayhawks' day would conclude with Devin Loudermilk jumping 2.26 meters in the men's high jump, just short of the nation-leading 2.27 mark.
Iowa State's Jason Gomez ran the 800 meters in 1:48.36 to claim his second Big 12 title in the event, previously winning in 2021. The Cyclone men added another first-place finish as Cam Jones won his second career Big 12 title with a shotput throw of 19.60 meters.
BYU's Lexy Halladay-Lowry earned the Cougars' first Big 12 title after she ran the women's 3,000meters in 9:03.66. The team posted three of the top four finishes in the event.
Oklahoma's BJ Green claimed the program's fourth men's triple jump win with the championship field's best jump of 16.46 meters.
TCU's Iyana Gray became the first Horned Frog to win the 200-meter title as she ran a 22.71.
In the men's 400-meter preliminary round, K-State's Eugene Omalla recorded a Big 12 record with a time of 45.18.
Big 12 squads will now prepare for the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships held March 8-9 at The Track at New Balance in Boston.
2024 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Champions
Women:
High Point Scorer: Dajanea Oakley, Texas - 20 points
Shot Put: Nina Ndubuisi, Texas - 18.07 (59-03.50)
Triple Jump: Winny Bii, Oklahoma State - 13.66 meters (44-09.75)
60 Meter Hurdles: Emelia Chatfield, Texas - 7.95
60 Meters: Rosemary Chukwuma, Texas Tech - 7.23
Mile: Billah Jepkirui, Oklahoma State - 4:37.14
600 Yards: Akala Garrett, Texas - 1:19.04
400 Meters: Dajanea Oakley, Texas - 51.75
1,000 Meters: Sivan Auerbach, Oklahoma State - 2:46.85
High Jump: Temitope Adeshina, Texas Tech - 1.90 meters (6-02.75)
800 Meters: Kelly-Ann Beckford, Houston - 2:00.99*
200 Meters: Iyana Gray, TCU - 22.71
3,000 Meters: Lexy Halladay-Lowry, BYU - 9:03.66
4x400 Meter Relay: Houston (S. Townsend, K. Beckford, I. Babineaux and M. Mouton) - 3:29.42*
Pentathlon: Kristine Blazevica, Texas - 4,430 points
Weight Throw: Monique Hardy, K-State - 21.11 meters (63-03.25)
Pole Vault: Alencia Lentz, Baylor - 4.50 meters* (14-09)
Long Jump: Ackelia Smith, Texas - 6.74 meters (22-01.50)
5,000 Meters: Taylor Roe, Oklahoma State - 15:32.03*
Distance Medley: West Virginia (S. Tait, K. Rowe, M. Vanderheyden and C. McCabe) - 11:18.08
Men:
High Point Scorer: Caleb Dean, Texas Tech - 17.50 points
Heptathlon: Grant Levesque, Houston - 6,068
Shot Put: Cam Jones, Iowa State - 19.60 meters (64-03.75)
Triple Jump: BJ Green, Oklahoma - 16.46 meters (54-00)
60 Meter Hurdles: De'Vion Wilson, Houston - 7.55
60 Meters: Don'dre Swint, Texas Tech - 6.55
Mile: Ryan Schoppe, Oklahoma State - 4:02.73
600 Yards: Grant Lockwood, Kansas - 1:07.79
400 Meters: Michael Joseph, Kansas - 45. 46
1,000 Meters: Yusuf Bizimana, Texas - 2:22.40
High Jump: Devin Loudermilk, Kansas - 2.26 meters (7-05)
800 Meters: Jason Gomez, Iowa State - 1:48.36
200 Meters: Terrence Jones, Texas Tech - 20.21
3,000 Meters: Alex Maier, Oklahoma State - 7:55.45
4x400 Meter Relay: Texas Tech (C. Dean, C. Hicks, J. Bour and S. Uter) - 3:02.76
Long Jump: Leo Neugebauer, Texas - 7.92 meters (26-00)
Weight Throw: Jeremiah Nubbe, Texas - 22.79 meters (74-09.25)
Pole Vault: Clayton Simms, Kansas - 5.68 meters (18-07.50)
5,000 Meters: Ernest Cheruiyot, Texas Tech - 13:42.08
Distance Medley: Oklahoma State (B. Musau, B. Currence, L. Kipkemboi, R. Schoppe) - 9:29.41*
* Big 12 Championship Record