London, Lightfoot Shine on Special Day at MJ Invitational

Friday, April 19

Waco, Texas

All Day

Baylor

Michael Johnson Invitational

London, Lightfoot Shine on Special Day at MJ Invitational

4/20/2019 10:39:00 PM | Track & Field

Final Results Photo Gallery

Coach Clyde Hart’s men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relay teams win in his final home meet.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            This might not be the final chapter when Clyde Hart writes his memoirs during the upcoming retirement days, but the final home meet of his 56-year coaching career at Baylor could not have provided a better mic-drop moment.
            On a picture-perfect night at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium, the Baylor men's and women's 4x400-meter relays capped off the Michael Johnson Invitational in fitting style with a green-and-gold sweep of the meet's final events.
            "You couldn't have scripted it out any better," said Baylor head coach Todd Harbour.
            Hart, who built Baylor into Quarter-Miler U., announced that he will retire as the program's Director of Track and Field at the end of this season. He has coached 34 NCAA national champions and helped the Baylor men's 4x400 relay earn All-America honors in 26 of the last 29 NCAA Outdoor National Championships.
            "I've tried to put in the back of my mind because I've still got a couple months left," said Hart, who was honored with a video presentation during Saturday's evening session after a retirement dinner Friday night at the Baylor Club.
            Hart said that this wasn't his last lap, just the last one at the four-year-old stadium that bears his name. "But, we'll be back out here at 10 o'clock Monday. It's the last home meet and this was a good one. I couldn't have asked for better performances."
            It was also the last home meets for All-Americans Wil London and Kiana Horton, two of the 27 seniors that were recognized in the break between the afternoon and evening running sessions.
            London, who had not run an open 400-meter race since placing third at the NCAA Indoor Championships, had a nice victory lap with a winning time of 44.93 that was more than two-tenths of a second faster than runner-up Derrick Mokaleng of TCU. Freshman Matthew Moorer (45.97) and sophomore Howard Fields III (46.13) were third and fourth, respectively.
            "I knew I had to get a good one in with the home crowd, my last one here. So, it was a perfect opportunity to run a great time," said London, who posted the fourth-fastest collegiate time this year. "This was one of the most amazing track meets I've ever run in. Good environment, good atmosphere. I ran a great time for my first open of the season. I'm speechless. It was a good day."
            It got even better when London anchored the 4x400-meter relay to a winning and season-best time of 3:03.17 that ranks as the third-best time in the NCAA ranks.             Following legs by Jayson Baldridge and Fields, Moorer handed London the baton with a lead, and no one was going to catch him. TCU edged out Arkansas to finish second in 3:07.25.
            "I think we're going to be in the hunt at nationals," Hart said. "We've been thinking all year that we should be running 3:03 or better. I think we left some money on the table that we can get."
            Horton wasn't able to give the Bears a double in the 400 meters, finishing third in 52.63 behind the Texas A&M duo of Tierra Robinson-Jones (52.46) and Jaevin Reed (52.48). But, it was her first open 400 of the outdoor season and ran a time that ranks 14^thnationally.
            "There's a lot of things I need to fix on my race come conference time, but I've got to take my wins and I've got to take my losses and put it all together," Horton said, "so that by time Outdoor Nationals come, it will be the perfect race and I can go get a title or something."
            The night ended well for Horton, who anchored the 4x400 relay to a winning and stadium-record time of 3:32.63. Sophomore Sydney Washington joined Horton, Victoria Powell and Aaliyah Miller to pace the women to a season-best time that places them seventh nationally.
            Horton said she didn't want Hart to "go out with any regrets or think, 'Oh no, I've got to come back because this didn't happen or that didn't happen.' I want him to know that he's done everything that he could possibly do as a coach. . . . He gives us all love and compassion and care and the drive for all of us to be great."
            Texas Tech sprinter Divine Oduduru stole a little of the spotlight from Baylor and Hart by running stadium-record and world-leading times in both the 100 (9.94) and 200 meters (19.76). Both of the stadium records were previously held by former Baylor All-American Trayvon Bromell, who was part of a large contingent of Baylor alumni watching the meet.
            "He's for real, he's one of the top guys in the world" Harbour said of Oduduru, the reigning NCAA 200-meter champion indoors and outdoors. "And this track proved that it's one of the fastest in the country."
            Freshman pole vaulter KC Lighfoot continued his assault on the Baylor record book, soaring to a career-best mark of 18 feet, 8 ¾ inches that ranks third nationally and fourth all-time at Baylor behind the top three marks of former All-American and Hall of Famer Bill Payne. Lightfoot tied Texas A&M senior Jacob Wooten for first place when Wooten missed three attempts at 19-0 ¾.
            "I was jumping on a pole that I've never jumped on, so it was obviously a little different feeling that I guess I wasn't ready for," Lightfoot said. "It was just a stiffer (pole), but everything felt pretty good. I figured it out and lined one up."
            Sophomore Tuesdi Tidwell also recorded a career-best, finishing third among collegians with a vault of 14-2 that's tied for the 10^th-best mark this season.
            Turning in one of the best and most surprising performances of the day was sophomore sprinter Demitra Carter, who lowered her career-best by more than three-tenths of a second in winning the 100 meters with an 11.46 clocking out of the slower heat. She also joined Horton, Washington and Raven Grant on the runner-up 4x100 relay (44.35).
            Another part of the special day was the dedication of the Bill Adams Family Pavilion on the north end of the track stadium. A three-year track letterman 1977-79) who came to Baylor as a walk-on out of Highland Park High School, Adams set the school record in the 10,000 meters (29:30.20) that stood for 29 years and also earned All-America honors from the U.S. Track and Field Federation.
            "Bill symbolizes all that Baylor track is," Harbour said of Adams, who was also honored as a Baylor Legend along with three-time All-American pole vaulter David Hodge. "Yes, we honor the gold medalists and the Olympians and All-Americans here, but there's a family that runs through here, and Bill's been a part of that in so many ways and touched so many lives. His message as a missionary, Athletes in Action here in town, it's really special to honor him."
            After wrapping up its home-meet schedule for the year, Baylor will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., in two weeks for the National Relay Championships before going to the Big 12 Outdoor Championships May 10-12 in Norman, Okla.

WACO, Texas – On a day where the new Bill Adams Family Pavilion was dedicated and legendary coach Clyde Hart was honored for his final home meet, several Baylor track & field athletes made their marks Saturday on Senior Day at the Michael Johnson Invitational at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium.

"It was an incredible environment with great fan support," head coach Todd Harbour said. "We appreciate all of those that came out. We had some great teams, and we appreciate all of the teams that came. The facility ran incredible. We had some of the top marks in the country set. It was a special, special day."

It was also senior Wil London's final home meet, and he made the most of it with wins in both the 400 meters and 4x400-meter relay. He posted a time of 44.93 to take the 400 crown, and cruised to a four-second victory on the 4x4 anchor leg set up by Jayson Baldridge, Matthew Moorer, and Howard Fields III. The Bears' 4x4 time of 3:03.17 currently ranks No. 3 in the country.

"Wil's time in the quarter was one of the top times in the U.S. right now," Harbour said. "It was a great ending for those two 4x4s."

The women's 4x400-meter relay set the stadium record with a time of 3:32.63 as seniors Kiana Horton and Victoria Powell along with sophomores Aaliyah Miller and Sydney Washington took home the victory.

Freshman KC Lightfoot made history yet again, tying for the victory in the men's pole vault invite with a career-best and stadium record mark of 18-8.75 (5.71m). He is the No. 2 all-time performer at Baylor in the outdoor pole vault, and his mark ranks as the fourth-best performance in school history behind three of Bill Payne's jumps.

In the women's pole vault invite, Tuesdi Tidwell recorded a personal-best jump of 14-2 (4.32m) to finish as the third-ranked collegiate competitor. Her mark stands as the eighth-best pole vault performance in Baylor outdoor history.

"Tuesdi and KC were their spectacular selves in the vault," Harbour said.

One of the highlights of the day was the emergence of sophomore Demitra Carter, who clocked a personal-best time of 11.46 to take the victory in the women's 100 meters.

"Demitra, that was a big one," Harbour said. "Her 11.4, that was one of the highlights for me. Watching her run that fast - that was a big, big day for her."

There was no shortage of big-time performances for the Bears on Saturday, including many from the group of 27 seniors who were honored on the track prior to the evening running events.

"It was a big day for Leti (De Souza) in the 800 and 4x4," Harbour said. "Alex (Madlock) had a very solid triple jump again. I thought one of the big highlights that maybe went unnoticed early was Caira (Pettway) in the long jump. Big PB for her. I thought the 200 guys ran well early. Isaiah (Cunningham) and Ian (Braxton) both had nice PBs. Maxwell (Willis) ran solid in the 200. Sarah (Yocum) PB'd in the 400 hurdles. Big day for her. Across the board, we had a lot of solid performances. Kiana's quarter was solid. It was a great meet and a great weekend. Overall, just good people. Great crowd. The people that came saw some of the best track & field in the country."

With the home schedule complete, Baylor now heads to Fayetteville, Ark., for the National Relay Championships April 26-27. It is the final tune-up before the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, which will take place in Norman, Okla, May 10-12.

For continued updates on the Baylor Track & Field team, follow the team's social media accounts all season long: @BaylorTrack.