Track & Field Opens Indoor Season in Iowa City

Saturday, January 18

Iowa City, IA

All Day

Baylor

Larry Wieczorek Invitational

Track & Field Opens Indoor Season in Iowa City

1/15/2020 4:54:00 PM | Track & Field

Seven All-Americans return for the Bears between the men’s and women’s teams.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Sorry, KC, you're not in Doha anymore. Or Minsk, for that matter.
            Sophomore pole vaulter KC Lightfoot is coming off a season that saw him earn All-America honors indoors and outdoors, finish third at the U.S. Outdoor Championships and cap it all off with trips to Minsk, Russia, for a USA vs. Europe meet and Doha, Qatar, for the World Championships.
            Four months later, he's in Iowa City, Iowa, for Baylor's season-opening meet at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational that begins Friday.
            "This isn't Doha," Baylor coach Todd Harbour said, "but we're going to Iowa, and you've got to be ready to bring it."
            It's the same situation Harbour had to deal with while he was running at Baylor, capping off his track season with a meet in Zurich, Switzerland, and turning around a week later to compete in a cross country meet in Denton, Texas.
            "I did it because of my team, it's what you've got to do," Harbour said. "It's not that it's not important, but it's just not quite the same as competing in front of 30,000 or 40,000. That's what (Lightfoot) is going to have to get used to it. He's young, so we'll see how he handles it. I think he can, I think he's mature enough to do it. But, it's a different dynamic."
            Lightfoot headlines the list of returners for a Baylor men's team that is 18^th nationally in the preseason rankings. Matthew Moorer, Howard Fields III and Jayson Baldridge are returning indoor All-Americans and Big 12 champions in the 4s400-meter relay, while senior sprinter Maxwell Willis "seems to be back" to the form that saw him win Big 12 indoor and outdoor 200-meter championships and earn indoor All-America honors as a freshman in 2017.
            "You, obviously, lost Wil (London), a big one," Harbour said of the All-American quarter-miler. "but (the men) are going to be a little deeper. Our men's 4x4 should be pretty solid again, then you add KC to that and Jalen Seals in the long and triple jump. And we're looking forward to seeing what Maxwell is ready to do. It's really a little more experienced group on the guys' side, which is not where we've been the last couple years. So, I'm anxious to see how that plays out."
            After getting hurt at the end of the outdoor season and sitting out the NCAA Championships, Baldridge said one of his goals is to "finish with a healthy season this year." In addition to running on the indoor 4x400 relay team, Baldridge was the runner-up in the 400-meter hurdles at last year's Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
            "It was tough, but it's something I've been through. My freshman year ended the same way," Baldridge said. "I was able to bounce back, just get right to rehab immediately and get back to working. It was tough, but I'm used to it."
            Other All-Big 12 honorees on the men's side include Seals, Cole Hardan, TJ Sugg, Isaiah Cunningham, Riley Richards, Alec Atteberry and Ian Braxton. Quarter-miler Ryan Croson, a transfer from Washington who sat out last year, was voted one of the team captains along with Baldridge and Hardan, a school record holder in the indoor weight throw and outdoor hammer throw.
            "We're excited to get to work." Baldridge said. "We feel like we're being overlooked right now. We're fixing our eyes on the end goal, which is going to the NCAAs."
            The women are 31^st in the preseason rankings and return a pair of All-American relay performers in Aaliyah Miller and Sydney Washington. But Miller, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year two years ago who has already won a pair of conference championships in the 800 meters, could redshirt during the indoor season.
            "She's only got one indoor season left, where she's got two outdoors, so it makes sense to us at this moment," Harbour said of Miller. "And she's in unbelievable shape, too, but you've got a great group of young sprinters, solid jumps, (freshman) Mikayla Deshazer in the throws. We think we've got one of the top throw freshmen in the country. Our pole vaulters are going to be outstanding on the ladies' side, and you've got Morgan Stewart back, the Big 12 (indoor) champion in the 600 meters two years ago."
            Heading the pole vaulting group is junior Tuesdi Tidwell, last year's Big 12 indoor runner-up with a career-best mark of 14 feet, 2 ½ inches that ranks fourth all-time. She has her sights set on Annie Rhodes' indoor school record of 14-7 ¼.
            "This weekend, I don't want to aim too high," Tidwell said, "because I have a long season ahead of me. I want to try to qualify for indoor nationals, at least, and anything else is just a plus from there."
            Tidwell is a team captain along with Washington, Miller and junior Alex Madlock, a returning All-Big 12 performer who placed third in the triple jump and seventh in the long jump at last year's Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Madlock had a career-best mark of 45-3 in the triple jump in winning the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays title, moving to No. 2 on Baylor's all-time performer list behind associate women's head coach Stacey Smith.
            Harbour said the Iowa meet, which starts with the weight throw at 10 a.m. Friday, is a great way to start off the indoor season.
            "You always go into it like, let's see where we are," Harbour said. "We're excited, and we've got a good group, got some freshmen who have never been on the boards (for an indoor meet) before. So, that's always interesting to see the first time, because it's different. What sport do you have freshman athletes that come into it that have never competed in that type of venue. Some of them don't ever compete indoors and on the boards, so that's always a challenge for some of them. But, we're excited to get it going."

WACO, Texas – Baylor track & field is set to open the 2020 indoor campaign Friday and Saturday at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa.

"It's a new season with new hopes, dreams and goals," head coach Todd Harbour said. "We're excited to go to Iowa. It was a great meet for us last year. We're taking a good group up there. It's a good place to start. We're excited about Iowa hosting us again. It's a really quality meet."

The Baylor men's team enters the indoor season ranked No. 18 in the country in the USTFCCCA preseason rankings, highlighted by five returning All-Americans and multiple All-Big 12 honorees.

KC Lightfoot, fresh off an appearance at the 2019 World Championships, is back as a reigning two-time All-American and double Big 12 Champion (indoor & outdoor). Howard Fields III, Matthew Moorer and Jayson Baldridge are returning All-Americans and Big 12 Champions on the 4x400-meter relay, and All-American/Big 12 Champion Maxwell Willis is back for his senior season with the Bears.

Jalen Seals, Cole Hardan, TJ Sugg, Isaiah Cunningham, Riley Richards, Alec Atteberry and Ian Braxton also boast All-Big 12 accolades. University of Washington transfer Ryan Croson, voted a team captain by his peers along with Baldridge and Hardan, adds depth to the 4x400-meter relay after sitting out last season.

On the women's side, the Bears enter the season as preseason No. 31 with two returning All-Americans and several All-Big 12 selections.

Aaliyah Miller and Sydney Washington are back after earning All-America honors and winning a Big 12 Championship in the 4x4 a season ago, and Morgan Stewart also returns with a Big 12 Championship on her resume. All-Big 12 performers on the Bears' roster include Alex Madlock, Sarah Yocum, Moorea Long, Kennedy Bailey, Tuesdi Tidwell, Caira Pettway, Jhane' King, Demitra Carter and Alyssa Miller. Washington, Miller, Madlock and Tidwell were voted team captains by their teammates.

"We're excited about our returnees," Harbour said. "With our All-Americans and Big 12 Champions returning, we have a good group there with good leadership. We also have an outstanding freshman class. It's always a learning curve, but it's a good group, so we're excited to see what they can do this weekend."

College opponents competing this weekend in Iowa are Arizona, Illinois, Iowa, Iowa State, Minnesota, Purdue and Wisconsin.

"This first meet, we're really focused on where we are and where we need to go," Harbour said. "We know we're not where we're going to be six weeks from now, but we always want to get off to a good start. Hopefully, we did what we were supposed to do over the break. We're jumping into the fire fast because this is a good meet."

Action begins Friday at 10 a.m. CT with the weight throw at the Hawkeye Tennis and Recreation Complex and high jump at 1 p.m. CT at the UI Rec Building. Running events kick off at 5:27 p.m. CT with the 600 meters. Live results can be found at https://results.wayzatatiming.com/meets/5097.

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