Track & Field Set for Big 12 Indoor Championship

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            For this weekend's Big 12 Indoor Championship in Ames, Iowa, Todd Harbour will be paying less attention to the team standings and more to the qualifying list for the NCAA Indoor Championship.
            "Both sides, we don't have enough firepower to go up there and realistically say we can win this thing," Harbour said of the Big 12 meet, which begins Friday at the Lied Recreation-Athletic Facility at Iowa State, "but we can still go up there and have a great meet.
            "We can come back with some Big 12 titles and still try to get a few qualified for the NCAA meet, that's kind of the goal. . . . If we can pick up three, four, five, six more (NCAA qualifying marks), I don't care what the scoreboard says, it will be a really good meet."
            Just outside of the top 25 in the latest team rankings at No. 31 and 37, respectively, the Baylor men and women can also boost their chances at next month's NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M., by adding a few more qualifying marks. Based on the current top-16 individual rankings, the Bears would have two entrants on both sides.
            Sophomore pole vaulter KC Lightfoot is a two-time All-American and returning Big 12 champion who is ranked second nationally with a school-record mark of 19-1 ½, while the men's 4x400-meter relay team is in a solid position with a season-best time of 3:06.93.
            On the women's side, junior pole vaulter Tuesdi Tidwell is ranked first in the Big 12 and fourth nationally with a school-record mark of 14-9. Freshman Hayward Mackenzie is just outside of the top 16 at 13-10 ½, while junior Alex Madlock is 11^th in the triple jump at 43-9 ¼.
            "You can't say those guys can get overlooked, but it's hard not to with everything that's going on around Baylor Athletics," Harbour said. "KC Is one of the top vaulters in the world right now, here on our campus. And Tuesdi, a little walk-on from Early, Texas, has become one of the top vaulters in the nation. . . . I'm excited to see what they do, because they lead us off on Friday."
            Junior vaulter Riley Richards is just outside of the top 16 on the men's side with a season-best of 17-6 ½, and could join Lightfoot and Tidwell with a big jump this weekend.
            "(Assistant coach Brandon Richards) has done a great job with them," Harbour said. "I'll buy him as many poles as he wants to keep them happy. As long as they keep jumping high, I've got to keep buying poles."
            Also on the bubble is junior quarter-miler Trey Fields, who ranks third in the Big 12 and 19^th nationally in the 400 meters at 46.57. Going into this weekend, UTEP's Sean Bailey is sitting 16^th at 46.42.
            "He's ready to run fast," Harbour said of Fields. "He's had a couple tough breaks this year. He got knocked down at Lubbock. (National leader Randolph Ross of North Carolina A&T) ran 45.55, and Trey was running right with him. Just watching him in workout, he's ready."
            Fields said his goal is to "leave everything on the track and make sure I make it to nationals."
"Coming into this meet, I'm just really confident," he said. "I want to make sure I get a top-five time in the NCAA in the 400."
            Sophomore Matthew Moorer is farther back at 47.02, "but I wouldn't count out either one of those guys on that big track," Harbour said of the 300-meter oval at the Lied facility.
            "It's actually better since it's a flat track," Fields said. "There are only two curves in the 400 on the 300-meter track. Usually, we have four curves (on a 200-meter track), so that's a big difference. It helps us a lot."
            Junior sprinter Sydney Washington is ranked fourth in the league in the 60 meters (7.41) and ninth in the 200 (23.95).
            "I feel good going into this meet," Washington said. "My expectation, honestly, is to just do my best and compete. And whatever heat I'm in, try to win it and give whatever I've got. I feel good and trust my coach, and I trust what he is telling me. And I'm making the corrections that he has told me to do."
            Baylor's opening events on Friday are the women's weight throw and women's pole vault at 3 p.m. The Big 12 Indoor Championship will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with live results available at https://live.pttiming.com/?mid=1924.

AMES, Iowa – Baylor track & field will compete at the 2020 Big 12 Indoor Championship Friday and Saturday at the Lied Recreation-Athletic Facility on the campus of Iowa State University.

"We're obviously excited. This is a big opportunity," head coach Todd Harbour said. "Like I told the team, it's kind of their midterm exam. We still have an outdoor season right behind this one, but this one is going to be measured, so we want to go into it and compete like we've done all season so far up to this point. We're pretty healthy. We want to go in there and see where we're at."

Coming into the meet, Baylor has nine individuals and both 4x400-meter relay teams ranked in the top four of the Big 12 and several others in position to make an impact. Four of those (KC Lightfoot – pole vault, Tuesdi Tidwell – pole vault, Alex Madlock – triple jump, men's 4x4) are currently ranked in the top-16 of the NCAA and would advance to nationals if the meet was today.

"We have a few more that have opportunities to get those individual marks for the NCAA meet," Harbour said. "That's always something you look to take out of the last opportunity to do that this weekend."

Some of those on the borderline of NCAA-qualifying marks include Howard Fields III (19th in the men's 400 meters), Mackenzie Hayward (19th in the women's pole vault) Riley Richards (21st in the men's pole vault), Alyssa Miller (20th in the women's high jump), and Jalen Seals (24th in the men's triple jump).

"There have been a lot of great performances so far, but we want to end it on a good note," Harbour said. "This is the only time we're truly measured as a team. We want to go in there and do the best that we can. We're going in there to compete at a high level and be the very best we can be."

The 2020 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Day one can be found here, while day two can be viewed here. Live results will be provided by Prime Time Timing.

The Bears will begin action in Ames Friday at 3 p.m. CT with the women's weight throw and women's pole vault. For updates throughout the championship, and for continued news on the Baylor Track & Field team, follow the team's social media accounts all season long: @BaylorTrack.

Track & Field Set for Big 12 Indoor Championship

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Players Mentioned

Howard Fields III

Mackenzie Hayward

KC Lightfoot

Alex Madlock

Alyssa Miller

Matthew Moorer

Riley Richards

Jalen Seals

Tuesdi Tidwell

Sydney Washington

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