T&F Heads to Manhattan for Big 12 Championship

Friday, May 14

Manhattan, Kan.

All Day

Baylor

Big 12 Outdoor Championships

T&F Heads to Manhattan for Big 12 Championship

5/13/2021 10:43:00 AM | Track & Field

The Bears have a combined 19 top-eight individual rankings in the conference

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Even with one eye on finishing strong at the NCAA Championships and Olympic Trials, Baylor track and field coach Todd Harbour is adamant about "not sacrificing conference."
            "We've got quite a few that are sitting on the edge of qualifying, some of them already have an Olympic standard for the Trials," said Harbour, whose team opens the three-day Big 12 Outdoor Championship on Friday at R.V. Christian Track in Manhattan, Kan., "but some of them actually have a chance to maybe do something. That's something you want to protect a little bit and make sure they have the opportunity to compete well at the Olympic Trials. But at the same time, we're not sacrificing conference."
            That's why Harbour intentionally kept races off national champion half-miler Aaliyah Miller, who has only run the 800 meters once outdoors. After running a meet- and school-record time of 2:00.69 at the NCAA Indoor, Miller broke Olicia Williams' six-year-old outdoor school record at the Michael Johnson Invitational, finishing second behind Texas A&M freshman Athing Mu (NCAA-record 1:57.73) with a time of 2:00.87 that ranks third nationally.
            "I've purposely kept races off of her to keep her fresh," Harbour said. "This is kind of a beginning in a way for some of them. All right, let's lock in. We've battled, just take a deep breath and let's go push hard right now."
            Miller is one of three Big 12 Indoor Champions representing the Bears at the outdoor meet, joined by sophomore hurdler Deshaun Jones and the women's 4x400 relay of Kavia Francis, Arria Minor, Lily Williams and Miller.
            Although the Bears are not 100%, Harbour said the team is "ready" for the Big 12 meet.
            "We're not all the way back healthy as I'd like to be," he said, "but considering COVID and everything, it is what it is."
            Junior pole vaulter Tuesdi Tidwell has a Big 12-leading mark of 14-5 ½ that she recorded at Texas Relays, but got COVID last week after a meet at Texas A&M and is out until the NCAA West Primary in two weeks at College Station.
            "That's 10 points in the pole vault on the ladies' side, it's kind of hard to make that up," Harbour said.
            Also out is senior sprinter Maxwell Willis, who ran the leadoff leg on the men's 4x100-meter relay that won Texas Relays with a time of 39.11 that ranks No. 2 in the conference this year and fifth all-time for Baylor. Like Tidwell, he should be ready to go by the NCAA West meet.
            Senior Jayson Baldridge, who ranks third in the Big 12 in the 400-meter hurdles at 51.02, will take Willis' spot on the 4x100 relay with Kamden Jackson, Isaiah Cunningham and Ryan Croson.
            "Jayson ran on some great 4x1s in high school at the state meet, so he ought to be able to do it," Harbour said. "It's just kind of putting him in a position he hasn't been in. I'm a little nervous because of his hamstring issues. I'll be sweating out the 4x1."
            The Baylor men rank second in the Big 12 and sixth nationally in the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:02.19 that it dropped at Texas Relays without a pair of All-American legs in Baldridge and Matthew Moorer. Hasani Barr, Croson, Dillon Bedell and Trey Fields finished fourth in an elite field that produced five of the top seven times in the nation.
            "We're actually super motivated," said Fields, who's ranked third in the Big 12 in the 400 meters with a time of 45.37 that he ran three weeks ago at LSU. "We dropped a 3:02 at Texas Relays, and we haven't done that in a very long time. That was very exciting. It showed our potential as a team on what we can do. We're definitely ready to win nationals."
            Fields said his lofty individual goals are to win conference, regionals and nationals.
            "Not necessarily times, because when you chase times, you're going to be thinking about times forever," he said. "But, if you just focus on getting first place at every meet, every race, the times will come."
            With the potential of getting Moorer back, who's run a 45.97 in the open 400 meters, "you can see that they can dream about running 3:00, 3:01 at nationals," Harbour said of the 4x400 relay. "North Carolina A&T is going to be really solid, but I think we can be in the mix. We really can."
            Other than Miller, Baylor's best shots on the women's side include NCAA Indoor national champion Ackera Nugent and Kennedy Bailey in the 100-meter hurdles; Kavia Francis and Arria Minor in the 200 meters; grad transfer Destiny Collins from Texas in the 5,000 meters; triple jumper Alex Madlock; and freshman Mikayla Deshazer in the discus.
            "Mikayla in the discus is throwing really well, but our conference is just stacked," Harbour said. With four that have thrown over 190 feet, "she could have a great meet and PB and qualify for the Olympic Trials and get fifth. That's how solid the discus is."
            In the triple jump, "we're just waiting for Alex to pop that big 45 (foot jump)," Harbour said. "You have three of the top five girls in the nation in our conference, so she's going to have to jump 45 to have a chance. But, I think Alex is ready."
            Other threats for the men include Ben Conacher in the pole vault, Cole Hardan in the shot put, Jackson in the sprints and Jones, Baldridge, Elijah Morris and Elijah Gifford in the hurdles.
            "We just don't have that many events that we're represented in," Harbour said, "so we've got to do very well in the 100, 200, 400, both hurdles, the 4x1 and the 4x4. On the track, that's about all we can cover."

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Baylor track & field is set to compete at the 2021 Big 12 Outdoor Championship Friday through Sunday at R.V. Christian Track.

"We're ready," head coach Todd Harbour said. "We're taking this as kind of a beginning in a way for some of them. Let's lock in. We've battled, so let's take a deep breath and go push hard now."

The men's team holds 10 top-eight individual rankings in the conference, while the women's team has nine. The Bears will look to improve upon their No. 9 Big 12 USTFCCA Rating Index ranking and No. 7 ranking on the women's side while positioning for regionals May 26-29 in College Station.

Returning Big 12 Champions from the indoor season competing at the outdoor championships include Aaliyah Miller, Deshaun Jones and the women's 4x400-meter relay team. Miller is ranked No. 1 in the women's 800 meters, Jones is No. 5 in the men's 110-meter hurdles and the women's 4x4 is ranked fifth heading into the weekend.

Big 12 Now on ESPN+ will carry the Championship on Saturday and Sunday featuring live running event finals and field event coverage on tape delay. John Kurtz and Johanna Gretschel will provide the commentary. Action on Saturday from 2 p.m.-5:30 p.m. CT can be watched here, while Sunday's competition from 3 p. m.-7:30 p.m. CT can be found here. Live web results will be provided by PrimeTime Timing.

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