By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
Not only will Baylor track and field open its third season under head coach Michael Ford, the Bears will get to break in the new R.A. "Murray" Fasken '38 Indoor Track & Field in Texas A&M's McFerrin 12-Degree Invitational in College Station.
 
"I'm just honored that Coach (Pat) Henry invited us to the first-ever meet at the new complex," said Ford, whose men's team posted top-20 finishes last year at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. "I think we can bring more people, which is always good to get that first meet in. We can get what we need to get in and then prepare for Texas Tech next week."
 
The one-day meet begins with field events at 10 a.m. and running events at 2 p.m., when the SEC Network+ starts streaming live from the 130,000-square-foot facility that can seat 4,000 fans across all seating areas.
 
"I love A&M's track, so just getting to run on the new track for the first time, it'll be fun," said grad sprinter Mariah Ayers, the program record-holder in the indoor and outdoor 200 meters and an outdoor All-American in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.
 
Baylor and Texas A&M will be joined by Big 12 rivals TCU and Oklahoma and a Florida team that was first and second, respectively, in last year's men's and women's divisions.
 
"We'll get a chance to see how we match up early on," Ford said.
 
Ayers said it's "good to start off early, so then you don't have to worry about people on the team being nervous and worrying about the bigger schools. It just goes ahead and gets you ready for nationals and the big stage already."
 
Returning All-Americans Ayers, Bria Bullard, Michaela Francois and Nathaniel Ezekiel and NCAA Outdoor qualifier Koi Johnson highlight a long list of Baylor competitors for Saturday's meet, along with sophomore shot putter Gary Moore and 17 student-athletes competing in their first collegiate meet for the Bears.
 
The newcomers include freshmen Ben Archer, Straton Miller and Aiden Ramshaw in the men's mile run, freshmen Katelyn Andrews, Raynah Cheng, Molly Haywood and Alencia Lentz in the women's pole vault and transfers Kayla Hunt (North Carolina) and Tiriah Kelley (Louisville in the sprints.
 
Demar Francis said his goal is "just to make it back to nationals and we'll take it from there."
 
"I don't like trying to set times or specific goals going into the first meet," Francis said. "Just trying to knock some rust off for the first meet. Trying to stay focused and trying to work on some small stuff going up to the different championships this season."
 
After an eight-week indoor season that's capped by the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston, the Bears will host a program-high four home meets during the outdoor season. That includes the one-day Baylor Invitational as the bridge between the indoor and outdoor seasons, the two-day Clyde Hart Classic and Michael Johnson Invitational and the Big 12 Championships May 9-11 at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.
 
"Student-athlete-wise, it was one of the things we needed to do, for them to compete at home," Ford said. "We have a great fan base in Waco, Texas, and the area. I wanted to make sure we could get some quality meets at home and then didn't have to travel as much, and then we can probably reduce our team a little bit when we go to bigger competitions."



BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The third season of the Michael Ford era begins on Saturday morning, as the Baylor track and field team descends on Texas A&M for the McFerrin-12 Degree Invitational.
 
Action begins with field events at 10 a.m., and running events will commence with the start of the SEC Network+ stream at 2 p.m., available on the WatchESPN app.
 
Losing six previous All-Americans in the offseason, BU returns 14 for the 2024 campaign, with 13 fresh program records set in 2023.
 
Breaking in its brand-new indoor track and field venue, Texas A&M will play host to Baylor, Oklahoma, TCU and Florida in the R.A. "Murray" Fasken '38 Indoor Track.
 
Rankings for the 2024 indoor season have not yet been released, but Florida won the men's championship and was runner-up in the women's meet at the NCAA Championships last spring. Texas A&M was the lone other team to finish top 10, taking fifth in the women's team standings.
 
A total of 17 Bears will be suiting up for their first collegiate track and field meet as a Bear. The distance newcomer crew of Ben Archer, Straton Miller, Aiden Ramshaw and Kanalu Wong will all race together, while the women's pole vault draws four newcomers in Katelyn Andrews, Raynah Cheng, Molly Haywood and Alencia Lentz.
 
Not including the soon-to-be-named relay crews, six more Bears are listed to compete in the individual events, as Bria Bullard, Michaela Francois, De'montray Callis, Kamden Jackson, Nathaniel Ezekiel and Laurenz Colbert make their 2024 campaign opener.
 
Fans traveling to College Station can enter the meet for free. Parking is available in the 100J lot for $5 or a valid Texas A&M permit.
 
Live results will be provided online through Flash Results.
 
To stay up to date throughout the year on all things Baylor track and field, follow the team on Facebook, X and Instagram: @BaylorTrack.