T&F’s Prosper Nnamdi Wins Third-Straight Big 12 Javelin Championship

Zaza Prosper Nnamdi winning his third-straight conference medal

T&F’s Prosper Nnamdi Wins Third-Straight Big 12 Javelin Championship

5/10/2024 12:17:00 AM | Track & Field

Junior tabs seventh title in program history

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – After hyperextending his knee last week at Arizona, Baylor junior Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi's plan was just to get one legal throw in the javelin and call it a day.

But when the competitive juices kicked in, Zaza uncorked a Big 12 Championship-record throw of 262 feet, 6 inches on his final attempt in Thursday's opening day at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship, winning the event for the third-straight year.

"He hasn't been able to do anything all week, just resting and trying to get ready," assistant coach Jeff Chakouian said. "He actually went from a short approach; he didn't do his full run-up. We didn't know how it was going to go. . . . Then, towards the end, I said, 'Man, that record is not too far. You need to get the record.' And he was like, 'Okay, Coach.' He was pretty excited that he was able to do that."

Nnamdi, who would have won comfortably anyway with a first attempt of 252-10, broke the previous record of 259-1 by Texas A&M's Sam Humphreys in 2012.

"We had been passing (on three attempts) to kind of let his knee heat up and all that," Chakouian said. "So, it was pretty cool, knowing that he wasn't going full-go on it and still threw over 80 meters. I didn't have a doubt in my mind that he could do it."

Before a three-plus-hour delay for lightning, the Baylor women also put their first points on the board with Victoria Adu and Makayla Long finishing sixth and eighth, respectively, in the hammer throw. Adu went 184-4 on her second attempt, while Long made the finals with a mark of 181-2 that was just under her personal-best.

"I think the best part, the reason I was so proud, was they came in ranked ninth and 10^th," Chakouian said. "And they finished sixth and eighth – two all-conference people, scoring points they weren't projected to. And that's important, especially at home. . . . It wasn't a surprise, but it was nice to see them execute."

Other than the women's javelin, which was rescheduled to Friday morning, the field event finals and first half of the multi-events were finished before the extended delay.

While senior Ryan Hodge capped the night with an 11^th-place finish in the 10,000 meters, about 3 ½ minutes out of a scoring position, Baylor had five other runners get through the prelims and into Saturday's finals.

Senior Demar Francis and junior Laurenz Colbert both made the 200-meter finals, with Francis "getting the big Q" by winning his heat in 20.66 seconds and Colbert posting the eighth-fastest qualifying time at 20.85.

"Getting the big Q (automatic qualifier) is an advantage," Francis said, "because when we run the finals on Saturday, we can get a good lane so we can see where everybody is."

During the delay, Francis said he was able to "lay down and stretch your legs out, just staying active, so that when we come out here, we don't feel too dead."

After getting out to a slow start in the first 100, Francis said he "tried to navigate and work my way through the last 100 and get the big Q to the final."

A sixth-place finisher in the 200 at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, sophomore Tiriah Kelley won her heat and posted the second-fastest qualifying time in the women's 200 with a career-best time of 23.06 seconds.

"It shocked me at first, but it was exciting, for sure," said Kelley, who came into the meet ranked outside the top 10 in the conference with a previous-best time of 23.43. "I think that I have a thing mentally where I know that when it's time to compete, it's time to compete. And I knew that I had to bring it this weekend."

Like Francis, who is running in the 400-meter prelims on Friday, Kelley could have an extremely busy Saturday. In addition to the 200-meter finals, she is running on both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays.

"I know I'm going to have to bring it in all three," she said. "And I'm excited, really excited."

Ranked third nationally, Nathaniel Ezekiel recorded the fastest qualifying time in the 400-meter hurdles (49.49) by almost three-quarters of a second over defending champion Caleb Dean of Texas Tech (50.22). Ezekiel has a season-best time of 48.29 and hopes to break 48 seconds in Saturday's final.

Although she was well off the season-best time she ran at last month's Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Florida, junior Jasmine Gryne also made it to the finals in the 400-meter hurdles, placing second in her heat and seventh overall in 59.12.

Going into the second day of the meet, the Baylor men are fifth with Zaza's 10 points in the javelin, while the women are tied for ninth with four points. Friday's schedule starts with the women's javelin at 9:15 a.m., with the women's pole vault at 4 p.m. and running prelims starting at 5 p.m. with the men's 110-meter hurdles.

WACO, Texas – Baylor track and field opened up the 2024 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship on its home track on Thursday in a rain-soaked afternoon that led to a near four-hour delay.

On the first day of competition, Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi won his third-straight conference championship with a new meet record, the women's hammer throw duo made history and five other runners qualified to the final heats on Saturday.

THE RUNDOWN
Junior Prosper Nnamdi not only set a collegiate season best in the javelin throw, but also set the Big 12 Championship record with a distance of 262-6. He won the Bears 10 points with his third-straight conference title and the seventh in program history.

Nathaniel Ezekiel had the fastest time of the day in the 400-meter hurdle preliminary round and was the only athlete to break sub-50 seconds. The junior, and two-time All-Conference performer in the event, ran a 49.49 for an automatic qualifying spot in Heat One.

For the first time in program history, the women's hammer throw podium featured two Bears with top-eight finishes. Victoria Adu threw a distance of 184-4 for a spot in sixth place, while Makayla Long placed eighth with a throw of 181-2. Long just narrowly missed her personal best of 181-4 that she made in the last home meet for the Bears, the Michael Johnson Invitational.

Baylor senior Demar Francis won his heat placing third overall in the men's 200 meters, running a 20.66-second time qualifying for finals, his best mark since a PB in the Big 12 Indoor Championship finals. Laurenz Colbert also qualified for finals in the eighth-overall spot at 20.85, his fastest 200-meter race since Big 12 Indoors. De'montray Callis, Kamden Jackson and Ricquan Graham also competed, finishing 13^th, 19^th and 24, respectively.

Placing second in her heat, Jasmine Gryne secured a time-qualifying spot to the women's 400-meter hurdle finals on Saturday, clocking a 59.12 for second in her heat and seventh overall.

Both Bears in the women's 1,500 meters did not make it out of Thursday's prelims, as Ellie Hodge clocked a 4:24.51 for 12^th and Jackie Addy ran a 4:36.82 for 19^th.

Closing the day, Ryan Hodge was the 11^th-place finisher in the men's 10,000 meters. After 25 laps around the 400-meter green oval, the sixth-year senior tabbed a 3:33.02.

WHAT'S NEXT
Day Two of the meet continues on Friday morning, with the rained-out women's javelin throw at 9:15 a.m. The combined events pick back up at 11 a.m., followed by the women's pole vault and long jump at 4 p.m. while the 110-meter hurdles begin the running events at 5. Coverage of the meet continues Friday online from Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

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