CHASING COACH

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Almost sheepishly, Koi Johnson admits that the mark she wants to hit in the triple jump is associate head coach Stacey Smith's 25-year-old school record of 46 feet, 1 ¼ inches.

"I think it would be bittersweet for her," said Johnson, who is ranked eighth nationally with a career-best jump of 44-1 ¼ that she had in placing third at the Big 12 Championship two weeks ago in Waco. "They believe in me so much. For them to believe in me, it really puts the power in my hands to actually go out and do it."

Johnson is one of Baylor's 28 entries for the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds that begin Wednesday at the University of Arkansas' John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville.

"Right now, I'm just trying to focus on getting one foot further," Johnson said. "So, I'm working on 45 (feet) this week."

In a survival mode this week, the top 12 in each event advance to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 5-8 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

"I think the big thing is making sure on the throws and jumps to get that first one in and be in a good spot," Baylor head coach Michael Ford said. "Because I think if you have two fouls going into that third (attempt), everybody gets a little tighter and gets a little bit more nervous about it."

Johnson said her first 44-foot jump at the Big 12 meet "confirmed that I had it."

"The whole season, I had been struggling with confidence in jumping," she said. "So, I've been trying to work on getting my confidence up. And whenever I popped that jump, it was like a switch. It was like, 'Oh, I know I've got it.' Now, it's just time to execute and actually do it."

Barely squeaking into the NCAA Championships last year with a 12^th-place finish at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, Johnson finished 17^th overall at the national meet with a mark of 42-11.

This year, she's going in with the mindset to "just go for broke, since it's my last season and this is all I have left. I'm just trying to get everything down and execute the jump so I can make it in the first three."

Highlighting the men's entries is junior Nathaniel Ezekiel, who ranks second nationally and first in the West region in the 400-meter hurdles with a program-record time of 48.00 that he ran in winning the Big 12 title. Already a two-time outdoor All-American in the event, Ezekiel placed fourth as a freshman in 2022 and was the bronze medalist last year.

Officially ranked No. 3 in the West region in the javelin throw with the mark of 262-6 that he had in winning the Big 12 title, Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi would be No. 1 in the nation with a personal-best and program-record throw of 271-8 at the African Games. But the mark does not count in the collegiate rankings.

Demar Francis has top-10 regional marks in the 200 (20.38) and 400 meters (45.44) and is part of a 4x400 relay with Kamden Jackson, Laurenz Colbert and Ezekiel that is seventh regionally with a season-best time of 3:03.49. Jackson and Colbert also run on the 4x100 relay with Ricquan Grahm and De'montray Callis that is fourth in the region and 10^th nationally with a school-record time of 38.86.

"It was a blessing," Jackson said of the 4x100 relay's record-setting performance at the Big 12 meet. "Me personally, I always have high expectations for myself and my teammates. And that was one of those days where we just came out and we did our best. It was never a plan to break the record. We really have higher expectations than that. We want to run faster, we want to win some first-place medals. Records are just what come with that sometimes."

On the women's side, the headliner for the Bears is senior long jumper/sprinter Alexis Brown. Named the Big 12 Women's Performer of the Year, she has a No. 3 regional mark in the long jump with a school-record mark of 22 feet, 5 inches and is just outside of the top 12 in the 100 with a time of 11.29 seconds.

"She's one that does everything right," Ford said of Brown, a second-year transfer from Florida. "I think probably the only hiccup she had was at the Big 12 in the 100. And I think it was more the weather delay, she had a big jump the night before. Her recovery time was not as adequate as we needed it to be. But other than that, I think she's done well."

Brown also runs the third leg on the 4x100 relay with Tiriah Kelley, Kayla Hunt and Michaela Francois that won the Big 12 with a time of 43.16 that ranks fourth regionally and seventh in the nation.

Ford said he didn't give much thought to not running Brown in the 100 meters, "just because she has a B standard for the Olympic Trials in the 100."

"We did it with Caira Pettway, too, a couple years ago," Ford said, "and it worked out well. She was the school record-holder in the 100 and was also an All-American in the long jump. The thing about the regional meet for her is that she only needs to really get one jump in, to be in that top 12. She's high enough on the list (for the 100) that I wanted to give her that opportunity."

Live results are available through Flash Results, while the meet will be streamed on SEC Network+.

"It's really about trusting yourself, trusting God, trusting Coach," Jackson said of the pressure on trying to advance through the first and second round to get to Eugene. "We've been praying for and preparing for this all year. You've got to believe in yourself, believe in your coaching, believe in your training, believe in the Lord that we serve and go out there and do your best."

Players Mentioned

Alexis Brown

De'montray Callis

Laurenz Colbert

Nathaniel Ezekiel

Demar Francis

Michaela Francois

Kayla Hunt

Kamden Jackson

Koi Johnson

Tiriah Kelley

Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi

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