T&F Prepped for 2024 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship

Thursday, May 9

Waco, Texas

Baylor

Big 12 Outdoor Championship

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T&F Prepped for 2024 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship

5/8/2024 10:22:00 AM | Track & Field

Meet Central

Waco welcomes the conference championship for the sixth time in the Big 12 era

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

On the brink of huge milestone marks, senior long jumper Alexis Brown and junior 400-meter hurdler Nathaniel Ezekiel are two of Baylor's contenders to reach the top of the medal platform at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship that begins Thursday at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.

An indoor All-American and runner-up at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, Brown set Baylor's indoor and outdoor records in the long jump and ranks fifth nationally with a mark of 21 feet, 11 ½ inches.

"That's the goal, 22 feet," said Brown, who sat out last year after transferring from Florida. "I'm working towards it. We've had good practices the last couple weeks. I've taken a week off from jumping. I'm excited to get back at it, and 22 feet is right there. So, that's the goal."

The reigning champion in the long jump with a Big 12 meet-record jump of 23-2 ¾, Texas junior Ackelia Smith is first nationally with a mark of 23-3 ½ and also beat Brown at the Big 12 indoor meet.

But this time, Brown is at home, where she topped 21-11 at both the Clyde Hart and Michael Johnson meets.

"That's where my long jump PRs have come from," Brown said. "You're comfortable with the track, I know the (long jump) board, I know how it feels, I know where I need to be. That's always an advantage. Having good competition here, that just makes it more exciting."

In the conference rankings, Brown is also eighth in the 100 meters (11.29) and third in the 4x100 relay (43.86) with Tiriah Kelley, Kayla Hunt and Michaela Francois.

"We've had a lot of talks just about trying to manage her, because she would probably want to do everything every track meet if she could," Baylor coach Michael Ford said. "But just make sure that we keep her fresh and ready to go. And then, taking long jump when she's long jumping, not the 100 or the 4x100."

A five-time All-American who has placed in the top four in the 400 hurdles at each of the last two NCAA Outdoor Championships, Ezekiel ranks third nationally with a school-record time of 48.29 seconds. He won last year's Big 12 title with a 48.42 clocking.

"I don't want to jinx him," Ford said, "but honestly, I think he's ready to run 47-high to 47-mid. I think if he just cleans up his technique a little bit, because he's been running great all year. And I think he'll have the momentum with the home crowd. When you're at home, you're probably going to pick up at least a half second, so that'll give him 47."

Ezekiel said he is "so confident right now that I don't even know what is coming."

"I just have to get into rhythm and get what I have to get," he said. "I feel like I can actually do something great. I don't know what's coming, but I feel like something great is coming."

A semifinalist at last year's World Track and Field Championships, Ezekiel has qualified for the Nigerian Olympic team and will compete in the Paris Olympics this summer.

"For Paris, I want to make it to the finals. And then, if I make it to the finals, I can set new goals," he said. "I don't want to put a lot of pressure on myself trying to be like, 'Oh, I have to get a medal or something.' I just want to get into the finals, and then we'll see what's next."

Being at home, Ezekiel said he gets to "do what I want any time I feel like."

"I get to wake up in my own bed," he said, "I get to eat my own food, cook my own food. I get to do stuff myself, practice at the track and we don't have to travel. It's just like coming to practice to compete."

Baylor is hosting the Big 12 Championship for the sixth time overall and the second time at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium. At the 2018 meet in Waco, the Baylor women won five event titles and tied for third in the final team standings.

"I like it just because we're at home," said Ford, whose sprint crew swept the 200, 400 and the 4x100 and 4x400 relays at the 2018 championships. "We always have a good crowd, and our kids seem to perform well at home. I'm looking forward to seeing what we do. The logistics of getting everything ready and being prepared to make sure we are good hosts . . . it's a little hectic. But once the meet starts (Thursday), we'll be okay."

Thursday's schedule includes finals in the men's and women's hammer, javelin and 10,000 meters and running prelims in the 1,500, 200 meters and 400-meter hurdles. Live results are available at Big 12 Outdoor Championships.

WACO, Texas – Baylor track and field is back home for the final time in 2024, hosting the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship, Thursday through Saturday, on the Banks of the Brazos River at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.

The decathlon kicks off the three-day meet on Thursday morning at 11:30 a.m. and the first day concludes with the women's 10,000 meters after 9 p.m. Friday sees another morning start at 11 a.m. in the decathlon's 110-meter hurdles before ending at the conclusion of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase that begins at 8:20 p.m. The final day begins at 2 p.m. with the women's discus throw and will end after the women's 4x400-meter relay on Saturday night.

Conference champions will be crowned, and All-Conference performers will receive medals following each event on the infield podium.

Live results will be provided online by Delta Timing and each day will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. James Westling and John Nownes will be on the call for the running events in the late streams, while public address announcers Clyde Duncan, Jr., Don Garrett and Bart Castle will call the multi and field events in the early sessions.

Full meet info is available at BaylorBears.com on the Big 12 Meet Central page.

LAST TIME OUT
Before a week off to prepare for the postseason beginning at home, the Bears competed in a one-day meet at the University of Arizona, the Desert Heat Classic. The Baylor men put out a strong showing on the track, securing event wins in the men's 400 meters from Nathaniel Ezekiel (with a conference-leading time) and the men's 4x400-meter relay. Molly Haywood also took her third-straight win in the women's pole vault competition at 14-4.

I AIN'T HERE FOR A LONG TIME, I'M HERE FOR A GOOD TIME
The Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship is making just its sixth stop at Baylor University in its 27^th edition, crowing conference champions every year since 1997 except 2020. The first championship was held in Waco at the Hart-Patterson Track Complex on May 16-18, 1997. 8,500 fans packed into the off-campus facility, a staggering number that is second only to the 1999 edition of the meet held in Waco, where 8,700 fans were in attendance. The weekend also marks the second time the meet has been contested at the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium in its 10 seasons, with BU hosting for the first time at its new digs in 2018.

WELCOME TO WACOTOWN
BU hosts the current 14-school Big 12 Conference for a one-of-a-kind weekend in the history of the conference championship. The meet will feature the only outdoor championship with the newest additions, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF, before two founding institutions from 1996, Oklahoma and Texas, depart for the SEC.

OH, HOW THEY'VE FALLEN
The Bears have toppled four total program records in the first five weeks of the outdoor season. Alexis Brown tabbed a 21-11 ½ at the Michael Johnson Invitational to take the long jump record for the second time this season, Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi threw for 271-8 at the African Games to win the javelin title with the record and Nathaniel Ezekiel improved his nearly two-year-old mark in the 400-meter hurdles to a 48.29 at the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Florida.

OUR NEWEST FIXER UPPER
Debuting the newly renovated Beynon Hobart BSS 2000 track surface, the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium hosted two regular season meets across March and April before hosting this weekend's Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship meet. The stadium is in its 10^th season and holds 5,000 spectators and participants with grandstands on both sides of the track.

MAKING A (TFRRS) LIST, CHECKING IT TWICE
Baylor features 24 individual and four relay entries on the NCAA DI West Preliminaries Qualifying List, in the ranks as a top-48 mark in an individual event and a top-24 mark as a relay. Of those, five are also featured in the top 10 nationally, with Nathaniel Ezekiel (No. 3, 400mH), Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi (No. 3, javelin throw), Alexis Brown (No. 5, long jump), Molly Haywood (No. 5, pole vault) and Alencia Lentz (No. 10, pole vault). Those who qualify will compete in Fayetteville, Ark., May 22-25 for a chance at the NCAA DI Championships in Eugene, Ore., in June.

To stay up to date throughout the year on all things Baylor track and field, follow the team on Facebook, X and Instagram: @BaylorTrack.

- BaylorBears.com -