Baylor T&F Alexis Brown Makes History as NCAA Long Jump Champion
3/14/2025 8:55:00 PM | Track & Field
Brown becomes first Baylor athlete to win a national championship in the long jump event
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. – On the first day of the NCAA Indoor Championships, track & field star Alexis Brown made history, soaring to a 22-7.75 mark and claiming Baylor's first national champion in the long jump event.
Brown is the first athlete since 2021 to bring home a national championship trophy in the indoor competition. The graduate's 22-7.75 mark is tied for fourth in DI Indoor meet history and tied for seventh in all-time collegiate history. Brown broke her own Baylor-program record twice, one with her first jump and then sealing it with her title winning mark.
Not only did Brown take home gold in the long jump, just a mere minutes after her first jump, Brown went on to advance in the 60-meter with a time of 7.18 to qualify to the finals.
Alongside Brown earning a podium-finish was Tenly Kuhn for pole vault. Kuhn in her first national championship appearance earned All-American status with a tie for seventh place at 14-5.25.
Advancing to the finals through the preliminary rounds were Brown in the women's 60m, Demar Francis in the men's 200m and Nathaniel Ezekiel in the men's 400m. Francis made the cut with a 20.70 time to move on in his first NCAA Indoors appearance.
The collegiate front-runner of the men's 400m of Ezekiel lead the qualifiers to the final, sprinting to a 45.44 mark to give him major momentum.
Demario Prince fell just short on the cut line by 0.009 seconds in the men's 60m hurdles with a 7.60 time to finish in ninth. Tiriah Kelley ran for a 10th place finish with a 23.03 time running out of lane three. Molly Haywood in the pole vault cleared her first bar but was unable to advance, ending the Big 12 Champion's impressive sophomore indoor season with a 14th place finish.
The competition resumes Saturday in the final day of the NCAA Indoor Competition in Virginia Beach.
MIKE ON THE MIC
"Overall, I thought we had a solid first day at the national championship," said head coach Michael Ford. "First of all, Alexis Brown did an awesome job winning her first national championship. She broke the facility record. She's just been consistent all year. For her to be consistent with jumping over 22 feet a bunch of times today and all through the season, she deserved to win. She put her all out there in the first jump and she put a lot of pressure on those young ladies. Then she came back and got her first 60m final. So looking forward to coaching her tomorrow.
I thought Nate handled his race well. Very controlled race today by Nate to make the final. And then Demar made the finals in the 200, his first appearance since he's been at Baylor, so I'm looking forward to working with him tomorrow. Tenly, can you say a total walk-on, got some points for a national championship with earning All-American. Felt bad, not bad, but I thought Tiriah and Demario competed hard. Demario gets ninth, his second year in a row to get ninth so he's definitely disappointed. Tiriah got 10th at her first national meet, so we have some positive going into the meet. I'm just looking forward to finishing up, getting some All-Americans and hopefully we'll get another national champion."
NATIONAL CHAMPION ALEXIS BROWN
On how how special winning a nation championship is…
"It was one of those things where, like Coach Stacey mentioned, my goal all offseason, all year, was to bring home the national title. I think finishing fifth indoors, fifth outdoors, fifth at the Olympic Trials, I was like, 'I'm going to use that as motivation.' And I came out here and did it."
On expectations coming into the meet...
"I had a great week of practice. I was really confident coming. I had a good shake out yesterday. And like I told Coach Stacey, I've been the most consistent jumper this season. I knew it was going to take a 22 (foot jump) to win, and I've jumped 22 feet more than any girl out here. So, I knew if I executed, and I just did what I knew I could do, that I was going to be able to bring home the win."
On knowing if the 22-7.75 mark sealed it…
"I could tell. Sometimes, with me, I never know how far it is until I hear the crowd, or I know if it's a good jump, Coach Stacey is really happy. But when I looked at the pit, I was like, 'Okay, this is the furthest I've been in the competition.' So, I knew it was out there. I was just hoping they would give me the white flag (for a legal jump, no scratch). And they did."
On deciding to still jump on the last attempt…
"At that point, I looked in the stands, and Coach Stacey was already crying. And I was like, 'What do I do?' And then, I saw my parents in the stands, and I was like, 'You know what, I'm going for it.' I might as well. I wasn't expecting . . . I was literally crying down the whole runway."
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
2:10 p.m.: Women's 60 meters final (Brown)
5:20 p.m.: Men's 400 meters final (Ezekiel)
5:50 p.m.: Men's 200 meters final (Francis)
6:20 p.m.: Men's 4x400-meter relay final (Abbas Ali, Dillon Bedell, Francis, Ezekiel)
Brown is the first athlete since 2021 to bring home a national championship trophy in the indoor competition. The graduate's 22-7.75 mark is tied for fourth in DI Indoor meet history and tied for seventh in all-time collegiate history. Brown broke her own Baylor-program record twice, one with her first jump and then sealing it with her title winning mark.
Not only did Brown take home gold in the long jump, just a mere minutes after her first jump, Brown went on to advance in the 60-meter with a time of 7.18 to qualify to the finals.
Alongside Brown earning a podium-finish was Tenly Kuhn for pole vault. Kuhn in her first national championship appearance earned All-American status with a tie for seventh place at 14-5.25.
Advancing to the finals through the preliminary rounds were Brown in the women's 60m, Demar Francis in the men's 200m and Nathaniel Ezekiel in the men's 400m. Francis made the cut with a 20.70 time to move on in his first NCAA Indoors appearance.
The collegiate front-runner of the men's 400m of Ezekiel lead the qualifiers to the final, sprinting to a 45.44 mark to give him major momentum.
Demario Prince fell just short on the cut line by 0.009 seconds in the men's 60m hurdles with a 7.60 time to finish in ninth. Tiriah Kelley ran for a 10th place finish with a 23.03 time running out of lane three. Molly Haywood in the pole vault cleared her first bar but was unable to advance, ending the Big 12 Champion's impressive sophomore indoor season with a 14th place finish.
The competition resumes Saturday in the final day of the NCAA Indoor Competition in Virginia Beach.
MIKE ON THE MIC
"Overall, I thought we had a solid first day at the national championship," said head coach Michael Ford. "First of all, Alexis Brown did an awesome job winning her first national championship. She broke the facility record. She's just been consistent all year. For her to be consistent with jumping over 22 feet a bunch of times today and all through the season, she deserved to win. She put her all out there in the first jump and she put a lot of pressure on those young ladies. Then she came back and got her first 60m final. So looking forward to coaching her tomorrow.
I thought Nate handled his race well. Very controlled race today by Nate to make the final. And then Demar made the finals in the 200, his first appearance since he's been at Baylor, so I'm looking forward to working with him tomorrow. Tenly, can you say a total walk-on, got some points for a national championship with earning All-American. Felt bad, not bad, but I thought Tiriah and Demario competed hard. Demario gets ninth, his second year in a row to get ninth so he's definitely disappointed. Tiriah got 10th at her first national meet, so we have some positive going into the meet. I'm just looking forward to finishing up, getting some All-Americans and hopefully we'll get another national champion."
NATIONAL CHAMPION ALEXIS BROWN
On how how special winning a nation championship is…
"It was one of those things where, like Coach Stacey mentioned, my goal all offseason, all year, was to bring home the national title. I think finishing fifth indoors, fifth outdoors, fifth at the Olympic Trials, I was like, 'I'm going to use that as motivation.' And I came out here and did it."
On expectations coming into the meet...
"I had a great week of practice. I was really confident coming. I had a good shake out yesterday. And like I told Coach Stacey, I've been the most consistent jumper this season. I knew it was going to take a 22 (foot jump) to win, and I've jumped 22 feet more than any girl out here. So, I knew if I executed, and I just did what I knew I could do, that I was going to be able to bring home the win."
On knowing if the 22-7.75 mark sealed it…
"I could tell. Sometimes, with me, I never know how far it is until I hear the crowd, or I know if it's a good jump, Coach Stacey is really happy. But when I looked at the pit, I was like, 'Okay, this is the furthest I've been in the competition.' So, I knew it was out there. I was just hoping they would give me the white flag (for a legal jump, no scratch). And they did."
On deciding to still jump on the last attempt…
"At that point, I looked in the stands, and Coach Stacey was already crying. And I was like, 'What do I do?' And then, I saw my parents in the stands, and I was like, 'You know what, I'm going for it.' I might as well. I wasn't expecting . . . I was literally crying down the whole runway."
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
2:10 p.m.: Women's 60 meters final (Brown)
5:20 p.m.: Men's 400 meters final (Ezekiel)
5:50 p.m.: Men's 200 meters final (Francis)
6:20 p.m.: Men's 4x400-meter relay final (Abbas Ali, Dillon Bedell, Francis, Ezekiel)
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