THE JUMP CREW

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – A former national champion herself, Baylor associate head coach Stacey Smith knew exactly what to expect from 2025 National Indoor long jump champion Alexis Brown.

"Coming in, the main goal was for her to realize, 'Hey, you were the top collegiate at the USA Trials last year. So, go off that momentum this year and use that momentum at every meet.' And she has,'' Smith said of Brown, who's ranked No. 1 with a school-record jump of 23 feet, 0 ¾ inches going into the NCAA West Prelims that start Wednesday at Texas A&M's E.B. Cushing Stadium.

"That was the thing we talked about at the end of the season, and she's done that every meet this season. She's gone in with that mentality of being the best at the meet. . . . Like (head coach Michael Ford) and I always say, we call her a dawg. She works so hard. She's the one that when she is on that track, she's going to give you 100%. And now, she's reaping the rewards."

Maybe she's not quite to that "dawg" level, but freshman Janae De Gannes from Trinidad and Tobago was the runner-up at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships behind Brown and ranks fifth sixth nationally with a career-best jump of 22-0 ¾ that she hit four weeks ago at the Texas A&M Alumni Muster Invitational.

"I didn't know what to expect from Janae," Smith said of Gannes, who set her previous best of 21-4 in winning the U-20 long jump title at last year's CARIFTA Games in Grenada. "Recruiting her, her best was 6.50 meters . . but she had only jumped that one time. So, I really didn't know what to expect. But it has been a huge surprise. When she jumped 22 feet, I was not expecting that just yet."

Brown and Gannes figure to be two of Baylor track & field's best bets to make it through the NCAA West Prelims as top 12 finishers and advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 11-14 at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.

"One thing I'll talk to the team about is being in the present," said Ford, who has 17 entrants on the women's side and nine on the men's side. "We can't think about going to Eugene until we handle business in College Station. It's just making sure we do everything that we've been doing this whole year to get through it. Just another step to that ultimate goal of getting to Eugene and representing Baylor in the semifinals and final. I'm proud of the group we've got going."

Coming off a fourth-place finish at the Big 12 Championships, the Baylor women are ranked sixth nationally – their best entering the regional meet since the weekly rankings began in 2008. The Bears' other top-10 national marks on the women's side are Molly Haywood (3^rd, 15-0 ¼) and Tenly Kuhn (7^th, 14-9 ½) in the pole vault, the 4x100 relay team (No. 2, 42.73), Tiriah Kelley in the 200 meters (4^th, 22.34) and Brown in the 100 (10^th, 11.08).

Brown, who finished fifth in the long jump last year at the NCAA Indoor, NCAA Outdoor and USA Olympic Trials, is hoping to repeat the national championship she won earlier this year at the NCAA Indoor Championships. She has not lost a long jump event since last year's Olympic Trials.

Because Brown is also running in the 100 and 4x100 relay, Smith said the plan at the NCAA West Prelims is that if she goes 22 feet on her first jump, "we'll hang it up. We'll pass on the rest of the jumps."

"Just praying that she can go out on that first one and hit it," Smith said. "She's in the last flight. And in the last flight, you kind of know who's going to be in the top 12. So, that's definitely the plan."

Gannes is also in that last flight and is one of just five jumpers in the NCAA West region that have gone over 22 feet.

"She's an athlete, she's amazing," Smith said. "She has so much pop off the board, it's just unbelievable. But if she continues to use that speed and pop off the board, she'll put out some big jumps."

Rounding out the jumping hopefuls is freshman Iyanna Webb from San Antonio Harlan, a bronze medalist in the triple jump at last year's state championships. Ranked 29^th nationally, she is coming off a fifth-place finish at the Big 12 meet with a personal-best leap of 43-1.

"If Iyanna would move through her approach like I've seen her do, if she runs like she's been running this week, she has a really good chance," Smith said. "She's had a few injuries this year, so we haven't been able to do what we want to do with her. But I think she's starting to realize, 'Hey, I can jump with these ladies.' If she executes and does what she's supposed to do, she's a beautiful jumper. She has a chance."

The silver medalist in the 400 meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships, senior Nathaniel Ezekiel is already an eight-time All-American with three-straight top-4 finishes in the 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. He is ranked No. 1 in the country with a school- and Big 12 meet-record time of 47.89.

"I think the Olympics woke him up a little bit," Ford said of Ezekiel, who made the semifinals in Paris representing Nigeria, "because he made the semifinals, but his goal was to make the finals. So now, he kind of knows what he needs to do to be on that world-class level.

"For him, it's just executing, trying to figure out what he needs to work on to even go a little faster. But honestly, just make sure he has a clean race this weekend, and he'll be fine."

The Baylor men's only other top-10 national mark is Demario Prince at No. 5 in the 110-meter hurdles with a 13.18-second mark. Although the men's 4x100 and 4x400 relays are ranked outside the top 12 in the region, Ford said they both have a chance to advance.

"I actually think this year's team is better than last year's team that ran 38.8," Ford said of Austen Diggs, Laurenz Colbert, Ricquan Graham and De'montray Callis, who finished third at the Big 12 meet with a season-best time of 39.64. "We started late in the year (because of injuries), just trying to make sure we get those sticks across."

Losing half of the 4x400 relay that placed seventh at the NCAA Indoor Championships, the Bears have struggled during the outdoor season without seniors Dillon Bedell and Demar Francis. With an outstanding anchor leg by Ezekiel, the group of Tyler Honeyman, Abbas Ali, Aren Spencer and Ezekiel finished sixth at the Big 12 Championships with a season-best time of 3:06.19 and are ranked 17^th in the region.

"In the 4x4, I think it'll probably take 3:05, 3:04, but we're capable of doing that. They're just young," Ford said. "You lose Dillon Bedell and you lose Demar Francis indoor, and now you're trying to replace two guys that run (44-second legs). And you just don't have (44-second legs) laying around on the team, besides Nate. The other guys are running well, but we'll need them to step up a little more. If each guy can run a half-second faster, we'll be there."

Like the NCAA Championships, the West Prelims will rotate days, with the men competing on Wednesday and Friday and the women on Thursday and Saturday. Live results are available at NCAA West Prelims.

Players Mentioned

Abbas Ali

Dillon Bedell

Alexis Brown

De'montray Callis

Laurenz Colbert

Janae De Gannes

Austen Diggs

Nathaniel Ezekiel

Demar Francis

Ricquan Graham

Molly Haywood

Tyler Honeyman

Tiriah Kelley

Tenly Kuhn

Demario Prince

Aren Spencer

Iyanna Webb

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