Track and Field Opens Indoor Season at Corky Classic

Track and Field Opens Indoor Season at Corky Classic

1/15/2026 2:58:00 PM | Track & Field

Nine freshmen, five transfers included among entrants for meet in Lubbock

LUBBOCK, Texas – Fifth-year Baylor head track and field coach Michael Ford, now in his 25^th year overall at his alma matter, is taking 14 newcomers among his traveling party of 44 student-athletes to the Corky Classic that begins Friday at Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center.

While Baylor had a handful of competitors make the short drive down Highway 6 for last month's McFerrin 12-Degree Invitational in College Station, the two-day Corky Classic officially opens the Bears' indoor season. Field events start at 3 p.m. Friday, with the first events on the track starting at 3:30.

"I'm always excited about the new season," Ford said, "because I get to see new athletes compete. I always think that every season is new. Even if you bring the same team back, there are still nuances to the team. For me as a coach, it's just getting my coaching legs back under me . . . and trying to make sure I know everyone's name on the team. And then, kind of slowly putting together how our conference meet is going to go."

On the women's side, transfers Nita Koom-Dadzie from Texas and Addison Stevenson from LSU join a returning group that includes sprinter three-time NCAA Championship qualifier Ruth Kimeli and sprinter Tiriah Kelley, a two-time Big 12 champion and 2024 All-American in the 4x100 relay.

"I'm definitely nervous, but it's excitement, though," said Kelley, who qualified for last year's NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 200 meters and 4x100 and 4x400 relay. "This is a new season. New things happen every year."

The men have sophomores Tyler Honeyman and Abbas Ali back from a 4x400 relay that earned All-America honors with a seventh-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The Bears also got some help out of the transfer portal from Arkansas long jumper/sprinter Sebastian Berntsen and sprinters Malik Franklin from Arizona State and Brian Limage from Arizona.

Bernstein said the moment he talked to associate head coach and jumps coach Stacey Smith, "I just knew that this was the spot for me."

"They gave me the opportunity to come here and do both the long jump and also the sprints," said Berntsen, whose goal is to join Baylor's 26-foot jumper club that includes Lee Miles on the indoor list and Johnny Brackins, Danny Brabham and Chris Gillis outdoors. "I was just sure this was the right place for me."

This will be Baylor's first full track meet without legendary coach Clyde Hart, who passed away in November, as well as 2025 national champions Alexis Brown in the indoor long jump and Bowerman finalist Nathaniel Ezekiel in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles. Brown and Ezekiel turned pro after their final collegiate seasons, with Ezekiel finishing fourth in the World Championships with a Nigerian national-record 47.11 seconds.

"Every year, you lose somebody. It's kind of the way sports are," Ford said of losing the two national champions. "I think our men's team is going to be better without Nate. Even though that's hard to say, I really think overall we'll be a better team. We're going to be solid in the sprints and hurdles, and I think long jump is going to be one of our big keys this year. And then, we have a couple middle distance runners this year, which that will help, too."

Returning All-Americans Molly Haywood in the women's pole vault and Demario Prince in the men's 110-meter hurdles are not competing this week. But Haywood opened with a 14-3 vault at the McFerrin meet at A&M.

Joining Baylor and host Texas Tech in the 23-team meet are fellow Big 12 rivals TCU, Arizona and Arizona State, along with Texas and Texas A&M from the SEC, SMU from the ACC and Purdue from the Big Ten.

On Saturday, the field events start at 11 a.m., with the running events starting at 11:30 a.m. and concluding with the women's and men's 4x400 relays at around 4 p.m. ESPN+ will provide live streaming, with results available at Primetime Timing.

For the latest news on the Baylor track and field team all year long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorTrack.

- BaylorBears.com -