Molly Haywood records program’s third 15-foot indoor vault

Friday, January 23

Baylor

Ted Nelson Invitational

Molly Haywood records program’s third 15-foot indoor vault

1/24/2026 8:53:00 PM | Track & Field

Bears record 27 top-eight finishes at A&M’s Ted Nelson Invitational

Ted Nelson Full Results

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Recording just the third 15-foot indoor pole vault in program history, Baylor junior All-American Molly Haywood followed up her win at last week's National Pole Vault Summit with another title on Saturday at Texas A&M's Ted Nelson Invitational at the Fasken Indoor.

Haywood, who passed on the first five heights to enter at 14-0, went on to clear the winning height of 15-0 on her first attempt before coming up short on three tries at what would have been a school- and meet-record mark of 15-3. She now holds four of the top-10 indoor vaults and is the only Baylor female athlete to clear a 15-foot bar at an indoor meet.

"Molly was definitely the highlight," said Baylor coach Michael Ford, whose team recorded a total of 27 top-eight finishes in the meet. "It was good to have her back, considering she didn't go to Texas Tech last week. This is definitely going to put her high on the lists."

After winning the Pole Vault Summit last week in Reno, Nev., with a mark of 14-9, Haywood is now the NCAA leader and is fourth in the World Athletics rankings. She came a quarter-inch shy of her facility record and 1 ½ inches from the school record set at last year's Big 12 Indoor.

Tiriah Kelley, who broke the school record in the 200 meters at last week's Corky Classic with a world-leading time of 22.56 seconds, posted the fastest prelim time and placed second in the 60 meters at 7.34.

Making her indoor season debut, sophomore Janae De Gannes was the early leader before adding runner-up honors in the long jump with a best mark of 20 feet, 1 inch. A&M's Morgan Davis edged her out by less than an inch, winning in 20-1 ¾.

"Janae, her first competition back since the summer, we were definitely proud of her," Ford said. "She was dealing with a hamstring injury in the fall. So, for her to come back and go over six meters, that was big. That will give her a lot of confidence going to Kansas State."

Getting some "speed work" in for the second-straight week, Ruth Kimeli ran a PR in finishing third in the mile run in 4:49.79 after finishing fifth in the 1,000 meters. Freshmen Rachel Haws (5:04.19) and Eva Jacobsen (5:04.31) finished 1-2 in the second section of the mile and placed sixth and seventh overall.

Freshman sprinter Bailey Hashmi provided the biggest highlights on the men's side, placing fifth in the 200 meters with a PR time of 21.32 and finishing seventh in the 60-meter finals in 6.84, edging teammate Demario Prince (6.87).

In the newly named Clyde Hart 4x400-meter relay, Baylor was running a close second to eventual winner A&M when anchor Aren Spencer pulled up with a cramp in his hamstring. Spencer took the handoff just 1 ½ seconds behind the Aggies after strong middle legs from Malik Franklin and Abbas Ali.

"Based on the middle legs, I thought we would run a 3:08, 3:09," Ford said. "And that would have been a great start for them."

Next week, the Bears will go out of state for the first time to compete in the DeLoss Dodds Invitational in Manhattan, Kan.

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

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