Baylor Track & Field Set For NCAA Indoor Championships

[Coleman, Kellen]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 11, 2020

Baylor Track & Field Set For NCAA Indoor Championships
Bears will compete for national championships in four events.

For more information contact: Kellen Coleman, 254-749-6507, Kellen_Coleman at baylor.edu<mailto:Kellen_Coleman at baylor.edu>

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Baylor track and field will conclude the indoor season as the Bears travel to the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships Friday and Saturday at the Albuquerque Convention Center.

KC Lightfoot, Tuesdi Tidwell, Alex Madlock and the men's 4x400-meter relay will represent the Bears at the championships.

“This is the hardest NCAA meet to make,” head coach Todd Harbour said. “Outdoors, you’ve got 96 (qualifiers per event). This one, you’ve got 16; relays are 12. It’s a hard championship to make. So, you’ve got to be thankful and grateful and humble and blessed. They all have a shot.”

Lightfoot, the reigning USTFCCCA South Central Regional Field Athlete of the Year, is the No. 2-ranked men's pole vaulter in the NCAA. The sophomore from Lee’s Summit, Mo., has a season-best mark of 19-1.5 (5.83m).

“It’s eerie, almost, just how consistent KC is and how much of a competitor he is,” Harbour said. “We’ve had a lot of great competitors come through here. But, he brings it when it counts. He just competes and finds a way. He was the region athlete of the year and he got added to The Bowerman watch list. That’s a big deal. That’s like being added to the Heisman list. It’s a pretty prestigious award for track & field.”

Tidwell enters the NCAA meet ranked No. 4 in the country in the women’s pole vault with her mark of 14-9 (4.50m), which is the Baylor indoor record. The junior from Early, Texas, has five of the top 10 vaults in school history.

“Tuesdi has jumped pretty well this year, so she’s got a shot,” Harbour said. “She’s been getting her strength back. They’ve been loading her up with B12, so she feels better. I think that’s going to make a huge difference for her. And obviously jumping at Albuquerque, that’s a big deal. Get that little bit of elevation. It’s a great deal for sprinters and jumpers. It’s a great place to get PBs.”

Madlock holds a season-best mark of 43-9.25 (13.34m), which ranks No. 13 in the NCAA in the women’s triple jump. The junior from Bangs, Texas, is the No. 2-ranked indoor performer in Baylor history.

“Last time Stacey (Smith) took a triple jumper over there, he came back with a national championship, Felix Obi,” Harbour said. “So, Alex has a shot.”

The men's 4x400-meter relay is ranked 14th in the NCAA with a time of 3:06.93. The Bears will have Ryan Croson, Maxwell Willis, Matthew Moorer, Howard Fields III, Jayson Baldridge and Hasani Barr to select from for the relay.

“We’ve just got to put it all together and run,” Harbour said. “At conference, we kind of got out well and then we kind of settled in the middle and we raced. These guys have got to go run, they can’t race. Because you’re racing against the clock, too. It’s kind of one of those deals where you have to race, but at the same time you’re running against the clock.”

Lightfoot will kick things off for Baylor Friday with the men's pole vault at 6:15 p.m. CT. Madlock will compete in the women's triple jump Saturday at 4:30 p.m. CT, Tidwell will jump in the women's pole vault Saturday at 5 p.m. CT, and men's 4x400-meter relay will run Saturday at 7:40 p.m. CT. The meet will be streamed on ESPN3, and live results can be found here.

For continued updates on the Baylor Track & Field team, follow the team's social media accounts all season long: @BaylorTrack.



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Kellen Coleman | Associate Director of Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-4049 | C: 254-749-6507

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