No. 12/No. 20 Baylor T&F Closes 2022 MJ Invitational with 11 Wins

Sat Apr 23 20:47:28 CDT 2022

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 23, 2022

No. 12/No. 20 Baylor T&F Closes 2022 MJ Invitational with 11 Wins
Nnamdi Prosper retakes national lead in the javelin throw
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle, 940-564-0351, Colin_Pirtle1 at baylor.edu

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor track and field closed the gates of the Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium for the final time in 2022 with a bang, setting a top national mark and winning 11 collegiate championships in the process.

Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi, who lost the national No. 1 spot to Virginia’s Ethan Dabbs Friday night, came out looking for revenge and threw a 265-11 program and stadium record-setting mark, enough to take back that top spot by over two feet. According to USTFCCCA’s all-time list, Prosper Nnamdi’s 265-11 lands him as the No. 15 all-time thrower in Division I competition.

The men’s 4x100-meter relay started things off nicely on the track, recording a collegiate first-place finish in the event. Laurenz Colbert, Isaiah Cunningham, Kamden Jackson and De’montray Callis finished their race in a quick 39.59 seconds, while Jayson Baldridge, Hasani Barr, Dillon Bedell and Matthew Moorer were right behind them in 39.68 seconds.

Mariah Ayers, Kavia Francis, Gontse Morake and Imaobong Uko put up the fifth-fastest mark in program history for the 4x400-meter relay, finishing in 3:30.21. The “B” squad of Demitra Carter, Jasmine Gryne, Cierra Wash and Briana Garcia finished in fifth.

Ackera Nugent found a familiar spot at the top of the hurdle standings, finishing her 100-meter hurdle competition in 12.79 seconds (w: 2.1). Alexis Duncan finished in fifth, and Kennedy Bailey followed in sixth.

Francis and Uko finished first and second, respectively, in the women’s 400 meters. Francis’ 52.54 is a new personal-best, while Uko’s 52.89 is the fastest that she has ran in her time at Baylor.

Caira Pettway got a collegiate championship from her 11.11-second finish (w: 3.2) in the 100-meter dash. Pettway moved into the third spot all-time at Baylor in the event two weeks ago in Bryan-College Station, and this PR moves her just two-hundredths of a second away from being tied as the fastest sprinter in program history. Nugent, the current program record holder, finished in second after 11.13, and Sydney Washington was fourth in 11.32.

In the men’s 100, Cunningham finished in a blistering 10.19 seconds (w: 1.9), just shy of his personal best, to secure the collegiate gold in the event. Colbert ran a 10.27 to match his previous PR ran two weeks ago to finish in fourth, while Callis finished in fifth.

Aaliyah Miller took the No. 1 collegiate spot in the women’s 800 meters, only trailing 2020 Olympic gold medalist Athing Mu. Miller recorded a season-best 2:05.55 in the event, while Taylor Whitfield and Hayden Gold finished back-to-back in eighth and ninth place, respectively.

The men’s 4x400 recorded a second-place finish, as Cunningham, Bedell, Nathaniel Ezekiel and Barr finished the race in 3:04.44.

The women’s 4x100, comprised of Duncan, Pettway, Washington and Francis finished in 44.52 for a silver medal in the event.

Elijah Morris recorded a barely NCAA wind-legal (3.7) 13.65 mark in the 110-meter hurdles for a new personal-best, good enough to move to No. 5 on Baylor’s all-time list. Johnny Brackins, moments after his sixth-place finish in the triple jump, finished the race in 13.78 seconds for the bronze medal.

Howard Fields III finished third among collegians in the 400 meters, putting up a 46.12 in the race. Bedell finished in fourth with 46.23 and Barr in fifth in 46.26 seconds.

In the field, Cole Hardan threw for a sixth-place 59-6 ¼ in the shot put, and Koi Johnson finished the triple jump in fourth place with a 42-2 ¼ jump.

For Baylor’s complete results from the Michael Johnson Invitational, visit DeltaTiming’s website<https://live.deltatiming.com/meets/14152/teams/368086>.

Up next, the Bears head to Baton Rouge, La., for the LSU Invitational on April 30 to close the regular season.

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

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Laurenz Colbert, Isaiah Cunningham, Kamden Jackson and De’montray Callis won gold in the men’s 4x100-meter relay.
  *   Kavia Francis and Imaobong Uko both recorded collegiate PRs in the 400 meters.
  *   Caira Pettway improved her personal-best to 11.11 in the 100-meter dash to secure the collegiate gold.
  *   Isaiah Cunningham smoked a 10.19 in the men’s 100 meters to win the race.
  *   Aaliyah Miller finished the 800 meters with a season-best 2:05.55.
  *   Mariah Ayers, Kavia Francis, Gontse Morake and Imaobong Uko moved to No. 5 all-time at Baylor for their 3:30.21 finish in the 4x400.

STAT OF THE MEET
15 – All-time ranking of Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi in Division I collegiate javelin competition.

TOP QUOTE
Michael Ford on the team’s performance…
“Crazy Michael Johnson Invitational, especially with this being my first one with the alumni and everything else and trying to run it with Lucy (Reed). But I think overall, we had an awesome track meet. I think we still have to stay healthy because we got a couple people banged-up today. But, I think once we get back healthy and have one more track meet and get a week off before conference, I think we’ll be ready to go.”

www.BaylorBears.com

__________________________________________
Colin Pirtle | Communications Intern (Interim-T&F/XC)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 940-564-0351

[signature_320481760]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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