=?Windows-1252?Q?Baylor_T&F:_Nugent, _Fields_III, _Women=92s_4x400_Win_Conf?= erence Titles

Sat Feb 26 21:57:14 CST 2022

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 26, 2022

Baylor T&F: Nugent, Fields III, Women’s 4x400 Win Conference Titles
Baylor women finish the meet in fourth-place while men end in eighth
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle, 940-564-0351, Colin_Pirtle1 at baylor.edu

THE RUNDOWN
AMES, Iowa – Baylor track and field wrapped up the 2022 Big 12 Indoor Championship in Ames, Iowa, on Saturday. The Bears ended with seven in the top-three positions for their events.

Ackera Nugent ran a 7.91-second race in the women’s 60-meter hurdles en route to her first indoor Big 12 Championship, while also setting the facility record at the Lied Recreation Center. Kennedy Bailey earned four points for the Bears with her fifth-place finish, running an 8.36-second race.

Howard (Trey) Fields III completed his Big 12 gauntlet with a 46.16 personal-best race in the men’s 400 meters. Fields is now the defending champion for both the indoor and outdoor Big 12 Championships in the 400. Dillon Bedell just missed the podium, landing in fourth-place after a 46.82-second finish.

The women’s 4x400 squad, comprised of Kavia Francis, Imaobong Uko, Aaliyah Miller and Mariah Ayers, finished in 3:32.77, over two seconds before the silver medalists from Texas Tech. That time sets the season-best for the women’s 4x400 at Baylor, while also setting the fourth-fastest relay in school history.

The men’s relay group that included Bedell, Matthew Moorer, Nathaniel Ezekiel and Fields finished their relay in second-place, while also setting the seventh-fastest 4x400 relay time in program history of 3:04.60.

Cole Hardan crushed the previous program record with a 59-7 throw. That previous record of 59-3.5, set by Marvin Lewis, has been in place since the Southwestern Conference meet in 1986. Mikayla Deshazer finished in ninth-place with a 47-10 ½ throw on her fifth attempt.

In his first conference meet, Ezekiel won a silver medal in the 600 yards. Ezekiel finished his race with a personal-best 1:07.60, enough to keep him in the same spot all-time at BU, now just over three tenths of a second behind Floyd Thompson’s record set in 2000.

Alex Madlock won her second bronze medal of the meet with a 43-3 jump in the triple jump. Koi Johnson ended her day in 10th, after jumping 41-3 ¼ on two separate attempts.

Moorea Long set a new personal-best in the high jump, clearing the bar at 5-8 ½. That height is good enough for the fifth-best high jump performer in school history.

There were three athletes representing the Bears in the finals of the women’s 60 meters, with Caira Pettway finishing in fourth-place in the event with a 7.32 personal-best time. Washington and Michaela Francois were sixth and seventh, respectively.

Isaiah Cunningham finished in the middle of the pack in the men’s edition of the 60-meter dash, ending in fifth place with a 6.75-second race.

Uko and Francis finished fifth and sixth in the 400 meters, respectively, with Uko finishing in 53.29 seconds.

Freshman Johnny Brackins recorded a 10th-place finish of 47-10 ½ in the triple jump, which ended his time in the preliminary rounds of the competition.

Elijah Morris finished the men’s 60-meter hurdles in fifth-place, earning four points for the green and gold. Brackins had a few missteps, which led to an eighth-place finish in 8.23 seconds.

Ayers finished the 200 meters in fourth-place, running a 23.42 race and adding five team points to the Bears. Sydney Washington finished in eighth-place.

Ryan Day added his name to the program’s all-time list in the 3,000 meters in spot No. 6, finishing in 8:16.40. On the women’s side, Hayden Gold finished in 9:59.08 and Ellie Friesen wasn’t too far behind with a 10:07.29 finish.

Freshman Taylor Whitfield put up a season-best 4:52.31 in the mile, finishing the race in ninth-place.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Ackera Nugent won her first indoor conference championship in the 60-meter hurdles after a 7.91 race.
  *   Trey Fields ran a personal-best 46.16-second race in the 400m to win the indoor Big 12 championship.
  *   Alex Madlock finished third in the triple jump, making it two bronze medals in both jump events for the senior.
  *   Caira Pettway finished in the fourth-place position in the 60-meter dash.
  *   Nathaniel Ezekiel ran the second-fastest 600 yards time in program history with 1:07.60.
  *   The women’s 4x400 relay won gold with a season-best 3:32.77.

STAT OF THE MEET
59-7 – Shot put throw by Cole Hardan that crushed the program record set in 1986.

TOP QUOTE
Michael Ford on the team’s performance…
“I am just so proud of the group overall. I thought we competed well. We really fought for every point that we got today. For Ackera, it’s always special to win your first indoor Big 12 title and set a facility record. Trey Fields also got his first indoor Big 12 title after winning outdoor last season. We’ll start resting up to get some ready for outdoor and others ready for nationals in a couple weeks.”

www.BaylorBears.com

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

[signature_1726745366]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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