Baylor T&F Wraps National Championship Week with Two Titles

[Pirtle, Colin]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – July 9, 2023

Baylor T&F Wraps National Championship Week with Two Titles
Uko, Moore Jr. win respective titles in Nigerian, U20 American Championships
For more information contact: Colin Pirtle; 940-564-0351, colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu<mailto:colin_pirtle1 at baylor.edu>


WACO, Texas – Baylor track and field completed the national championship season around the world on Sunday evening after the Bears took to the track across four countries and two continents. Gary Moore Jr. and Imaobong Uko highlighted the week for BU with national titles in their events.



USA Championships



Moore Jr. opened his doubleheader on Saturday with a title in the U20 shot put event. Over a month after closing his freshman season at the NCAA West Preliminary Rounds, Moore Jr. threw a 65-0 ¾ chunk to take the title on his second attempt. Following in the nightcap, he placed 11th in the discus throw.



On Friday, Moore Jr. opened his time in the meet on the podium in the hammer throw, taking third at 66.56 meters. His shot put title secures an automatic qualification to the Pan Am U20 Track and Field Championships in Puerto Rico and he awaits the possibility to compete in the hammer throw.



After a 22.71-second race in the first round of the women’s 200 meters, Mariah Ayers tabbed an automatic qualifying lane in the semifinal round, where she finished 10th after 22.61 seconds, just missing the finals cutoff by two spots. In the men’s event, Kamden Jackson did not finish.



Matthew Moorer closed his Baylor career in the 400-meter preliminaries on Thursday night, crossing the line in 17th place, exactly a half second away from a timed qualifying spot.



Now one season into her professional career, Aaliyah Miller finished in the women’s 800 meters in 29th place, with a 2:05.95. Trayvon Bromell advanced through two rounds to the men’s 100-meter final where he finished sixth. His best race of the meet was 10.02 seconds in the semifinal.



KC Lightfoot, just a month removed from the American record and No. 1 seed in the competition, pulled up on his first attempt at 19-2 ¾ and pulled out of the competition to tie for fourth.



Jamaican Championships



Demar Francis was the only Bear to earn a Q in Jamaica and closed his time in the championships in the semifinal round. After recording a 47.28 in the preliminaries, he booked his spot in the semis and finished 16th at 47.04 seconds. Behind a legal wind, Francis moved to the 200 and found 16th place in the prelims after 21.48 seconds.



Ricquan Graham had a gusty first round, where he was 22nd in the 100-meter qualifiers with a wind of -6.5 m/s.



Gontse Morake clocked a 57.98 mark in the preliminary rounds of the 400-meter hurdles, but her mark was pulled.



Nigerian Championships / CAA Region II Athletic Championship (Togo)



Splitting their time between Benin, Nigeria and Lome, Togo, Imaobong Uko and Nathaniel Ezekiel ran for a spot to represent their country at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.



Clocking in around the 52-flat mark, Uko earned the automatic qualifier to the 400-meter final where she won her first Nigerian senior title in the quarter mile. After closing her sophomore season with two All-American trophies in the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays, Uko booked her title with a 52.07 but missed the Worlds qualification standard of 51 seconds.



Nathaniel Ezekiel got one round of the 400-meter hurdles in at the Nigerian champs, scorching his heat in 52.07 seconds after turning off the gas with over 100 meters remaining.



Turning to Togo to qualify the Nigerian 4x400 relay teams for Worlds, Uko’s race with the women’s squad tabbed a 3:29.09, while Ezekiel and the men’s squad crossed the finish line at 3:02.91. Both groups missed the qualifying standard.



To stay up to date throughout the year on all things Baylor track and field, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @BaylorTrack.



- BaylorBears.com -
FULL RESULTS
USA
Women's 800m (1st Round)
29. Aaliyah Miller, 2:05.95

Men's 100m (1st Round)
5. Trayvon Bromell, 10.05 (Q)

Men's 400m (1st Round)
17. Matthew Moorer, 46.35
26. Wil London III, 48.73

Men's U20 Hammer Throw (Final)
3. Gary Moore Jr., 66.56m

Men's 100m (Semifinal)
4. Trayvon Bromell, 10.02 (Q)

Men's 100m (Final)
6. Trayvon Bromell, 10.14

Men's U20 Shot Put (Final)
1. Gary Moore Jr., 65-0 ¾

Men's U20 Discus Throw (Final)
11. Gary Moore Jr., 168-11

Men's 200m (1st Round)
DNF. Kamden Jackson

Women's 200m (1st Round)
11. Mariah Ayers, 22.71 (Q)

Men's Pole Vault (Final)
T-4. KC Lightfoot, 19-0 ¾ (r)

Women's 200m (Semifinal)
10. Mariah Ayers, 22.61

JAMAICA
Men's 100m (Qualification Preliminaries)
22. Ricquan Graham, 11.40 (w-6.5)

Women's 400m Hurdles (Preliminaries)
-- Gontse Morake, 57.98

Men's 400m (Preliminaries)
15. Demar Francis, 47.28 (Q)

Men's 400m (Semifinal)
16. Demar Francis, 47.04

Men's 200m (Preliminaries)
16. Ricquan Graham, 21.48
NIGERIA
Women's 400m (Semifinal)
Imaobong Uko, 52.00 (Q)

Men's 400m Hurdles (Semifinal)
Nathaniel Ezekiel, 52.74

Women's 400m (Final)
1. Imaobong Uko, 52.07

Women's 4x400m (Final)
Imaobong Uko, Patience George, Queen Unosobun and Omolara Ogunmakinju, 3:29.09 (CAA Region II Athletic Championship)

Men's 4x400m (Final)
Nathaniel Ezekiel, Dubem Nwachukwu, Samuel Ogazi and Chidi Okezie, 3:02.91 (CAA Region II Athletic Championship)

_________________________________________
Colin Pirtle | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (T&F/XC, MTEN, FB)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 940-564-0351

[signature_2230589939]<http://baylorbears.com/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20230710/245f40e4/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 11741 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20230710/245f40e4/attachment-0001.png>