Texas Tech athletics couldn't give Texas the one more punch in the nose that Wes Kitley was hoping for before the Longhorns depart for the Southeastern Conference.
The Red Raiders settled for Saturday's final day of the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Waco, which had all three days postponed due to inclement weather, with four girls winning individual conference titles. The Tech boys will be mindful that Caleb Dean came close to breaking the school record in the 400-meter hurdles in his first meet of the season.
However, Texas swept the team championship and rebuffed Tech's attempt to sweep the men's conference indoor and outdoor crowns for the second year in a row.
“We weren't as sharp as we thought we would be. I think the weather delays were (a factor),” Red Raiders coach Kitley said.
Tech women's titles were won by Juliette Cerbet in the 1,500 meters, Temitope Adesina in the high jump, Zoe Burleson in the discus throw and Rosemary Chukwuma in the 100 meters. Cervette's time of 4 minutes, 9.33 broke the meet record and the Clydehart Stadium record.
Day 2 summary:Texas Tech's Anastasia Chepkoril takes third place in weather-delayed Big 12 track and field meet
Related:Texas Tech's Juliette Cerbet, co-highest scorer | Big 12 track and field results
The Kenyan freshman also placed second in the 5,000 meters, sharing the meet's top scorer with TCU sprinter Iyana Gray.
Adesina cleared 6-2 3/4 in the high jump and Burleson threw 189-1 in the discus. Chukwuma ran the 100-meter dash in Wind Regal's time of 11.12 seconds.
“Juliet was just phenomenal,” Kitley said. “Temitope was great in the high jump and Rose was really great in the 100m run. Zoe, I’m so proud of her.
“There were some really good things. As a team, we just didn't put together everything we needed to win.”
The Texas women's team racked up 150 points to Brigham Young's 98 points and Tech's 96 1/2 points, winning the Big 12 Outdoor Championship for the fifth time in a row.
The Longhorns defeated the Tech men 134-115, with the Red Raiders closing the gap with a win in the game-ending 1,600-meter relay. Carl Hicks, Charlie Bartholomew, Shamar Uter, and Oscar Edlund ran a time of 3 minutes, 3.09 seconds, a season best and the only Tech men's team to take first place in the meet.
“I was really happy to finish the game 4-4,” Kitley said. “We showed pride there, and I thought that was important.”
But both tech teams made compromises. Ruta Lassman, the NCAA women's indoor triple jump champion, withdrew due to mononucleosis.
On the men's side, NCAA sprint champion Terrence Jones only competed in one relay this season due to a hamstring injury. Dean, a three-time Big 12 champion, had not raced at all due to an adductor issue.
Nevertheless, the 400-meter hurdles were blisteringly fast, with Baylor University's Nathaniel Ezekiel winning in 48.00 seconds and Dean second in 48.43 seconds. Both men comfortably met the 2024 Olympic qualification standard of 48.70 seconds, with Ezekiel breaking Dean's meet record set last year and Dean tying the second-best time of his career. Pending results from other conference events, Dean could finish fourth in NCAA Division I this season with a score of 48.43.
“I couldn't be more proud of Caleb Dean,” Kitley said. “That guy hasn't run in eight weeks.”
Jones didn't fare as well as Dean. The two-time NCAA champion in the 60 meters failed to make the cut Thursday in the 200 meters, where he won this year's NCAA indoor championship. He finished eighth in Saturday's 100-man final.
Friday's schedule was back on track after a nearly four-hour delay, with events starting until midnight. With many qualifying rounds canceled, finals were held in multiple sections on Saturday.
There was another outage Saturday night for almost two hours.
“I thought we weren't handling the stress very well,” Kitley said. “I think the kids relaxed a little bit when Terrence came back and Caleb came back and I think we weren’t as fully adjusted as we would have liked to see on the boys side. I think.” ”
NCAA Indoor 2024:Terrence Jones and Caleb Dean lead Texas Tech track and field to NCAA Championship
2024 Indoor Conference:Texas Tech men's track and field wins Big 12 title in spectacular fashion
