Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Athletics
NCAA Indoor Championships
All-Americans!
March 09, 2002 | Track and Field
March 9, 2002
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - The Texas Tech track teams completed action in the 2002 NCAA championships Saturday evening on the University of Arkansas campus in Fayetteville, Ark., with every athlete that competed earning the elite status of All-American.
Not since the turning of the century had the Texas Tech track and field teams scored in the NCAA national indoor meet, until now. That drought came to an end Saturday afternoon as true freshmen Jonathan Johnson and Licretia Sibley both earned two All-American honors and both 4x400 relay teams placed eighth, each earning All-American status.
In the first event of the day for a Tech athlete, Johnson ran in the men's 800-meter. Johnson qualified for the day's finals by running a 1 minute 48.73 second preliminary time yesterday which was the sixth fastest time turned in. In today's finals Johnson turned in a time of 1:50.40 as he placed sixth in the nation earning All-American status in his first ever national meet.
"My legs were tired," noted Johnson on his falling back in the pack during the race. "I kept thinking that I was running outdoors and outdoor it is easier to pass people, but you can't do that here."
"It is phenomenal for him," stated Tech track coach Wes Kittley on the performance of his freshman. "He did not get [to Tech] until January, so for him to do all this in two months is really phenomenal."
In the women's 400m Sibley raced in the first of the two-heat final finishing third with a time of 54.26. The second heat of the finals was the faster of the two heats as all four sprinters turned in better times than those running in the first heat but Sibley managed to finish the event in seventh and scored two points for Tech.
"I was kind of intimidated being a freshman," said Sibley. "But at the same time I was relaxed because I knew what I had to do."
The final two events of the meet were the men's and women's 4x400 relays.
The women ran first in the first of three heats. They were led out of the blocks by the only Red Raider senior to compete on the day Melonie Barrow. She hung with the pack and made the first exchange in a time of 55.10. Sophomore Rachelle Evans ran the second leg not giving up any ground to the rest of the field as her split of 53.90 had the team still within striking distance. LaDonna Begelton took the second hand off and raced to a two-lap split time of 54.44, but the rest of the field had put five meters distance between them. Sibley took the anchor leg and raced to the fastest split time of the quartet, 53.19 as the team finished fourth in their heat.
With two heats still to race and the women able to do no better than fourth all that the team could do would be to sit and wait. The second heat came and went and Tech stood in sixth with an overall time of 3:36.97. The final heat saw favorites South Carolina and Texas sprint to the two fastest times of the meet but Florida dropped out of the race due to injury in the first leg and Tech knew that they had a chance to finish in the top eight. After the smoke had cleared and the results were posted the Red Raiders sat in eighth, good enough for All-American status.
"I am not disappointed at all in finishing eighth," said Kittley. "Are women PR'ed [set a personal record] in the relay. This group has really come on, I am very proud of this team."
"I saw the time and I thought that we would get in," stated Sibley. "I was happy because now I had three other people to share [All-American] status with."
Not wanting to be out done by the women's team the men's 4x4 team ran in the first of three heats and would have to sit and wait as they finished second in their behind conference rival Oklahoma with a time of 3:09.70. Freshman Ivory McCann would set the pace for the men running a first-split time of 47.80. McCann would pass the baton to Julieon Raeburn for the second leg second in the heat. The former Olympian would blow past the rest of the field into a comfortable 10 meter lead as he handed off the stick to freshman Albert Booker. Booker would race to a third leg split of 46.90 and hold the lead as he turned the race over to Johnson.
"I was tired," stated Johnson. "I was disappointed that we didn't win the heat but I knew that there was nothing else I could do. I thought that we were probably in though."
With a second place finish in the heat the men's team sat and waited for the final two heats of the relay to be run. When all was finished the scoreboard at Randal Tyson Track Center showed what Tech wanted to see, an eighth place finish and another set of All-Americans.
"We needed to get here," stressed Kittley. "Now this team knows what it takes to get here and compete at this level. I think that we are a much better outdoor team so I think that this is just the start."
For the first time ever Tech had eight athletes earn All-American status in one season with four on both the men's and women's teams. Sibley joins Leigh Daniel as the lone female athletes to earn double All-American status and Johnson is the only male athlete to claim double All-American status.
The last time that a female athlete scored in an indoor championship was in 2000 when distance runner Leigh Daniel finished fourth in the 5,000 meter run and eighth in the 3,000m. For her efforts she scored six points the second most points ever scored at an indoor championship for the women's team.
Gezachw Yossef raced to an eighth place finish in the mile at the 2000 indoor championships scoring one point the last time that the Tech men was represented on the championship platform.
Final Results:Men's 800-M:1. Otukile Lekote S. Carolina 1:46.882. Marc Sylvester Tennessee 1:47.416. Jonathan Johnson Texas Tech 1:50.40
Women's 400-M:1. Allison Beckford Rice 52.162. Demetria Washington S. Carolina 52.417. Licretia Sibley Texas Tech 54.26
Women's 4 x 400:1. South Carolina 3:30.362. Texas 3:32.128. Texas Tech 3:36.97
Men's 4 x 400:1. Baylor 3:05.542. Tennessee 3:06.878. Texas Tech 3:09.70
