Track to Run in Home Finale this Weekend
May 02, 2003 | Track and Field
May 2, 2003
Lubbock, Texas - The Texas Tech men and women's track and field team will close out the 2003 home schedule Saturday as the Red Raiders host the Texas Tech Open at R.P. Fuller Stadium. With 25 athletes having qualified for the NCAA Midwest regional meet at the end of the month, this weekend will serve as one of the last chances to add to that total as well as prepare for the Big 12 Championships in two weeks.
The 15th-ranked men's team will add a new wrinkle this weekend as Carlos Francis (Fort Worth, Texas) and SirDon Lewis (Hitchcock, Texas) have fulfilled their football duties and will join Albert Booker (Trent, Texas) and Julieon Raeburn (Trincity, Trinidad) on the 400-meter relay. Leading the men's team into this weekend's competition will be a trio of athletes who rank first in the Big 12 for their respective events. Freshman Bobby Most (Laredo, Texas) also enters the meet as the top-ranked pole vaulter in the Midwest region, as is Johnathan Johnson (Abilen, Texas) in the 800-meter run, while junior Jason Young (Dallas, Texas) is third in the region in the discus.
For the women every week the team is showing improvement. Thus far 10 women have achieved regional qualifying marks including sophomore Brionne Yosten (Hereford, Texas) who set an 11-second personal record in the 1,500 last weekend at the Drake Relays. Sprinter Licretia Sibley (Fort Worth, Texas) enters the weekend with the fifth-best mark in the 400, while the 1,600-meter relay team of Rachelle Evans (Dallas, Texas), LaToya Fry (Mansfield, Texas), Karletha Cook (Dallas, Texas) and Sibley have the fourth-fastest team in the Midwest region.
This weekend will serve as a final tune-up for most of the track and field teams as only a select few will compete at Abilene Christian next weekend due to finals. The Big 12 Championships will be held in Austin, Texas, May 17-19, at Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field.