Tech Track Prepared for NCAA Outdoor Championships

Tech Track Prepared for NCAA Outdoor Championships

June 09, 2009 | Track and Field

June 9, 2009

LUBBOCK, Texas -

The Texas Tech track and field program is sending 12 individual student-athletes and the men's 4x400M relay to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships being held from June 10-13.

Tech has five student-athletes ranked in the top 10 in the nation going into the meet. Gil Roberts has the second-fastest time in the 400M, while Harrison Benjamin is fourth in the men's shot put.

Three Lady Raider throwers are all in contention going into the final meet of the season. D'Andra Carter (discus), Patience Knight (shot put) and Ozie Okolie (hammer) are all ranked in the top 10.

The NCAA Outdoor Championships begin on Wed., June 10, at 10:30 a.m. Live results of the meet can be found at www.ncaasports.com or www.arkansasrazorbacks.com.

Last Week

Tech qualified 12 student-athletes and the men's 4x400M relay to the NCCA Outdoor Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. Harrison Benjamin (shot put), D'Andra Carter (discus)Gladys Kipsang (1500M) and Gil Roberts (400M) all won Midwest Regional titles in their respective events. The Lady Raiders placed second behind Texas A&M and the Red Raiders were third behind Texas A&M and Nebraska.

Mountain Regional Awards

Head coach Wes Kittley, assistant coach Dion Miller and Gil Roberts were all honored the USTFCCCA. Kittley was named the Mountain Regional Women's Coach of the Year while Miller was honored as the Men's Assistant of the Year. Roberts was honored as the Men's Track Athlete of the Year as well. It is Miller's and Roberts' second straight honor as both won the indoor award as well.

Program of the Year Award

The Texas Tech women's track program are in contention for the top overall women's program in the nation going into the NCAA Outdoor Championship as it is currently third in the NCAA Division I Terry Crawford Program of the Year Award rankings.

School Record Broke Again

Harrison Benjamin is throwing the best marks of his career at exactly the right time. The senior broke his school record a few weeks ago at the Big 12 Championships and then followed it up by besting it again at the Midwest Regional Championships. He threw 64'-3.75" to win the title and now has the fourth-best throw in the nation.

Third-Fastest in Nation and School History

The men's 4x400M relay of Brandon Washington, Rodney Mims, Lamont Adams and Gil Roberts ran the third-fastest time in school history at the Midwest Regional Championships. The time of 3:02.75 is the third-fastest ran in the nation.

Only Freshman

Terra Evans is the only freshman in the 100M field at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She has a season-best time of 11.33.

Television Coverage

CBS will be covering the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The coverage will begin on Fri., June 11, from 6-9 p.m. on CBS College Sports. CBS will than air the finals on Sat., June 13 from 12-2 p.m. with all time being C.S.T.

Last Year NCAA Championships

The Lady Raiders finished a program-best fifth place behind Sally Kipyego's seventh NCAA title. D'Andra Carter, Patience Knight and Irene Kimaiyo all earned All-American honors. The men tied for 25th behind All-American honors from Shawon Harris, Omo Osaghae, Rodney Mims, Tim Foster and Gil Roberts.

Two-School Records Broke at Big 12's

Two Red Raiders set new school records during the Big 12 Championships. Harrison Benjamin threw 62'-1.75" breaking his previous school record in the shot put and putting him eighth in the nation overall. Gil Roberts ran a blazing 44.86 to win the 400M Big 12 title and broke Andrae Williams record set in 2005.

Back to Back

Tech's three female student-athletes successfully defended their Big 12 Championships. Patience Knight (shot put), D'Andra Carter (discus) and Sandra Iwunze (400M H) all won for the second year in a row. It is the first time Tech has won consecutive titles in all three events.

Five Years Straight

Texas Tech's dominance of the hurdles continued with Omo Osghae winning Tech's fifth-straight 110M hurdle title. Marlon Odom started the tradition winning from 2005-2007 with Shawon Harris winning in 2008.

USTFCCCA Rankings

The Texas Tech men's stayed in the USTFCCCA rankings compiled by Tom Lewis. The Red Raiders are No. 18 this week, dropping four spots. The men are the fifth-ranked Big 12 school. The Lady Raiders were left out of the top 25 despite finishing second at the Midwest Regional Championships.

Blazing Freshman

Terra Evans has the 14th fastest time in the nation with a time of 11.33 in the 100M. She is also the best time of any freshman in the 100M this season.

School Record

Tori Smith broke a 12-year-old record with her 13.44 in the 100M hurdles last Thursday. Ami Peters held the record previously at 13.63. Smith also set a new stadium record as she broke a 22-year-old record set by Karen Nelson of Texas back in 1987.

Top 10 Throwers

All three of the women throwers in the discus, hammer and shot put are ranked in the top 10 in the nation. D'Andra Carter is ranked fifth in the discus. Patience Knight is currently fifth in the shot put and Ozie Okolie is ninth in the hammer.

National Rank

400M Gil Roberts 2nd 3K SC Gilbert Limo 20th 4x400M Men 3rd LJ Darrell Roddick 19th TJ Darrell Roddick 12th SP Harrison Benjamin 4th 100M Terra Evans 14th 800M Asia Diaz 18th 1500M Gladys Kipsang 18th 5000M Lillian Badaru 25th 400M H Sandra Iwunze 17th SP Patience Knight 4th SP D'Andra Carter 5th HT Ozie Okolie 9th

Two Weeks in a Row

Patience Knight was named the Big 12 Female Athlete of the Week for her performance at the ACU Invitational. She won both the shot put and discus at the meet with NCAA Regional marks. She threw 164'-06" and 53'-11.25". It is the second-straight week a Texas Tech athlete has won the athlete of the week award from the Big 12.

Freshman Debut

Freshman Jamele Mason, in only two meets so far during the outdoor season, has regionally qualified for two events. At the TCU Invitational he ran a 14.23 to qualify in the 110M hurdles and he turns around a week later to run a 52.22 to qualify in the 400M hurdles.

Female Athlete of Week

D'Andra Carter, the two-time All-American won the discus throw with a NCAA Regional mark of 172'-11" and is the second best in the nation currently. Carter followed it up by placing third in the shot put with throw of 49'-6.5". Her shot put marks qualifies for the NCAA Regional meet as well.

An Amazing Career

Senior Sally Kipyego ended her career at the NCAA Indoor Championships becoming only the second female in NCAA Division I track & field history to win nine NCAA titles. She tied Suzy Favor as she won her third-straight 5,000M title, which no other female has done.

Program Best Finishes

The Texas Tech track & field program had its best NCAA Indoor Championship in history. The women finished in ninth with 21 points. It is the highest finish and most points scored in the program's history. The men made history as they finished in 13th place with 18 points.

Another Level

Sally Kipyego became the first female in NCAA Division I history to win three NCAA Division I Indoor 5,000M titles.

All-Americans

Tech earned nine All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Sally Kipyego earned her 11th and 12th All-American honor in her illustrious career. Gil Roberts earned his second and third All-American award in the 400M and 4x400M relay. Tim Foster and Rodney Mims both earned their second award in the 4x400M relay. Patience Knight earned her second as well in the shot put. Omo Osaghae earned his first indoor and second All-American honor overall. Markus Henderson collected his first All-American honor in the 4x400M relay.

Star Studded Returners

Texas Tech started the season with a total of eight All-Americans returning for the 2009 season. The group is highlighted by eight-time NCAA champion Sally Kipyego. Two-time All-American throwers Patience Knight and D'Andra Carter are the other women retuning. The men have Anthony Flemons, Tim Foster, Rodney Mims, Omo Osaghae and Gil Roberts.

Newcomers

Tech has 27 newcomers for the season. The men boast the fifth-best recruiting class in the nation by Track and Field News and the class is highlighted by Markus Henderson, Jamele Mason and Brandon Tucker. The women have a strong group of freshmen and transfers. Lillian Badaru has already made a name for herself as she earned her first All-American honor in cross country last fall.

New Additions

The Texas Tech track program added a new face as Roy Williams, a former TCU All-American, was hired to coach sprints and relays. Williams spent the last three years at the University of Texas at Arlington as the associate head coach of sprints, relays, jumps and hurdles. He coached an Olympic qualifier in the 200M and 4x100M relay and an All-American in the 110M hurdles during his tenure.

Ten-Year Anniversary

This season marks the 10th year that head coach Wes Kittley has been with the Texas Tech track & field program. Since then, his program has had ten NCAA champions and 97 All-American honors.