By Gio Gennero | Sports Writer
Baylor track and field turned in plenty of personal bests with some standouts from the two-day Tom Jones Memorial at the James G. Pressly Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.
On the first day, junior jumper Ukurugenzi Kojo finished second in the high jump clearing 6-8¼ . Also finishing second in their event, sophomore thrower Prosper Nnamdi threw for a 232-1 in shot put. Junior pole vaulter Ben Conacher cleared 16-10 to take third place in the event.
Sophomore hurdler Nathaniel Ezekiel finished fifth in the 400-meter hurdles, but after leading through the first 300, he fell to fifth after running a 49.44. In the hammer throw, freshman thrower Gary Moore Jr. also finished top five with a 187-6 throw.
In the men’s open 400-meter run, Baylor’s squad all finished around each other in a pack. Leading the way was senior sprinter Hasani Barr, who found a new personal best with a 45.56 fifth-place finish. Junior sprinters Dillon Bedell and Demar Francis followed in seventh and 10th, respectively. Bedell ran a 45.68 and Francis a 45.94, respectively. Graduate student sprinter Matthew Moorer Jr. completed a 46.05 for a 13th place.
Other graduate student athletes also performed well with jumper Aïcha Moumin clearing a 5-9¼ to take third in the women’s high jump, which was enough to tie for fourth best in Baylor program history.
At a different meet going on this weekend, the Bryan Clay Invitational, two Bears broke program records in the 5,000 meter.
Graduate long distance runners Annamaria Kostarellis and Ryan Day finished in eighth and 12th, respectively. Kostarellis ran a 15:39.16 to break the women’s record that stood since 2014. Day finished with a 13:52.7 and grabbed the record that stood since 1970.
Up next, the Bears return to Waco for their last home meet of the season, the Michael Johnson Invitational.
