By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer, Claire Marie Scott | LTVN Sports Reporter
Baylor track and field warmly welcomed the outdoor season by hosting the Clyde Hart Classic on Saturday at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium. The Bears set a program record in the Hammer Throw and won first place in the women’s pole vault and women’s 4×100 meter race.
LTVN’s Claire Marie Scott details Baylor Track’s record-breaking day
Freshman thrower Igor Olaru set the hammer throw program record in his outdoor season debut with a 201-00 mark on his first throw. Later in the day, Olaru broke the record again on his fifth throw, tossing a 206-07 mark for a first-place finish.
Continuing with success on the field side, sophomore javelin thrower Ellie Fooshee recorded a personal record 136-02 mark, bringing her a second-place finish. In the men’s javelin, freshman multi-event athlete Dexter Brice picked up a personal best in men’s javelin.
Celebrating both a victory and a birthday, junior pole vaulter Tenly Kuhn secured first place in the pole vault with a 14-01.25 mark after a successful indoor season. As the day went on, freshman jumper Iyanna Webb and sophomore jumper Bella Copeland placed first and second, respectively.
Despite excessive wind, the green and gold found success in both men’s and women’s running events.
Baylor won the women’s 4×100 meter relay with the help of freshman sprinter Aaryona Kinchen, freshman sprinter Hannah Lowe, senior sprinter Summer Sergeant and senior sprinter Michaela Francois.
“We really have been working on our handoffs in practice, and with the wind, we’ve been able to run with the wind, so we know what we’re going against,” Lowe said.
Ultimately, the wind helped the group, starting as a tailwind in the first few laps before shifting into a headwind by the last lap.
“So at Baylor, we’re right next to a river, so it’s very windy here even at practice; we’re fighting the wind all the time,” Lowe said. “So we were pretty used to this. So this is just normal for us.”
Continuing the trend of success, the men’s 400-meter race ended with a first and second-place finish for the green and gold. Freshman sprinter Tyler Honeyman earned a mark of 46.96 and junior jumper Aren Spencer earned a mark of 47.27, marking a new personal best.
The Bears also took home first-place wins in the men’s and women’s 3000-meter races, with freshman Ella Perry and sophomore Nolan Keenan landing on top.
“Next week at LSU, we’ll go against a lot of Big 12 schools and SEC, and then we go to Florida relays a week after that, and then another Big 12, SEC, ACC big meet there,” head coach Michael Ford said. “So we’re looking forward to it. We want to thank everybody who came out and supported the Bears. Sic’ Em.”
The Bears now prepare to travel to Baton Rouge, La., as they compete in the Battle on the Bayou on Friday and Saturday.
