By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
One month and five meets into the indoor season, Baylor track and field has produced a record-setting start to 2026, piling up titles, beating PRs and positioning multiple event groups in Big 12 title contention.
What began as an early-season proving ground has quickly become a measuring stick against conference competition. With performances tightening and lineups solidifying, the Bears now enter the final stretch of the indoor calendar, where consistency will define their conference ceiling.
Opening the season at the Corky Classic in Lubbock, the Bears saw immediate results. Senior Tiriah Kelley ran 22.56 seconds to win the 200 meters, breaking her own school record and setting the meet record.
On the men’s side, freshman Landon Freeman cleared 2.15 meters (7-0 ½) in the high jump, becoming the program’s first 7-foot clearance since 2000. He finished fifth in a competitive field, with the mark standing as the top height by a Baylor jumper in over two decades.
The following weekend at the Ted Nelson Invitational in College Station, Baylor continued to stack high marks across events. Junior pole vaulter Molly Haywood entered competition at 14-0 and went on to clear 15-0, recording the third 15-foot indoor clearance in program history. The Bears totaled 27 top-eight finishes over the two-day meet, adding scoring depth across field and track events.
Kelley advanced through the rounds in the 60 meters, qualifying fastest before clocking 7.34 to finish second in the final. In the field, sophomore Janae De Gannes returned to competition and hit a runner-up mark in the long jump, securing second place in her first meet back from a fall hamstring injury.
Momentum carried into the DeLoss Dodds Invitational in Manhattan, Kan., where junior Demario Prince posted the top qualifying time in the 60-meter hurdles before running 7.59 in the final to reset the meet record and rank among the fastest in the nation this season.
“I wasn’t really surprised about the time,” head coach Michael Ford said. “He executed the race right.”
Baylor also secured wins in the men’s 600-yard run and 4×400 relay, closing the meet in 3:08.25. Freshman Success Oyibu captured the 200-meter title in her collegiate debut. Runner-up finishes from Haywood and Abbas Ali added to the team’s steady production.
That stretch continued at the Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C., where Prince advanced through prelims and semifinals before clocking 7.62 to win his second consecutive 60-meter hurdles title.
Baylor added five more event victories, including sweeps of the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relays to close the meet. Kelley remained unbeaten in the 200 meters and Freeman cleared for the win in the high jump to secure his first collegiate title.
“It was definitely a big improvement from last week to this week,” Ford said. “They still need to drop some more, but it was progress.”
Back in Lubbock following consecutive out-of-state meets, Baylor added more top finishes across the board at the Jarvis Scott Open. Senior Tenly Kuhn and juniors Alencia Lentz and Haywood combined for three of the top five clearances in the pole vault on Friday’s opening day, while both the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay squads finished fourth.
With no regular-season meets remaining, Baylor turns to the Big 12 Indoor Championships with hopes to build on its record-setting season. The event will be held Feb. 27 and 28 at Texas Tech’s Sports Performance Center in Lubbock.
