By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Months of early mornings on the track, personal and program records and steady progress now funnel into one defining weekend as Baylor track and field returns to the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center for the Big 12 Indoor Championship on Friday and Saturday in Lubbock.
Backed by conference-leading marks from senior sprinter Tiriah Kelley, junior pole vaulter Molly Haywood and junior hurdler Demario Prince, the Bears enter the two-day meet with legitimate podium expectations and multiple scoring opportunities across both the men’s and women’s squads.
With preliminaries setting the tone Friday and finals deciding titles Saturday, Baylor’s margin for error has narrowed as the indoor season reaches its peak.
“One of the big things for us this weekend is living in the moment,” head coach Michael Ford said. “Trying to bottle up what they’ve done all year, even last year, and carry that into the race. If you execute, you don’t really have to do anything different at the Big 12 Championship. You’ve just got to execute maybe a little better, and the chips will fall where they may.”
The Bears enter the two-day meet with familiarity on their side. Baylor has competed at the same facility multiple times this season, a comfort Ford believes removes distractions during championship competition.
“We know the track, we know the warm-up area,” Ford said. “They have a great atmosphere, too, so I think that gives you an extra boost.”
The athletes echoed the same sentiment.
“Even in middle school and high school, when I first started running track, Lubbock was always where I ran really fast,” Kelley said. “I think I’m still used to it. There are only so many indoor tracks in Texas, so we got used to this one. I love that the Big 12 is held there because we’re comfortable on that track.”
Leading the charge is Kelley, Baylor’s 200-meter record holder, who returns to Lubbock ranked No. 2 nationally after twice rewriting her own school mark on the same track.
“She has a lot of confidence,” Ford said. “We always talk about stacking days, stacking good workouts throughout the season and throughout the week. With her doing that, she’s running fast because of it.”
The confidence has come with experience. After finishing third at last year’s conference meet and qualifying for nationals, Kelley now enters her final indoor championship season chasing the one accomplishment still missing from her résumé — a Big 12 title.
“I’m looking forward to winning,” Kelley said. “This is my senior year, and I haven’t had a title yet. That’s what I’m striving for. By God’s grace, I’m trusting everything, but I do want to win, and I’m so excited for the 200 this weekend”
In the field events, Haywood returns as Baylor’s lone defending individual conference champion, sitting atop the Big 12 rankings and fourth nationally with a clearance of 15 feet after setting the school record last season.
“I think we can get some really big points in the pole vault.” Ford said of a group that includes senior Tenly Kuhn and junior Alencia Lentz, who rank fifth and sixth in the Big 12, respectively. “That’s going to be our big event.”
On the men’s side, Prince enters the meet motivated by unfinished business after narrowly missing championship breakthroughs in previous indoor seasons.
“We’ve been making deposits all season,” Prince said. “Now it’s just going into the meet with the mindset that we have to execute. The past two indoor seasons, I came up short. I think it’s time to get it done.”
Despite strong individual marks across the roster, Ford emphasized that championship success begins Friday during preliminary rounds — not in Saturday’s finals. The focus, he said, is not on opponents or projections, but on maximizing the moment.
“For me, I want them to realize they belong at the Big 12 Championship,” Ford said. “I don’t want them to have any regrets, especially our senior group.”
Kelley agreed.
“This is definitely a peak,” she said. “Conference is where everybody looks forward to competing. This is 100% peak time.”
Friday’s action begins at 10 a.m. with combined events, while running preliminaries start at 2 p.m. Championship finals conclude Saturday afternoon. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+.
