By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Under the 83-degree Texas sun at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium, Baylor track and field put together a statement showing at the Baylor Invitational on Friday, stacking event wins, personal bests and momentum on its home track.
Facing a field that included the nation’s No. 1 and No. 7 men’s and women’s programs in LSU, UT Arlington, Tarleton State and San Diego State, Baylor spent the afternoon chasing marks that could punch their ticket to next week’s Tom Jones Memorial Invitational in Florida. With the stakes high, several Bears delivered performances that matched the moment.
“This meet, for me, is an opportunity for some of our kids to run at home, but then also getting some kids getting some national or regional marks,” head coach Michael Ford said before the meet. “Next week’s Tom Jones meet in Florida is very selective, you only get three entries per event. So for some people, this meet is going to be critical for them if they want to go to Florida.”
For the men and the women it was a day of personal bests as the No. 14 women’s track team stacked points with a mix of season highs, career marks and steady scoring performances. Senior sprinter Tiriah Kelley delivered one of the biggest highlights, climbing to No. 10 nationally in the 100 meters after running a personal‑best 11.27 — finishing behind only two‑time NCAA champion, and world No. 36 Cambrea Sturgis.
Junior Serafima Lucero kept the momentum rolling in the hurdles, powering to a 55.93 in the 400‑meter hurdles — a career best that not only secured the win but pushed her up to No. 8 in the nation.
“We work so hard every day — we’re out here on the track, in the rehab room, in the weight room. When you put so much into your body, your training and your mental health, and then you finally get that PR or watch your teammate PR and see it all pay off, it feels like you’ve hit a milestone,” senior sprinter Joy Wells said. “All the pain and exhaustion happen outside of the race, but when you get that moment, it feels like none of it ever mattered — and it makes you want to do it again.”
Marking the second of three home meets this season, the comfort of competing along the Brazos — in front of a home crowd, on a familiar green track and after a night in their own beds — gave the Bears something extra.
“There’s nothing like a Baylor track meet,” Wells said. “Seeing everyone talk to each other, supporting one another, being comfortable in a place so familiar to us and cheering on my teammates. There’s nothing like it.”
That something extra began in the field, where the Bears swept the podium in another 1, 2, 3 outing for women’s pole vault as senior Tenly Kuhn delivered a career‑best clearing 14‑10.25 feet to claim the top spot, swapping places with four-time Big 12 champion Molly Haywood after Kuhn spent weeks just behind her on the leaderboard.
Kuhn took three attempts at 15‑1.75 ft, which, if cleared, would have set a new program record. Haywood followed, placing second for the first time this season, with junior Alencia Lentz following suit at 14‑2.5 to complete the Bears’ sweep.
In the women’s high jump, junior Sydney Smith cleared 5‑4.5 to claim the event No. 1 while being coached by her mother, former Bear Stacey Bowers Smith — the first women’s NCAA individual track and field champion in Baylor history.
On the track, it was all relays for the Baylor men as the Bears swept the top two spots in the 4×100. The A‑team of sophomore Austen Diggs, senior Laurenz Colbert, senior Ricquan Graham and freshman Bailey Hashmi took the win, with the B‑team following a half-second behind. The momentum carried into the 4×400, where sophomore Tyler Honeyman, Diggs, Colbert and Hashmi raced to a 3:08.74 to claim another first‑place finish.
“I think the men’s 4x1s ran really well, especially considering we mixed the groups up a little bit — that actually gave us a little more depth,” Ford said. “And I thought the ladies ran well, too, to go 43.8. We ran about a half‑second faster than we have all year, and that group was just put together this week. Overall, I was really pleased.”
Next up, Baylor track and field will head east to Gainesville, Fla., to face a hefty field of SEC, Big 10 and ACC competition in the Tom Jones Memorial Invitational. The meet is set to begin Friday and continue into Saturday.
