By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Baylor track and field head coach Michael Ford woke up Saturday morning to a cloudy and misty sight. Ford feared that some adverse conditions would put a damper on the final home meet of 2026.
“When I got up this morning, it was a little misty out and I was like, ‘Oh no, we’re about to have some bad weather,’” Ford said. “But God opened that sun out and I thought the team was focused.”
As the sky cleared up throughout the day, Baylor heated up, tallying seven wins in the Michael Johnson Invitational to close out its home schedule for the outdoor season.
“We always talk about protecting home court,” senior sprinter Aren Spencer said. “We don’t want to get beat at home, so I’m happy we did a pretty good job.”
The Bears shined in both the men’s and women’s 4×400 meter relay, with the two groups taking first to cap off the meet.
Freshman sprinter Success Oyibu made her debut in the event, adding to her usual appearance in the 100-meter. The decision to include Oyibu paid off as the team set a season best 3:32.58 time.
“We put Success on there, who just ran the 100, never has run a 4×4,” Ford said. “She wanted to run, so I was like, ‘Hey, let’s go ahead.’ They ran their season-best with her.”
The men’s side dominated with two groups. Baylor’s A squad in the 4×400 took the top spot, finishing 3:05.74, while the B squad followed in second with a 3:08.79 mark.
“The guys, I kind of mixed them together,” Ford said. “For them to run 3:05 and 3:08, that means we’re deep.”
Junior hurdler Demario Prince took a victory in the 110-meter hurdles in his outdoor season debut. Prince’s 13.47-second performance in the preliminary round ended up his best mark of the weekend, and his 13.56 secured the win in the finals.
“In the finals, I tried to push and it just threw me off-balance,” Prince said. “I had to recover, and I guess it messed up the whole race.”
Senior sprinter Tiriah Kelley collected another victory in the 200 meters, finishing at 22.51 seconds. Junior distance runner Ruth Kimeli sat atop the 1,500 meters with a 4:22.42 PR.
In the field, junior pole vaulter Molly Haywood led the way as Bears filled the top three spots in the event, followed by senior Tenly Kuhn and junior Alencia Lentz. Sophomore jumper Janae De Gannes secured the win in the long jump with a distance of 21-4.25 feet.
Baylor set nine PRs on Saturday, with six of them being nationally ranked. The women’s 4×100 meters ran a 43.39, ranking 12th in the nation; De Gannes ranked 21st with 11.18 seconds; and Oyibu sits 24th with 11.19 seconds in the 100 meters.
Spencer also jumped from a 47.73 mark at the Clyde Hart Classic to 45.79 seconds on Saturday.
“I had never even run 46 [seconds] before,” Spencer said. “For me to make a jump from 47 to 45, that’s pretty special.”
The Bears gained some more momentum as they get closer to the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, which runs from May 14 to May 16 in Tucson, Ariz.
“One of the things we’ve been talking about the last two weeks is just having an urgency going into the Big 12 meet, trying to position ourselves a little better,” Ford said.
Baylor will end the outdoor regular season on Friday and Saturday, competing in the Alumni Muster at E.B. Cushing Stadium in College Station.
