By Marquis Cooley | Reporter
Freshman Ackera Nugent is our Lariat Spotlight Athlete of the Week. The sprinter from Kingston, Jamaica was one of the highlights from the 2021 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championships in Lubbock over the weekend.
Nugent made history by recording a time of 7.91 in the prelims of the 60-meter hurdles last Friday to earn a Baylor indoor record and tied the best U20 60-meter hurdles mark in world history. Nugent holds the top time in the NCAA this season and is tied for eighth in the world. Head coach Todd Harbour said Nugent is just getting started.
“Ackera being a freshman, this is not unexpected,” Harbour said. “But she battled injury a little bit in the middle of the season and didn’t run a couple meets. For her to have that kind of race at conference to finish off her indoor season, to this point heading into the NCAA meet was awesome. It was a great performance for her and a prelude of things to come, I believe.”
Nugent was also named the Big 12 Women’s Outstanding Freshman of the Year for the indoor season. Nugent said she is honored to receive the award but acknowledged the hard work she has put in to earn it.
“You are what you repeatedly do every day,” Nugent said. “Excellence is not an act, but a habit.”
Nugent will be competing in the 2021 NCAA Indoor Championships on March 11-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center at the University of Arkansas.
