Texas Tech track and field starts quest for fourth straight men's Big 12 title
The Texas Tech men's track and field team went to Waco this week with a purpose. Make that, with purposes.
Among the objectives for the Red Raiders: Sweep the Big 12 championship indoor and outdoor titles for the second year in a row. Take advantage of the last opportunity to beat Texas in a conference meet.
And get NCAA champions Terrence Jones and Caleb Dean cranked up and qualified for the NCAA postseason.
The Big 12 championships unfold Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Clyde Hart Stadium. Tech won the men's Big 12 indoor title each of the past two years in Lubbock and won the men's Big 12 outdoor last year at Oklahoma.
"You've got to score in a lot of areas," Tech coach Wes Kittley said, "but we've got to dominate and score a ton of points in the sprints and hurdles. Without a doubt, that's our strength right now. It was indoors and still is. We've got a lot of good jumps and throws and things like that. Everyone's just got to play their part."
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Either Texas or Texas Tech has won the past 10 men's Big 12 outdoor team titles, the Longhorns claiming six, the Red Raiders four. Tech sits No. 7 and Texas No. 8 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association ratings.
Texas' departure to become Southeastern Conference members is less than two months away.
"I want to beat everybody," Kittley said, "but it would be special to send them out. They're going to leave the conference and don't want to be here anymore, so that'd be great. ...
"I hope we can go down there one more time and get it done, but they're really good. We're going to have to really be on our game, but I think we're ready."
Texas has won the past four women's Big 12 titles and is ranked No. 9. The Tech women, ranked No. 11, finished fourth last year. They've finished second once, in 2022, and third six times, most recently in 2019 and 2021.
"Our girls don't have as much room for error," Kittley said. "We've got to have a perfect meet nearly on the women."
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The Tech men's chances begin with Jones and Dean, who have been conspicuously absent since mid-March, when they led the Red Raiders to the NCAA championship indoors. Jones, a three-time NCAA champion in the sprints, has competed only on a relay at the Texas Relays. Dean, a three-time Big 12 champion and one-time NCAA champion, has yet to open up during outdoor season.
Both have dealt with injuries that Kittley has characterized as minor. With 2024 being an Olympic year, the Tech coach said he also has wanted them to focus on quality training this spring without the week-to-week grind of meets.
They're taking some risk: Conference meets are the last chance to put up a qualifying time for the NCAA preliminary rounds May 22-25. For Dean in the 110- and 400-meter hurdles and for Jones in the 100 and 200 meters, qualifying should be no problem, provided they run times remotely close to their usual performances.
"This will be their first meet coming back from their little injuries," Kittley said, "and they look really good, so I'm real excited to get them out there."
Both have preliminaries on Thursday, Jones in the 200 and Dean in the 400 hurdles. Kittley said he doesn't plan to run either on relays this week, preferring to stay with lineups that have posted the Big 12's top times in the 400- and 1,600-meter relays. That doesn't prevent them running on relays in the NCAA postseason.
Track and field
What: Big 12 outdoor championships
When: Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Where: Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium, Waco
Online streaming: ESPN+
Live results: live.deltatiming.com
National rankings, men: 7. Texas Tech, 8. Texas, 17. Oklahoma State, 18. Iowa State, 25. Brigham Young
National rankings, women: 9. Texas, 11. Texas Tech, 18. Oklahoma State, 20: Oklahoma, 24. Houston
Thursday's start times: Combined events, 11:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Field events, noon to 6:45 p.m. Running events: 6 p.m. to 8:45 p.m.
Friday's start times: Combined events: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Field events, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. Running events, 5 p.m. to 8:20 p.m.
Saturday's start times: Field events, 2 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Running events: 5:05 p.m. to 8:40 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech track and field on hunt for fourth men's Big 12 title in a row
