Top-ranked Temitope Adeshina, Ruta Lasmane lead Texas Tech track into home meet
The Big 12 indoor track and field championships will be back at Texas Tech's Sports Performance Center in two weeks. The Texas Tech track and field team, though, has one more order of business beforehand.
The top-ranked Tech men and the 12th-ranked Tech women host their final regular-season home meet this weekend, the third annual Jarvis Scott Open.
On Friday, field-event start times range from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and running-event start times from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. On Saturday, field events are scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and running events from 11 a.m. to 3:50 p.m.
Joining the Red Raiders will be teams from Arizona, Iowa, TCU, Texas-Arlington, Texas-El Paso and Sam Houston State, as well as a long list of smaller schools including Lubbock Christian University, South Plains College, Western Texas, Angelo State and West Texas A&M.
With his team having next weekend off, Tech coach Wes Kittley isn't resting many athletes.
"We're going to run and compete most everybody (this weekend) in one thing for sure," he said.
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Texas Tech women fueled by top-ranked Temitope Adeshina, Ruta Lasmane
The Tech women are fueled by national No. 1 jumpers Temitope Adeshina and Ruta Lasmane and national No. 3 sprinter Alyssa Colbert. Adeshina cleared a personal record 6 feet, 5 inches in the high jump three weeks ago at the Corky Classic, and Lasmane posted her season-best triple jump of 45-10 last week in Manhattan, Kansas.
In the same Kansas State meet, Colbert won the 60 meters in a personal record 7.17 seconds.
Lasmane shared the honor for Big 12 women's track and field athlete of the week.
The Tech women are looking forward to the season debut of Anne-Suzanna Fosther-Katta, who last year in the triple jump was the Big 12 indoor champion and a first-team all-American indoor and outdoor. Fosther-Katta has dealt with nagging knee problems, not making her season debuts last year until the Big 12 championships, both indoor and outdoor.
"She feels better and says she's ready to compete," Kittley said, "so we are going to compete her in the triple jump this weekend on a short run, rest her next week and then go to conference."
Texas Tech men, hurdler Caleb Dean both No. 1 in NCAA Division I
The Tech men have 11 performances, spread over six events, ranked among the top 10 in NCAA Division I. Four are from the 60 meters: Don'Dre Swint (6.54 seconds), Shawn Brown (6.55), Terrence Jones (6.58) and Jalen Drayden (6.59). All their season-best times were run at home and converted for altitude to account for Lubbock's 3,200 feet of elevation.
Caleb Dean is the Division I leader in the 60-meter hurdles with a 7.57, and Antoine Andrews (7.64) ranks third, their season bests posted at Tech's Corky Classic and converted for altitude.
Shaemar Uter sits seventh in the 400 meters (45.97), and in the 1,600-meter relay, a Tech lineup of Dean, Josh Bour, Charlie Bartholomew and Uter is seventh with their 3:05.00, both last week at Kansas State.
After conference meets, the top 16 in individual events and the top 12 in relays qualify for the NCAA championships March 8-9 in Boston.
Though Tech's 1,600-meter relay season best is inside the top 10, the time wouldn't have qualified for last year's NCAA championships, so Kittley said, "We feel like we need to run faster."
High jumper Omamuyovwi Erhire cleared 7-2 1/2 last week, tying for eighth in Division I.
"We had some good (performances) last week," Kittley said. "We just need to get more of them."
Among the Tech hurdlers entered this week are two-sport athletes Mike Dingle and Justin Horne, both linebackers in football. It'll be the opener for Dingle, who's been dealing with a shoulder issue since October.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: D-I No. 1s Temitope Adeshina, Ruta Lasmane lead Texas Tech into home meet
