I have had a crazy schedule for the past few weeks - pardon my lack of coverage of the past 2 weeks of Red Raider track and field. But, now we get down to the nitty gritty - the Big 12 meet this coming weekend; the NCAA Prelim meet 2 weeks after that and the the national championship June 8-11. How do the Red Raiders shape up? In a nutshell, the men should be top 3 and the women will have to really step it up to get top 4. This is how I see it. (One disclaimer - the entries for the conference meet do not have to be submitted until 10 a.m. tomorrow - the day before the meet starts. I will be guessing as to the Tech entries.)
WOMEN - it still looks like UT is the class of the field, although some graduations last year has made them a little more accessible to the rest of the field. It looks to me that UT will score in the 150-160 range and that Kansas State is the clear favorite for 2nd place, with the capacity to score in the 120-130 point range. The 2 Okie schools - Okie and Okie Lite will fight it out for 3 - both probably scoring in the 100-110 point range. I think the Tech women will come in around 5th - scoring int he 80-90 point range (they have scored over 100 points each of the past 2 years). Baylor and Kansas are looking like they will score in the 60-70 point range; Iowa State in the 40-50 point range and TCU and Hillbilly U in a tussle for the both spot - both scoring in the 25-30 point range.
How is it that Tech will drop off 15-20 points this year? The first factor dates back to last season, when Dion Miller resigned to go to Alabama before the season ended and hurdler/jumper LeTristan Pledger fell apart at the end of the year. She decided she would leave Tech, but Tech would not release her to Alabama, so she went to Northern Illinois, where she has consistently underperformed her Tech level. Second, Shanice Stewart was redshirted last outdoor season, to give her one last outdoor season this year and she is apparently injured - has not run since week one. Shanice and Letristan represent 25-30 points all by themselves. Triple jump school record holder Paetyn Revell was injured last summer and did not compete at all. Although Viershanie Latham has done a spectacular job making up for Paetyn's loss, I would much rather have them both. Tech needed reinforcements in the sprints and transfer Marika Brown and freshman Talajah Murrell filled that bill, except they have apparently been injured all year long. These kids probably represent 35-40 points together and those points put Tech in the running for 2nd and possibly even scrapping with UT for the top spot.
MEN - just like the women, it looks like UT has too much firepower not to win the championship. They could well score as many as 160-175 points. Tech is in a virtual dead heat with Kansas for the runner-up spot - both scoring in the 110-120 range. OU looks like the #4 finisher with 90-100 points. There is a clear cut gap down to #5 - Kansas State in the 70-80 point range. The rest of the points are spread very evenly - with the 4 remaining schools - Iowa State, OSU, Baylor and TCU - all potentially scoring in the 60-70 point range.
Tech scored 126 points last year and won the Big 12 with 160 points in 2014. A potential lack of any points in the throws this year (Kole Weldon scored a whopping 26 points all by himself last year in the hammer, discus and shot put) really hurts Tech's chances of contending with UT. Tech will need a big meet from their jumpers (Trey Culver, Bradley Adkins, freshman Charles Brown, and freshman vaulter Brandon Bray); distance runners Benard Keter, Evans Tuitoek, and Nick Rivera; 400/800 guys Kyle Collins, Joey Richards, Charles Jones, and freshman Vincent Crisp; and hurdlers Chris Caldwell, JW Smith and freshman Caleb Richmond. It would also be a boon to securing 2nd place if Tech could get some sprint points from freshman Andrew Hudson and Kareem McBride and any throwing points from RS freshman Kirk Weldon.
When I see the entries tomorrow night, I will try to post any observations about those who are entered. Each team can enter up to 32 entries per gender, but I don't see that Tech has 32 people who can compete at this level this year. On the men's side, there might be some walkon kids who may get to run because they have performed much better than expected this year (Joel Latson in the 100, 200; Isaac Shepard in the 400; and Christopher Scott in the 800). These kids can't place, but the coaches might want to give them a championship experience to see how they react - for future reference.
On the women's side, there are some scholarship kids who have NOT performed anywhere close to the level needed, but they might benefit from the 32 person limit and get the chance to compete to try and redeem themselves.
And, for you guys who are always looking for a football connection (after all, this IS a football board), I expect to see Nigel Bethel in the 100, 200 and the sprint relay. With a huge performance, Nigel could slip into the final of one of the sprint events and he will definitely contribute in the 4x100. There have been no Corey Dauphine sightings on the Tech track this year. Maybe sometime in the future.
WOMEN - it still looks like UT is the class of the field, although some graduations last year has made them a little more accessible to the rest of the field. It looks to me that UT will score in the 150-160 range and that Kansas State is the clear favorite for 2nd place, with the capacity to score in the 120-130 point range. The 2 Okie schools - Okie and Okie Lite will fight it out for 3 - both probably scoring in the 100-110 point range. I think the Tech women will come in around 5th - scoring int he 80-90 point range (they have scored over 100 points each of the past 2 years). Baylor and Kansas are looking like they will score in the 60-70 point range; Iowa State in the 40-50 point range and TCU and Hillbilly U in a tussle for the both spot - both scoring in the 25-30 point range.
How is it that Tech will drop off 15-20 points this year? The first factor dates back to last season, when Dion Miller resigned to go to Alabama before the season ended and hurdler/jumper LeTristan Pledger fell apart at the end of the year. She decided she would leave Tech, but Tech would not release her to Alabama, so she went to Northern Illinois, where she has consistently underperformed her Tech level. Second, Shanice Stewart was redshirted last outdoor season, to give her one last outdoor season this year and she is apparently injured - has not run since week one. Shanice and Letristan represent 25-30 points all by themselves. Triple jump school record holder Paetyn Revell was injured last summer and did not compete at all. Although Viershanie Latham has done a spectacular job making up for Paetyn's loss, I would much rather have them both. Tech needed reinforcements in the sprints and transfer Marika Brown and freshman Talajah Murrell filled that bill, except they have apparently been injured all year long. These kids probably represent 35-40 points together and those points put Tech in the running for 2nd and possibly even scrapping with UT for the top spot.
MEN - just like the women, it looks like UT has too much firepower not to win the championship. They could well score as many as 160-175 points. Tech is in a virtual dead heat with Kansas for the runner-up spot - both scoring in the 110-120 range. OU looks like the #4 finisher with 90-100 points. There is a clear cut gap down to #5 - Kansas State in the 70-80 point range. The rest of the points are spread very evenly - with the 4 remaining schools - Iowa State, OSU, Baylor and TCU - all potentially scoring in the 60-70 point range.
Tech scored 126 points last year and won the Big 12 with 160 points in 2014. A potential lack of any points in the throws this year (Kole Weldon scored a whopping 26 points all by himself last year in the hammer, discus and shot put) really hurts Tech's chances of contending with UT. Tech will need a big meet from their jumpers (Trey Culver, Bradley Adkins, freshman Charles Brown, and freshman vaulter Brandon Bray); distance runners Benard Keter, Evans Tuitoek, and Nick Rivera; 400/800 guys Kyle Collins, Joey Richards, Charles Jones, and freshman Vincent Crisp; and hurdlers Chris Caldwell, JW Smith and freshman Caleb Richmond. It would also be a boon to securing 2nd place if Tech could get some sprint points from freshman Andrew Hudson and Kareem McBride and any throwing points from RS freshman Kirk Weldon.
When I see the entries tomorrow night, I will try to post any observations about those who are entered. Each team can enter up to 32 entries per gender, but I don't see that Tech has 32 people who can compete at this level this year. On the men's side, there might be some walkon kids who may get to run because they have performed much better than expected this year (Joel Latson in the 100, 200; Isaac Shepard in the 400; and Christopher Scott in the 800). These kids can't place, but the coaches might want to give them a championship experience to see how they react - for future reference.
On the women's side, there are some scholarship kids who have NOT performed anywhere close to the level needed, but they might benefit from the 32 person limit and get the chance to compete to try and redeem themselves.
And, for you guys who are always looking for a football connection (after all, this IS a football board), I expect to see Nigel Bethel in the 100, 200 and the sprint relay. With a huge performance, Nigel could slip into the final of one of the sprint events and he will definitely contribute in the 4x100. There have been no Corey Dauphine sightings on the Tech track this year. Maybe sometime in the future.
