Just like the past few years, the Tech track and field team roster is so big, I will split the preview into 6 parts – by specialty area – the order goes like this: 1) sprints (100, 200, 400); 2) throws (shot put, discus, hammer, javelin); 3) distance (steeple, 5K, 10K); 4) hurdles (110H, 400H); 5) middle distance (800, 1500); and finish with 6) jumps, vault, multis. I will try to post a new preview every 2-3 days leading up to the Corky Classic on January 17-18.
The Tech throws crew was pretty solid this past year and it appears that success is breeding success, as the crew will be adding a lot of new throwers in the next 2 years, particularly on the women's side.
MEN -- I love the story of Duke Kicinski and his rise to being national champion in the discus. Lightly recruited out of HS, Duke went to WTAM, which has a good throwing programs at the D2 level. By his sophomore year, he won the D2 discus title and was throwing in the 180-185 range -- very good, but not great. He decided to transfer to Tech to work under Coach Felkins, but WT won't release him (don't blame them - he was D2 NC), so he has to sit out a year. Tech had already given out schollies for that year, so he WALKED-ON the team and paid for a full year at Tech on his own. He kept getting better and better and last spring, he ended up winning the NC in the discus on his LAST throw and cemented the Tech NC! He is now throwing in the 205-210 foot range and will be at the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer.
RETURNEES - Tech scored 29 points at the Big 12 meet in the throws, but 14 of that was by Duke. Three of the four returnees for Tech are capable of scoring in 2020.
RETURNEES - the Tech women scored 15 points at the conference meet last year and 14 points return.
The Tech throws crew was pretty solid this past year and it appears that success is breeding success, as the crew will be adding a lot of new throwers in the next 2 years, particularly on the women's side.
MEN -- I love the story of Duke Kicinski and his rise to being national champion in the discus. Lightly recruited out of HS, Duke went to WTAM, which has a good throwing programs at the D2 level. By his sophomore year, he won the D2 discus title and was throwing in the 180-185 range -- very good, but not great. He decided to transfer to Tech to work under Coach Felkins, but WT won't release him (don't blame them - he was D2 NC), so he has to sit out a year. Tech had already given out schollies for that year, so he WALKED-ON the team and paid for a full year at Tech on his own. He kept getting better and better and last spring, he ended up winning the NC in the discus on his LAST throw and cemented the Tech NC! He is now throwing in the 205-210 foot range and will be at the U.S. Olympic Trials this summer.
RETURNEES - Tech scored 29 points at the Big 12 meet in the throws, but 14 of that was by Duke. Three of the four returnees for Tech are capable of scoring in 2020.
- Werner Bouwer - Sr - 2nd in the Big 12 JT and 12th at the national meet. This past year was the first where Werner stayed healthy all year. He is right on the cusp of being a contender for scoring big points at the national meet and winning conference.
- John Romanow - So - John came to Tech lightly recruited from HS (sounds like Duke K) and spent 1 year redshirting just to get bigger. And he has gotten bigger -- the guy is HUGE. Last year, as a RS Fr, John got 4th at the Big 12 meet in the discus and did not miss the national meet by much. He could have monster year in 2020.
- Braden Darrow - Sr - an undersized walkon thrower from Abilene Wylie who has already exceeded expectations by getting 8th in the Big 12 indoor shot put and just missing scoring at conference outdoors getting 10th.
- Aaron Casas - RS FR - he is the 2019 version of Braden Darrow - undersized and from a small school (Houston Lutheran South). Coach Felkins loves to find a kid every 2-3 years like this and see if he can turn them into a conference-competitive thrower.
- I am excited about Tech adding Gabe Oladipo, who was the #1 throws prospect 2 years ago out of Fort Bend Hightower and ended up at TAMU (Tech was his 2nd pick in the first recruiting battle.) Gabe got to TAMU and largely under performed -- he never seemed to connect with the throws coach there. Gabe transferred to Tech last summer and has gotten a lot stronger (there was a video on Twitter showing him squatting 809 pounds). At the SEC meet last year, he was 10th in the discus and 14th in the SP and has PR's of 58-4/186-6. I would be surprised if he doesn't throw over 62 in the shot and 200 in the discus. A bonus with Gabe, he IS already a good weight thrower. Last year, he got 5th in the SEC indoor weight throw and he threw the WT 4 feet further than Duke K did at the Big 12 meet. Right now, the top 10 at Tech for WT contains 2 throwers -- 8 out of 10 throws by Kole Weldon and 2 by Duke K. That Top 10 will be rewritten by Gabe this year and next.
- Tech also picked up a transfer from U of Houston, David Perry. He was decent out of Katy Tompkins HS (7th in the Texas Relays SP in 2017), but stagnated in his 2 years at Cougar HIgh. Would be a nice bonus if he could get his career back on track and score some points at conference.
RETURNEES - the Tech women scored 15 points at the conference meet last year and 14 points return.
- Seasons Usual (one of the great names in college T&F right now) - Jr - really came into her own this past season, scoring 10 points at conference (4th in the discus, 5th in the shot and 8th in the hammer). More importantly, she got 9th at nationals in the discus, just inches out of scoring. You could just see her gaining confidence this past year as the year went along. I also remember being told by Coach Felkins that her best event could well be the hammer throw and she improved exponentially in that event in 2019. Seasons has the legit potential of scoring 20-25 points at conference outdoors AND being top-5 at nationals in the discus and before it is over, in the hammer as well.
- Dorleta Armendariz-Lasa -- Sr - 5th in the hammer last spring, DA-L finally broke through for points at the conference meet and should be top 5 or even top 3 this coming spring in the hammer, which is the only event she competes in.
- Audrey Hughes - from Canyon HS - I love it when the Red Raiders land a recruit from the region, but particularly when it is one as good as Audrey Hughes. She won the 4A SP and DT at the state meet. Audrey was ranked #2 in TX and #9 in the U.S. in the discus and #4 in Texas and #37 in the U.S. in the shot put. Should be an instant conference point-scorer in both events!
- Abbee Rhodes - from August, KS -- lanky, raw talent from a small town in KS who won the KS 4A discus and shot in 2018 and the shot put in 2019 (2nd in the discus). She was ranked #108 in the nation in the shot put.
- Kayli Rowland, from Lubbock Cooper -- I think she may be a walkon, but she had solid numbers at LCP while getting 3rd in the 5A discus at the state meet. Apparently only threw the discus in HS. I will be interested to see if she adds the hammer at Tech.
- Miley O'Dell, from Justin Northwest (Duke K's alma mater) -- another probable walkon who placed 5th in the 5A discus (just behind her new teammate Kayli Rowland)
- Field Gatlin, from Boerne Champion -- 4th in the Region IV-5A Shot put - did not make it to state, but only missed by a few inches
