Men's Track & Field Moves to No. 23
5/18/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Outdoor Track
FORT WORTH, Texas – The TCU men's track and field team moved to No. 23 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) computer rankings this week, the league announced today.
At the Big 12 Championships, the Horned Frogs brought home their second 4x100 relay title and 11th overall in three years in the league. The team of senior Ramone Bailey, juniors Sam Watts and Ronnie Baker and sophomore Kolby Listenbee claimed the gold with a time of 39.28 seconds.
It was the ninth time in the last 10 years the Horned Frogs have won the event at their conference championship and marked TCU's 20th 4x100 conference crown spanning five different leagues.
The men's team had several strong performances throughout the three-day meet. Baker and Listenbee set new wind-legal PR's in the prelims of the 100-meter dash at 10.05 and 10.16, respectively. In the finals, Baker went sub-10 for the first time in his career, behind a wind-aided mark of 9.99, en route to a third-place finish. Listenbee placed fifth (10.17) and Bailey finished seventh (10.38) in the finals.
Baker also tallied the fastest split of any competitor at 44.98 as he anchored the 4x400 relay team to a second-place finish, clocking in at 3:06.89. Joining Baker was seniors Lavon Collins and Joshua Washington and freshman Kevin McClanahan.
The Horned Frogs had a strong 200-meter dash preliminary round, as sophomore Cameron Echols-Luper set a wind-legal PR of 20.39. Listenbee also hit a PR of 20.60 and Watts finished with a time of 20.68, which was a seasonal-best, qualifying all three for the finals. Watts finished fifth in the final, while Listenbee and Echols-Luper placed seventh and eighth, respectively.
The men's team also got three scorers out of the long jump event. Bailey posted a second-place mark at 7.65m (25-1.25), while Echols-Luper finished fourth (7.40m/24-3.5) and freshman Scotty Newton hit a seasonal-best (7.30m/23-11.5) earning fifth.
Newton also notched a fourth-place finish behind a wind-aided PR of 15.37m (50-5.25) in the men's triple jump.
Collins grabbed a fifth-place time in the 400 hurdles at 53.19 and in the open 400 meters, Washington finished seventh at 47.14.
Senior Aaron Tombleson picked up a seventh-place mark in the men's hammer throw, with his best toss checking in at 54.33m (178-3).
Up next for the Horned Frogs is the NCAA West Preliminary round from May 28-30 in Austin, Texas.
