Men's 4x100 Relay NCAA Runner-Up at 38.59
6/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Outdoor Track
Meet Results 
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Photo Gallery | 4x100 Relay Race
EUGENE, Oregon -- TCU's final day at the NCAA Championships saw the Horned Frogs earn a runner-up finish and two personal-bests finishing 19th overall as a men's team from Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Opening the day was the men's 4x100 relay, who came in with the fastest qualifying time in the NCAA this season and ninth in the world at 38.65 seconds.
The same quartet of sophomore Cameron Echols-Luper, juniors Sam Watts and Ronnie Baker and sophomore Kolby Listenbee ran their fastest time of the season at 38.59, but was edged by Arkansas at 38.47 to finish second as the NCAA runners-up in the event.
"I was pleased with today," TCU director of track & field Darryl Anderson said. "Obviously, we thought we could've done better, we really would've liked to win the relay. We ran a 38.59 and finished second. It's a good group of guys and eligibility-wise all four are back."
After the semifinal, the group of four cracked into the all-time top 10 at TCU at No. 9 (38.65). After the final, they moved to No. 6 in the purple and white record books.
Their time earned them First Team All-America honors and ranks No. 8 in the world coming into today.
The same team knocked off almost a full second from last year's NCAA Championships at 39.52.
Also running in the 100-meter dash, Listenbee recorded another lifetime best behind a wind-aided time of 10.03 seconds, finishing seventh overall. That makes three All-America honors for the Arlington native racked up combined with the indoor season in 2015.
"Kolby has a bright future in track if he chooses to use it," Anderson said. "Kolby may not be back because of football. God willing, he'll be playing football on Sundays. But running 10.03 puts him in a category to be a player in this meet on a regular basis.
"The turnaround was rough. He had to go right back around with no time between races and not being a full time track guy this year, he was tired, excited, disappointed and all kinds of emotions. The expectation was a win in the relay and after disappointment from not winning and then have to turn around and run again was a big factor."
It was the third-straight race he set a new personal-best in the 100-meter dash.
"It was a high-level affair in the 100," Anderson said. "He walked off the field getting seventh in the NCAA meet with a 10.03. When you look back to a month ago, who would've known he would get into the NCAA meet, but he continued to get better and better from meet to meet."
Competing in his first national championships as a freshman, Scotty Newton put together his best performance of the season. His first jump hit at 15.60m (51-2.25), which put him at a wind-legal personal-best. After that, the wind picked up above the legal limit, as Newton's second attempt landed at a mark of 15.74m (51-7.75). His final jump gave him an all-conditions PR at 15.75m (51-8.25), earning him 17th overall and Honorable Mention All-America accolades.
"Scotty Newton PR'd and has a bright future here and can be a scorer at this meet," Anderson said.
During his first year donning the purple and white, Newton climbed to No. 7 in the school rankings in the triple jump.
"We finished 19th, so were pleased to stay inside the top 20," Anderson said. "Obviously, our expectations are much higher than that. Ronnie [Baker] had a disappointment at the regional meet. It would've been great to see how he fared here. The mile relay was disappointing with not getting in to the final here.
"The future looks bright with the guys that are here. Ninety percent are back next year. We hope to get better. We have Adam Damadzic, who redshirted this year, he can throw 190 feet in the discus. Cameron Echols-Luper will be another year older. He jumped 26-1 and will continue to be a player in the meet along with the relay. Meelis Siimson is a high 25-foot guy in the long jump, so he has potential in this meet. We have guys on our campus that can do things in this meet. We'll take this and move to the future."
