
AUSTIN – The grandest amateur track and field spectacle in the state of Texas brought out the individual best in Tarleton’s sprinters and hurdlers on Friday.
The Texans notched six personal records in as many events on their second-and-final day of competition at the 94th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
In the process, Tarleton further ascended up the Western Athletic Conference and NCAA South Central Region Outdoor Performance Lists two weeks into its 2022 season.
Tarleton competed in the University/College Division in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays as well as the men’s 100m, 100m hurdles and 110m hurdles. The events were contested as timed finals. The Texans also raced in the first round of the men’s 4x400m relay.
Both 4x400m relay teams took major steps forward in contending for the WAC Outdoor crown come May 14 in Seattle.
Tarleton’s women’s 4x400m relay team of Nyla Barlow, Jordan Anglin, Hanna Dudley and Alessa King finished fourth in a 14-team field in 3:46.55. The time constituted a lifetime personal record for the foursome, who owns Tarleton’s indoor 4x400m relay school record (3:47.78), and was the fifth-fastest outdoor split in program history. Tarleton now ranks second in the WAC and third in the South Central Region.
On the men’s side, Brandon McKissick, Bailey Smotek, Reid Vincent and Zachary Martinez placed 26th overall and moved to third in the WAC with a time of 3:15.02. The quartet raced together for the third time and surpassed their previous outdoor best by more than two seconds.
Shortly before the 4x400m relays commenced, Justin Raines cemented his status as a bonafide sprinting superstar in the 100m. The freshman clocked a time of 10.57 seconds – the fastest Tarleton has seen in 13 years – to claim 40th place in a 126-man field. Raines, the 2022 WAC Indoor Most Outstanding Freshman and 60m champion, moved to fifth on Tarleton’s all-time outdoor top-10 list with the performance.
Raines was not the only freshman to notch a lifetime personal record. Fellow newcomers Khloe Turnbull and Konnor Hoerman each surpassed their previous personal bests in the 100m hurdles and 110m hurdles. Turnbull clocked in at 14.84 seconds to place 41st in the 100m hurdles while Hoerman cut three-tenths of a second off his 110m hurdles personal record with a time of 15.17 seconds to claim 37th place.
Sullivan Sanders, who finished seventh in the 110m hurdles at the 2021 WAC Outdoor Championships, finished two spots behind Hoerman in 15.21 seconds.
Tarleton’s women’s 4x100m relay team featuring Barlow, Dudley, Breonna Campbell and Summer Croxton placed seventh out of 17 teams in 47.50 seconds. The event marked the first time the quartet has raced together and vaulted Tarleton to sixth on the WAC Outdoor Performance List.
The Texans have two meets on the docket over the next seven days. Tarleton’s multi-event athletes will be in action on March 31 and Apr. 1 at the David Noble Relays in San Angelo. The program will then send a full group of athletes to the Baylor Invitational on Apr. 2.
Full Results
Women’s 4x100m Relay
17. Tarleton (Barlow, Dudley, Croxton, Campbell) – 47.50 seconds
Men’s 100m
40. Justin Raines – 10.57 seconds
100m Hurdles
41. Khloe Turnbull – 14.84 seconds
110m Hurdles
37. Konnor Hoerman – 15.17 seconds
39. Sullivan Sanders – 15.21 seconds
Women’s 4x400m Relay
4. Tarleton (Barlow, Anglin, Dudley, King) – 3:46.55
Men’s 4x400m Relay
26. Tarleton (McKissick, Smotek, Vincent, Martinez) – 3:15.02
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