Texas Tech track and field won the men’s sprint medley relay at the Texas Relays, while the Red Raiders women set a school record with a runner-up finish.
Texas Tech track and field delivered a big-time showing Friday at the Texas Relays, highlighted by a men’s sprint medley relay title and a record-setting performance from the women’s sprint medley relay team.
The Red Raiders stacked up wins, finals qualifiers and top-three finishes throughout day two in Austin, continuing a strong outdoor season with one of their best all-around meets yet.
The headline moment came from the Texas Tech men’s sprint medley relay team, as Jonathan Crawford, Josiyah Taylor, Josh Bour and Stephen Mutai raced to a winning time of 3:17.48.
That effort gave the Red Raiders the relay title and finished just a few seconds off the school record, putting together one of the top performances in program history in the event.
The Texas Tech women nearly matched it with a historic run of their own. Olayinka Olajide, Anita Afrifa, Mekenze Kelley and Fanny Arendt posted a 3:43.95 to finish second in the sprint medley relay, and that time reset the school record.
It was an especially notable outdoor debut for Arendt as Tech’s women delivered one of the standout performances of the meet.
Texas Tech also flashed major speed in the 4x100 relays. The women’s team of Alyssa Colbert, Olajide, Afrifa and Brianna Howard clocked 43.47 to win its prelim heat, while the men’s group of Malachi Snow, Crawford, Taylor and Kamron Neal followed with a 39.37 heat-winning run.
There was more good news across the track and field events.
Symoria Adkins and Daniel Clarke both advanced to Saturday’s hurdle finals, while Olajide punched her ticket to the 100-meter final after running 11.13, good for No. 8 in Texas Tech history.
In the field, Tamiah Washington took second in the long jump, McKenzie Davis and Reggie Hays Johnson both finished top three in discus, and Leah Howard added points in javelin. With one day left in Austin, the Red Raiders have plenty of momentum.
Join our ROUNDTABLE community for FREE! Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.
Download the free Roundtable App to stay even more connected!