Red Raiders receive victories from Cheruiyot, Jones and Swint, along with 4x400 relay win, to triumph in Lubbock; Texas rebounds following setback last year to capture sixth women’s championship in seven years, led by Blazevica, Chatfield, Garrett, Ndubuisi, Oakley and Smith

By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor

Texas took a memento from its final Big 12 Indoor Conference Championship meet by regaining the women’s team title.

Texas Tech made sure the men’s team crown remained at home Saturday at the Sports Performance Center in Lubbock.

After having its streak of five consecutive women’s championships halted last season by Oklahoma State, Texas rebounded with 135 points, including victories from Latvian standout Kristine Blazevica in the pentathlon, Ackelia Smith in the long jump and fellow Jamaican competitor Dejanea Oakley in the 400 meters, German athlete Nina Ndubuisi in the shot put and American performers Emelia Chatfield in the 60-meter hurdles and Akala Garrett in the 600-yard final.

Texas Tech edged Oklahoma State by a 104 to 103.5 margin for second in the women’s competition.

The Red Raiders repeated as men’s team champions in a dominant performance, highlighted by Don’dre Swint winning the 60-meter dash, Bahamian athlete Terrence Jones taking the 200 crown, Kenyan freshman Ernest Cheruiyot prevailing in the 5,000 final and a title in the 4x400-meter relay in 3:02.76.

Oklahoma State was runner-up with 92 points and Texas took third at 89 points.

Swint led five Texas Tech athletes finishing in the top six of the 60 final by clocking 6.55 seconds.

Jones rebounded from a false start in the 60 to secure victory in the 200 in 20.21.

Cheruiyot clocked a facility record 13:42.08 in the 5,000 final, in addition to taking third in the 3,000 in 7:59.13.

Oklahoma State had Alex Maier win the 3,000 in 7:55.45, with Ryan Schoppe prevailing in the mile in 4:02.73, in addition to anchoring the Cowboys to a distance medley relay victory by a 9:29.41 to 9:29.98 margin against Brigham Young.

Texas had British athlete Yusuf Bizimana triumph in the 1,000 in 2:22.40, German competitor Leo Neugebauer win the long jump crown with a leap of 26 feet (7.92m) and Jeremiah Nubbe capture the weight throw championship with a sixth-round effort of 74-9.75 (22.79m).

Houston had highlights from Grant Levesque winning the heptathlon with a personal-best 6,068 points and De’Vion Wilson holding off Texas Tech’s Caleb Dean by a 7.55 to 7.58 margin in the 60-meter hurdles.

Kansas, which finished fourth with 81 points, secured titles in the 400 with Michael Joseph clocking 45.46, Grant Lockwood running 1:07.79 in the 600-yard championship race, Devin Loudermilk clearing a personal-best 7-5 (2.26m) in the high jump and Clayton Simms clearing 18-7.50 (5.68m) in the pole vault.

Jason Gomez earned the 800 crown in 1:48.36 for Iowa State, which also had Cam Jones triumph in the shot put with a fifth-round mark of 64-3.75 (19.60m).

Oklahoma’s Brandon Green, Jr. provided one of the most thrilling victories, edging Texas athlete Kelsey Daniel by a margin of 54 feet (16.46m) to 53-11.75 (16.45m) in the triple jump final.

Oklahoma also received a big performance from Angel Richmore of Sweden in the women’s pentathlon, accumulating 4,262 points.

Blazevica amassed a lifetime-best 4,430 points, leading eight competitors over the 4,000-point barrier.

Oakley clocked 51.75 to secure the 400 victory, as well as securing runner-up in the 200 in 22.86.

Ndubuisi led a Texas sweep of the top three spots in the shot put with a mark of 59-3.50 (18.07m).

Chatfield ran 7.95 to prevail against Central Florida’s Rayniah Jones (8.05) in the 60 hurdles final, with Garrett earning the 600-yard crown in 1:19.04.

Smith soared to a long jump title with a 22-1.50 (6.74m) performance, in addition to finishing fourth in the triple jump for the Longhorns at 43-10.50 (13.37m).

Oklahoma State’s Winny Bii, representing Kenya, outlasted Latvian competitor and Texas Tech standout Ruta Lasmane by a margin of 44-9.75 (13.66m) to 44-9 (13.64m) in the women’s triple jump final.

Oklahoma State added victories from Kenyan competitor Billah Jepkirui in the mile in 4:37.16, Sivan Auerbach from Israel in the 1,000 in 2:46.85, along with Taylor Roe (15:32.03) and Molly Born (15:35.62) taking the top two spots in the 5,000 final.

Rosemary Chukwuma of Nigeria emerged victorious in the 60-meter dash final in 7.23, leading a Texas Tech sweep of the top three spots.

Temitope Adeshina, a 25-year-old freshman from Nigeria, cleared 6-2.75 (1.90m) to capture the high jump crown.

Kelly-Ann Beckford of Jamaica ran 2:00.99 for Houston in the 800 final, edging Lithuanian athlete Gabija Galvydyte from Oklahoma State (2:01.07) for the title.

Beckford also helped Houston capture the 4x400 relay championship by a 3:29.42 to 3:30.08 margin against Texas.

West Virginia, led by Canadian competitor Ceili McCabe, won the women’s distance medley relay in 11:18.08.

BYU’s Lexy Halladay-Lowry prevailed in the 3,000 in 9:03.66.

Iyana Gray secured the 200 crown for TCU in 22.71.

Baylor’s Alecia Lentz cleared 14-9 (4.50m) to win the pole vault championship.

Kansas State’s Monique Hardy triumphed in the women’s weight throw with a 69-3.50 (21.11m) performance.