Baylor T&F’s Moorer, Women’s 4x4 Win Big 12 Championship Titles

LUBBOCK, Texas. – Baylor track and field wrapped up the 2023 Big 12 Indoor Championship meet on Saturday night at the Sports Performance Center. Two titles came home to Waco, with 19 additional All-Big 12 honors in the second day of competition.  

The women’s 4x400-meter relay squad of Kavia Francis, Imaobong Uko, Mariah Ayers and Lily Williams won the program its third-straight women’s indoor 4x400 championship behind a seasons-best 3:33.28 race with a strong performance in their heat.

Matthew Moorer showed his 400-meter dominance on Saturday afternoon, taking home the Big 12 Championship in the process. The senior ran a 45.66 all the way to his first individual title, while also placing fourth all-time in program history.

Hasani Barr won a silver medal in the 400 behind a 45.71 race before Nathaniel Ezekiel took bronze in 45.77. Barr found spot No. 5 on the all-time list, while Ezekiel is right there at 6.

There’s a new group atop the men’s 4x400 program standings, as the group of Barr, Ezekiel, Moorer and Dillon Bedell clocked a 3:02.89 to beat the previous time by over a second and finished with a silver medal.

Cole Hardan set yet another PB and program record in the shot put, throwing a 61-8 ½ on his third attempt to finish fifth. Gary Moore Jr. was just one centimeter away from making the finals after his 55-10 ½ throw.

Makayla Long hit a new PR in the women’s shot put of 52-5 ½. The redshirt freshman finished fourth and won her first All-Big 12 honor of her career.

A new Jamaican indoor record was set with Demar Francis in the 200 meters in 20.46 seconds, which also puts him on record as the second-fastest in Baylor history ahead of Michael Johnson. Moorer won his second medal of the night in the 200, claiming fifth with a 20.83.

In the women’s event, Mariah Ayers put together her second sub-23 race and only the third in program history at 22.87 to finish fifth overall.

Imaobong Uko won a bronze medal in the women’s 400 running a 52.19. Her mark is just one one-hundredth behind Kiana Horton’s 52.18 at the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championships.

Williams led her heat of the 600 yards for over half of the race and ended up with a silver medal. Her time of 1:18.72 places her at No. 3 in the history of the Baylor program.

The two Bears competing in the women’s high jump tied with one another on Saturday, with Moorea Long and Aïcha Moumin placing seventh after jumping over the 5-7 ¾ bar each on their third attempts.

In the triple jump pit, Koi Johnson took fourth in the women’s competition with a 42-9 ¾ on jump No. 1 to give the Bears five team points.

Simone Ballard had a strong showing in her first postseason meet, crossing the line in sixth after 8.34 seconds, the exact time ran in prelims for a PB.

Annamaria Kostarellis earned her second medal of the championship in the 3,000 meters. The mid-year transfer his a 9:27.88 in the race to finish fourth overall. In the men’s race, Ryan Day finished 14th win an 8:21.66, followed by Drew Snyder in 26th and Ryan Hodge in 29th.

The Baylor men finished seventh overall with 60 team points, the most scored since the 2019 edition of the championships. On the women’s side, the Bears ended in sixth with 57 team points.

QUOTABLE

Head coach Michael Ford

“I am super proud both the men and women today. The men had their highest point total in a couple years and the ladies fought hard for every point. I am super proud of the ladies’ 4x400 and Matthew [Moorer], we wanted to double him up and it paid off. There were a lot of highlights today between the track and field events, but the men’s sweep of the 400 was special to me. I am looking forward to seeing who makes nationals in the next week and am ready to compete there. Overall, I am very happy with this crew and ready to, hopefully, have a good representation at NCAAs in two weeks.”

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears await seeding for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships to see who will compete in Albuquerque March 10-11.