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Baylor Track & Field: Nugent Shines, Tidwell Earns All-America Honors

June 11, 2021
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EUGENE, Ore. – Tuesdi Tidwell tied for third in the pole vault, and Ackera Nugent advanced to finals in three events to highlight Thursday’s performances for Baylor track & field at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field.

“Of all the track meets that I’ve been to, I don’t think we’ve experienced one quite like this,” head coach Todd Harbour said. “The highs were very high, and we had some extreme lows. The moods were going up and down.”

Tidwell scored the first points of the meet for the Bears with her podium performance, tying for third with a pole vault of 14-3.25 (4.35m) to net 5.5 points. The senior from Early, Texas, earned her third career All-America award to go along with a second-team honor in the 2019 indoor season.

“Tuesdi, what can you say, just another great performance for her,” Harbour said. “She stepped it up another notch from indoor. She had to jump into a headwind, so she had to overcome some tough conditions.”

Nugent and the women’s 4x100-meter relay kicked things off in style, advancing to the final with the ninth-best qualifying time of 43.81. Nugent, Arria Minor, Sydney Washington and Mariah Ayers clocked the seventh-best time in school history.

“The 4x1 ran great,” Harbour said. “They weren’t ranked coming in, they weren’t predicted to make the finals, and they did. Those ladies ran extremely well. I’m very happy for them. Not too far off of our school record. Great job by that crew to get to the finals and see what happens. That’s all you try to do today.”

Nugent came back an hour later and qualified for the finals in both the 100-meter hurdles and the 100 meters. The freshman from Kingston, Jamaica, won the first heat of the 100m hurdles with a time of 12.84, the fourth-best time of the semifinals. She followed that with a time of 11.39 in the 100m, good for the eighth-best time of the semifinals.

“Ackera running the double - the 100 hurdles and the 100 back-to-back after the leg on the 4x1 - just a great day for her,” Harbour said. “She ran into a negative wind, so she’s right there in the hunt for another national title on Saturday. I’m extremely proud of her. She’s been a warrior all year.”

In the 800 meters, indoor national champion Aaliyah Miller fell short of making the finals, clocking in at 2:04.26 to finish 11th. The senior from McKinney, Texas, will now shift her focus to the Olympic Trials June 18-27 at Hayward Field.

“Aaliyah, with the incredible season that she’s had, it’s tough to see her end it like that,” Harbour said. “She didn’t run her race today. She didn’t execute the game plan, and it cost her. She knows that, and she’ll bounce back. She’s a champion, and she’ll bounce back from it. This one is going to sting for a while, knowing what she wanted to try to accomplish up here. You feel for her. I really feel for her.”

Alex Madlock placed 20th in the long jump with a mark of 19-9 (6.02 meters). The senior from Bangs, Texas, will compete in the triple jump on Saturday.

“Alex will bounce back from this long jump,” Harbour said. “I expect her to have a big day in the triple jump on Saturday.”

The women’s 4x400-meter relay team closed the day with a 10th-place finish, missing the final by one spot. The squad of Minor, Kavia Francis, Miller and Ayers recorded a time of 3:34.21.

“The women’s 4x4, we were barely the last one looking in,” Harbour said. “Those ladies ran well, we were 10th, and that’s just not the spot you want to be when they are qualifying nine.”

Friday will feature the men’s 4x400-meter relay team competing for a national title, and the meet will conclude on Saturday with the women’s finals.

The championships are being televised live on ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPN3, and live results can be found at https://dt8v5llb2dwhs.cloudfront.net/Outdoor/2021/index.htm.
 
For continued updates on the Baylor track & field team, follow the team's social media accounts all season long: @BaylorTrack.


Remaining Baylor NCAA Schedule
Friday, June 11 (Men)
9:21 p.m. CT: 4x400-meter relay (FINAL)
 
Saturday, June 12 (Women)
5:02 pm. CT: 4x100-meter relay (FINAL)
5:20 p.m. CT: Triple Jump (FINAL) – Alex Madlock
5:42 p.m. CT: 100-meter hurdles (FINAL) – Ackera Nugent
5:52 p.m. CT: 100 meters (FINAL) – Ackera Nugent

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Baylor Track & Field: Nugent Shines, Tidwell Earns All-America Honors

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