Dean, Bradford dominate in meet finale
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Caleb Dean was a Swiss army knife while Zach Bradford broke the 19-foot pole vault barrier Saturday afternoon to close out the New Mexico Collegiate Classic.
Dean began his day securing the big “Q” in the 60m hurdles and then moments later, secured his finals spot in the 60m sprint. His hurdles prelim time clocked in at 7.73 and the dropped to 7.62 to finish second in the collegiate field. Omotade Ojora of USC claimed the top spot (7.58) as 2016 Olympic gold medalist Omar McLeod placed slightly (7.61) in front of Dean.
As far as top times go, Dean’s 7.62 goes down as the No. 2 mark in TTU history behind Omo Osaghae’s time of 7.60 (2010, NCAA Championships). Osaghae held to No. 2 mark at 7.63, one that he also set that same season (Big 12 Championships). Dean’s time after today’s meet in second in the NCAA, only behind today’s final winner, Ojora. Dean was a DNS for the 60m final.
Meanwhile, Bradford, as he’s been doing all season, continued to set new heights in his first season with Tech. For the third-straight meet, Bradford has re-written his school record. On his first attempt, he soared over the bar at 5.76m (18-11 ½) for the new mark. Bradford’s next height was 5.83m (19-1 ½), in which he cleared on his second try. With that, he goes down as the first Red Raider to break the 19-foot barrier.
Bradford finished second in the event, only to Princeton’s Sondre Guttormsen who finished at 5.90m (19-4 ¼). Guttormsen and Bradford hold the No. 1 and No. 2 marks in the country, respectively, following tonight.
Logan Fraley placed seventh at 5.33m (17-5 ¾) and Warren Miller finished eighth at 5.18m (17-0) to round out the top-10 finishers for TTU.
Nylo Clarke (6.67) and Courtney Lindsey (6.71) finished ninth and 12th in the 60m prelims. Freshman Antoine Andrews notched a new PB, going 7.73 in the 60m hurdles prelims – his second meet of the season, debuted last weekend.
In the women’s 60m hurdles, Demisha Roswell dropped her 8.05 prelims time to 8.03 to place second overall. Her prelim marked tied her seventh all-time Tech record while her finals run goes down as sixth all-time. Roswell also ran her first 60m sprint for the first time in nearly three years, clocking in at 7.42, a new personal best.
Texas Tech is back in action next week Feb. 3-4 hosting the second annual Jarvis Scott Open. Tech will also send a select group to Albuquerque for the Don Kirby Elite Invitational.
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Release provided by Chris Duarte Texas Tech Athletics
