Baylor Track & Field Flexes Depth and Dominance at Carolina Classic
COLUMBIA, S.C. - With a smaller squad but plenty of firepower, Baylor Track & Field made every entry count at the Carolina Classic, wrapping up the meet with five more event titles on Saturday - eight total across the weekend - and a clean sweep of both the men’s and women’s 4x400-meter relays.
Let’s start with Tiriah Kelley, who continues to run like a woman on a mission. Still holding the second-fastest 200-meter time in the nation, the senior sprinter added another title to her résumé, clocking a blistering 22.74.
That time isn’t just fast - it’s the fifth-best mark in Baylor history. And she wasn’t done.
Kelley anchored the women’s 4x400 relay with a strong 53-second leg, sealing a season-best win at 3:39.87.
That relay squad - made up of junior Serafima Lucero on the lead leg, followed by freshmen Alyssa Jones and Jada Edwards - handed Kelley the baton with a comfortable cushion. The team showed real growth week-over-week, something head coach Michael Ford was quick to point out.
“They still need to drop some more, but it was definitely a big improvement from last week to this week,” Ford said. “I thought the two freshmen in the middle ran better. One ran 56 last week and the other one ran 57, and they were both 55 today.”
On the men’s side, Baylor’s 4x400 relay wasn’t in the fastest heat - but that didn’t matter. Tyler Honeyman, Malik Franklin, Bailey Hashmi, and Abbas Ali combined for a 3:11.10 to take the event, besting teams from East Carolina, North Carolina A&T, and South Carolina out of the first heat. That’s the kind of performance that turns heads, especially when you’re not given the spotlight heat and still come out on top.
Freshman Landon Freeman delivered a breakout moment of his own, winning the high jump with a leap of 6-11½ - his first collegiate title. That win gave the Bears their only other men’s event victory of the day, but there were more strong performances across the board.
Aren Spencer claimed second in the 300 meters with a time of 34.08, while Hashmi added a third-place finish in the 200 meters with a season-best 21.17. Sebastian Berntsen landed fifth in the long jump with a mark of 23-2¾.
On the women’s side, senior Tenly Kuhn came up big in the pole vault, clearing 14-0½ to edge out South Carolina’s Jathiyah Muhammad. Both vaulters hit the same height, but Kuhn took the win by virtue of fewer misses - a clutch detail in a tightly contested event. Muhammad came into the meet tied for fourth nationally with a 14-9 mark, so this was no small feat for Kuhn.
“For those two - Kelley and Kuhn - to beat some good people on their home track, I thought that was really important,” Ford said. “We’ve got to think about things we have to improve on in the next three weeks before Big 12.
But what I liked about this meet was how we competed. In track, you’ve got to beat people.”
That competitive spirit showed up in other events, too. Sophomore Janae De Gannes finished second in the long jump with a season-best 20-11¾ - a mark that puts her just outside the national top 16, currently sitting at 17th. Sydney Smith added another runner-up finish in the high jump, clearing 5-6.
Now five weeks into the season, Baylor keeps building momentum. Next up: a return trip to Lubbock for the Jarvis Scott Invitational. With the Big 12 Championships looming, the Bears are sharpening their edge - and showing they’ve got the depth and talent to make some serious noise.