Jan. 23, 2006
FT. WORTH, Texas - The Flyin' Frogs had several stellar performances over the weekend as the women turned in seven first-place finishes and the men collected a pair of gold at the Wes Kittley 6 Way in Lubbock, Texas.
"I'm very pleased with the performances of our men and women teams," TCU track head coach Darryl Anderson said. "The women really stepped up, especially freshman Kishelle Paul and Candis Kelley.
"We're making progress every time we step on the track. We're getting better and better. The athletes are starting to realize what we (the coaches) want to do with the program."
The TCU women notched gold in seven of the 15 events with the 4x400 relay team (Deborah Jones, Kishelle Paul, Virgil Hodge and Nathandra John) taking top honors for the second straight week.
Five of the seven first-place showings came from the young and talented underclassmen. Sophomore Virgil Hodge crossed the line in 6.98 to capture gold in her first 55-meter event. Jamee Jones, also a sophomore, placed third in the same race with a time of 7.06, while senior Kandis Bell came in sixth in 7.14.
In addition to being a part of the first-place 4x400 meter relay team, sophomores Deborah Jones and Nathandra John each took top honors in other events. Jones won the 200 meters with a personal best 24.57, while John outpaced the competition in the 400 with a 55.85 time.
Senior
Calandra Stewart finished strong in the women's 3000 meters as she placed first with a time of 10:16.01. Freshman
Kishelle Paul collected her third first-place showing of the season as she edged Lauren Wiggins of North Texas by one second in the 55-meter hurdles with a 7.99 time.
Candis Kelley, a freshman from College Station, Texas, picked up her first career gold as she cleared 48-01.25 (14.66m) to win the shot put. The throw is the best mark in the Mountain West Conference this season.
The men's squad was also impressive in Lubbock with seniors Lewis Banda and Jackson Langat winning their respective events for the second week in a row. Banda clocked a 21.38 in the 200 meters, while Langat broke Texas Tech's Athletic Training Center (ATC) track record as well as the TCU school record in the 1000 meters with a 2:25.46 mark.
Several Frogs turned in runner-up finishes, including the 4x400 relay squad of Bradley Reed, Otis McDaniel, Jackson Langat and Lewis Banda. The quartet came in a photo-finish second (3:11.24) to the Texas Tech "A" team, which ran a 3:11.24.
Freshman Justyn Warner placed second in the 55 meters with a 6.36 clocking, while teammate Otis McDaniel came in third with 6.41.
Kip Kangogo took the gold in the one mile run this year with a time of 4:10.31. The senior finished third in the event last year.
In the field events, junior Michael DePriest cleared 22-06.25 (6.86m) in the long jump to come in second behind Quinchun Carey of Texas-Arlington.
The Frogs will take a break this week, but return to the track Feb. 4 when they travel to Lubbock, Texas, again for the Wes Kittley Invitational hosted by Texas Tech University.
