The TCU Women’s Track and Field team saw success across the board highlighted by fantastic performances in the javelin, the 100m, and the 1500m.
The TCU Women’s Horned Frogs Outdoor Track season began on March 15 with the TCU Alumni Invitational. TCU dominated the 5k, led by London Culbreath who managed a winning time 17:02.69. Behind her, three other Horned Frogs finished in second, third, and fourth. In the 1500m, Tabitha Kalunde Ngao paced the heat at 4:33.56. As for the shorter-distance events, Kelaiah Daniyan saw her first first-place career finish in the 400m. She finished with a time of 55.57. The 100m was perhaps the Horned Frogs’ best event of the day. TCU occupied all three top spots in the event. Finally, Amari Kiluvia finished second in the 100mH—running a 14.11.
A weekend following the TCU-sponsored event, the Horned Frogs headed south to compete in the Texas A&M Invitational. Freshman javelin competitor Irene Jepkemboi dominated the field. Jepkemboi showed out, recording a TCU record throw of 57.23m. Staying with the field events, TCU long jumper Emma Seetoo recorded a 6.21m jump, winning the event. Furthermore, the women came away victorious in both the 4×100 and the 400m. Gracie Morris’s debut was another highlight of the invitational. Morris won the 800m event, running a blazing 2:04.15 on the day. She also dominated the 5000m, running a 16:49.53.
Following a successful weekend in College State, TCU traveled to Austin to compete in the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. On the second day of the relays, Tia Williams broke TCU’s 400mH record with a time of 57.35. After Morris’ fantastic performance a week prior, she finished second in the 1500m this time. On day three, Iyana Gray qualified for the Texas Relays final while also anchoring the second-place-finishing 4×100 team. The Horned Frogs’ 4×400 team qualified for the finals by finishing first. Besides the field, the women earned second and fifth in the javelin. On the final day of the competition, the women’s 4×800 team took gold with a record time of 8:31.34. Gray finished second and third in her individual and team events, respectively. The women’s 4×400 team took second overall to the end the event with a time of 3:33.19.
Two weeks later the Horned Frogs competed in the distance-only Long Beach Invitational. The women’s track stars, Jasmin Muhammad-Graham and Ngao, finished in first and second place in the 800m. In the women’s 1500m, an event which included professionals, Morris came in at 27th place—best amongst collegians. Besides the track, two Horned Frogs finished top-12 in the discus and shot put. Samantha Calloway and Serina Ramirez both recorded impressive showings for the women’s outdoor track and field team.
The Horned Frogs returned home to compete in the Michael Johnson Invitational on April 19 and 20. On the first day of the event, Gray came in second in the women’s 200m recording a time of 23.11. After a brief hiatus, Culbreath again came away victorious in the women’s 5000m. She finished with a time of 16:56.72 to earn her second consecutive Michael Johnson Invitational win in the 5000m. In the 400mH, Amelliah Birdow took home fifth place running 58.30. On the second day, Jepkemboi placed first in the javelin with her throw of 51.49m. The women’s 4×400 team saw a second-place finish in the second consecutive invitational. Muhammad-Graham finished first again in the women’s 800m while Samarra Monrroy came in at second in the 400m.
As April came to a close, the Horned Frogs finished the pre-Big Championship season in Philadelphia at the Penn Relays. The women’s distance relay team earned fifth with a time of 10:53.34 to kick off the weekend. Gray’s fantastic 100m time highlighted the first day of the relays. She clocked in at 11.43—coming in at first. Later that day, Gray and the 4×100 squad came in second. Another relay team, the women’s 4×400, earned a fourth-place finish in the prelims. Gray won gold with a time of 11.35 in the 100m finals. Her podium appearances continued as she helped the 4×100 team, comprised of Teanna Harlin, Mikayla Hayes, and Breanna Harlin, win silver. Finally, Maria Bienvenu led the way in the women’s javelin with a top-place throw of 51.00m.
The Big 12 Outdoor Championships occurred on the second weekend of May. Besides the javelin throw competitors, as it was delayed due to weather, Morris and Gray advanced to day two of the competition in the 1500m and 200m, respectively. In the hurdles, Birdow and Tia Williams earned trips to the finals in the 400mH. On day two, the javelin competition commenced. The women were wildly successful, led by Jepkemboi who won the Big 12 title with a throw of 55.67m. Bienvenu finished fourth in the event, recording a distance of 51.25m. Staying with the field events, Seetoo jumped 6.08m in the long jump to earn a sixth-place finish. Gray claimed three second-place medals on the final day. She came in second at the 100m, the 200m, and as part of the women’s 4x100m team. Birdow finished third, earning a bronze medal in the 400mH. No other women medaled, however, Morris finished fifth in the 1500m; Monrroy claimed seventh in the 400m; Callaway earned a seventh-place finish in the discus; and the women’s 4×400 team came in at fourth.
Prior to the Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the TCU women competed in the NCAA West First Round. Both Bienvenu and Jepkemboi qualified for the javelin finals after finishing fifth and seventh, respectively. Gray earned finals appearances in the 100m and the 200m. Harlin joined Gray in 200m, running 23.03—finishing in second. Morris, as she’s done twice before, punched her ticket to the quarterfinals after a sixth-place finish in the 1500m. Lastly, both Williams and Barlow earned trips to the quarterfinals in the 400mH. Gray was the big winner on day three. She earned trips to the finals in the 100m, the 200m, and the 4x100m. Joining Gray in the 4x100m were Harlin, Hayes, and Dreunna Washington. Onto the long-distance events, Morris advanced in the 1500m with a time of 4:17.23. To conclude the day, Williams and Birdow finished 14th and 23rd in the 400mH, respectively.
The NCAA Championships kicked off with Jemkepboi placing fourth and earning an All-American nod as a freshman in the javelin. Gray continued to excel in the 100m as she came in second—earning a spot in the finals. Her 200m performance fell just short, as she placed 11th, although Gray did earn a Second Team All-American spot. Another Second Teamer, Morris placed 16th in the women’s 1500m. On the final day of the competition, Gray earned another Second Team All-American honor after placing ninth in the 100m with a time of 11.28. TCU finished tied-40th with five points in the final event of the season.