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Welcome aboard: Former FSU all-American fortifies Tech jumps group
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- Welcome aboard: Former FSU all-American fortifies Tech jumps group
The Texas Tech women's track and field team carries a No. 7 national ranking this week, and if the Red Raiders intend to pick up a trophy that comes with a top-four finish at the NCAA indoor championships, a lot will depend on the horizontal-jumps group.
The Tech women already were strong in that department with their returnees from last season. They got better when Ruta Lasmane decided to transfer to Tech from Florida State after Tech coach Wes Kittley hired FSU assistant Keith Herston in July.
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Lasmane, a sophomore from Latvia, achieved first-team all-America status in the triple jump indoor and outdoor last year for the Seminoles and swept that event at the Atlantic Coast Conference meets.
"It was quite easy to come here," she said, "because my coach was leaving Florida State and coming here, and I knew from the beginning that I want to keep working with this coach since I was succeeding."
The Red Raiders host their fourth home meet in five weeks, the Texas Tech Shootout, on Friday and Saturday at the Sports Performance Center.
In the triple jump, Lasmane and her new teammates Ruth Usoro and Onaara Obamuwagun rank fourth, eighth and ninth this season in NCAA Division I. Lasmane has gone 45 feet, 5 1/4 inches, Usoro 44-2 1/2 and Obamuwagun 44-0. Usoro is the defending NCAA champion indoor and outdoor, and Obamuwagun swept the NJCAA triple-jump titles indoor and outdoor last year for South Plains College.
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In the long jump, Tech's Monae' Nichols and Usoro rank first and seventh in Division I this season with marks of 21-10 1/4 and 21-3 1/4, respectively.
Obamuwagun was part of a signing class that also includes freshman Brya Brewer, the top-ranked high-school girls triple jumper in the nation last year with Cedar Hill.
"Everybody is just so great and talented," Lasmane said, "and you just want to be like them. You just want to be the best of the best."
At the NCAA indoor championships last March at Arkansas, Usoro won the triple jump with a mark of 46-10 and Lasmane got third by going 46-5 1/4. At the NCAA outdoor championships last June at Oregon, Usoro went 46-6 3/4 for first place and Lasmane went 45-7 3/4 for fifth.
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The day after Kittley hired Herston to coach the Red Raiders' jumpers, he found out Lasmane had her name in the NCAA transfer portal.
"I was even telling her to stay or whatever," Kittley said. "But the very next day (after) I hired Keith, that's how it all came about. She just loves coach Herston and wanted to follow him. She felt like she went to Florida State because of him. As you know, the portal is kind of a crazy thing, so that's kind of what happened. Great kid. Glad we got her."
Lasmane has found Tech to her liking so far.
"Of course, it's a completely different environment around me here in West Texas," she said, "but the team environment is just really good. It feels like family here, and we're all supportive. ... So I'm glad to be here."
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The Red Raiders will get some more preparation for the Feb. 25-26 Big 12 championships this weekend. Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are entered in the Tech Shootout.
No. 3 Tech is the only men's team in the meet in the top 25. In addition to Tech women at No. 7, the other ranked women's teams are No. 9 Brigham Young, No. 12 Oklahoma State and No. 19 Baylor.
Several small area schools are entered, including Lubbock Christian University, Wayland Baptist, South Plains College, Western Texas College, West Texas A&M, Angelo State and Eastern New Mexico.
Track & field
What:Texas Tech Shootout
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When:Friday-Saturday
Where:Sports Performance Center
Friday's schedule:Field event start times from 3 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Running event start times from 5 p.m. to 8:55 p.m.
Saturday's schedule:Field event start times from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Running event start times from 11:40 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.
Schools:26
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Tech leaders
Here are Texas Tech athletes who are ranked in the top 30 in their events in NCAA Division I with each individual's ranking and best time or mark. After conference meets in late February, those ranked in the top 16 in individual events and the top 12 in relays qualify for the NCAA championships March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama. Note: An "a" denotes times or marks converted to account for performances at higher altitude.
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Field events
High jump: 7. Jequan Hogan, 7 feet, 2 1/4 inches; 12. Caleb Wilborn, 7-1 3/4.
Pole vault: 19. Colton Naffziger, 17-5 3/4.
Triple jump: 6. Jalen Seals, 52-10 3/4.
Weight throw: 9. Gabriel Oladipo, 71-10 3/4.
Running events
60 meters: 1. Terrence Jones, a-6.47 seconds; 6. Jacolby Shelton, a-6.60.
200: 5. Courtney Lindsey, a-20.63; 10. Jacolby Shelton, a-20.77; 12. Ashton O'Conner, a-20.84.
800: 17. Marco Vilca, a-1 minute, 48.86 seconds.
60 hurdles: 4. Vashaun Vascianna, a-7.66.
Combined events
Heptathlon: 10. Gary Haasbroek, 5,699 points.
WOMEN
Field events
High jump: 1. Sidney Sapp, 6 feet, 2 inches.
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Pole vault: 17. Chloe Wall, 14-0 1/2.
Long jump: 1. Monae' Nichols, 21-10 1/4; 7. Ruth Usoro, 21-3 1/4.
Triple jump: 4. Ruta Lasmane, 45-5 1/4; 8. Ruth Usoro, 44-2 1/2; 9. Onaara Obamuwagun, 44-0.
Weight throw: 16. Seasons Usual, 70-5 1/4.
Running events
60 meters: 15. Rosemary Chukwuma, a-7.27 seconds.
200: 27. Kiah Dubarry-Gay, a-23.53.
400: 20. Knowledge Omovoh, a-53.06.
60 hurdles: 7. Demisha Roswell, a-8.04 seconds; 30. Simone Watkins, a-8.28.
1,600 relay: 19: Aneesa Scott, Knowledge Omovoh, Kiah Dubarry-Gay, Lexye Price, a-3:36.08.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Welcome addition: Former FSU all-American boosts Tech jumps group
