Sports Briefs

Lightfoot Reaches New Heights

Junior pole vaulter KC Lightfoot won his third consecutive title in the event at the 2021 Big 12 Conference Indoor Championships in February. He established a meet record by clearing 19 feet, 4.25 inches (5.90 meters).

Lightfoot, who came to Baylor from Lee’s Summit, Missouri, has reached unprecedented heights this season. Three times in less than two months, Lightfoot set the indoor collegiate record. In early February, he became the first collegiate pole vaulter to ever clear 6 meters (19 feet, 8.25 inches).

Consider: the world indoor pole vault record is 6.16 meters, or less than six inches higher than Lightfoot’s mark.

“There’s really nothing more to say than it was magical,” he said after clearing the mark. “I’ve worked my whole life for that bar, and to finally get it takes a huge relief off my shoulders.”

Meanwhile, senior Tuesdi Tidwell cleared 14 feet, 4 inches (4.37 meters) at the Big 12 Indoors to claim the women’s pole vault title. It was the first-ever conference title for the Early, Texas, native.

“We haven’t had two in the pole vault, both men and women, win Big 12 titles,” Baylor head coach Todd Harbour said. “Even with all of our history, we’ve never had wins in the same year on both sides. That was big.”

Women’s Golf Goes Five for Five

Women’s Golf made history in February, becoming the first program in the 25-year history of the Big 12 Conference to win five consecutive tournament titles. The Bears shot a final-round 12-under 276 for a five-shot victory at the ICON Invitational at Golf Club of Houston.

Baylor ranked first nationally at the time and finished February with a spotless record on the season, including 13 victories over top-50 teams and five wins against top-17 teams.

The run of success began in the fall with titles at the Schooner Fall Classic at Belmar Golf Club in Norman, Oklahoma, the Betsy Rawls Invitational at the University of Texas Golf Club in Austin, Texas, and the Cowgirl Classic at Karsten Creek Golf Club in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Baylor started the spring by winning the Trinity Forest Invitational, hosted by Southern Methodist University at Trinity Forest Golf Club in Dallas.

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