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Texas Tech Runs Away With Big 12 Track and Field Title

By Matthew Conner

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 13: A baton is held prior to the Men's 4x400 metres relay heats during athletic on day nine of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at Carrara Stadium on April 13, 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images)
GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 13: A baton is held prior to the Men's 4x400 metres relay heats during athletic on day nine of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games at Carrara Stadium on April 13, 2018 on the Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) /
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The Texas Tech men’s track and field team dominated the field at the Big 12 outdoor championships this weekend to sweep the conference’s 2018 track titles.

Chris Beard is the most popular head coach at Texas Tech.  Tim Tadlock is the most trusted.  Kliff Kingsbury is the most disappointing or promising (depending on who you ask).  But the most knowledgeable Texas Tech fans know that any conversation about the best coach at Tech must include track and field head coach Wes Kittley.

Kittley’s legacy was further enhanced, though he was long ago cemented as one of the best coaches in the modern era of Texas Tech athletics, this weekend when the men’s track and field team secured the Big 12 Outdoor Championship in record-breaking fashion.

The Red Raiders totaled 165 points, a record for any Big 12 team in the conference championship meet to bring home the program’s first league crown since 2014.  Texas was the runner-up with a distant 117 points illustrating just how dominant Kittley’s team was.

The outdoor title came just months after Texas Tech won the Big 12 indoor track title earning the Red Raiders a sweep of the conference track and field season titles.  Additionally, Texas Tech is ranked No. 3 in the nation and is a serious contender to bring home a national championship.

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As for Kittley, this title adds another bullet point to one of the NCAA’s best coaching resumes.  In his 18 years since leaving Abilene Christian for Texas Tech, Kittley has won five Big 12 track and field or cross country titles.  He also has five top 5 national team finishes and twelve top-10 team finishes.

Plus, the number of individual titles earned under Kittley is staggering.  He’s coached 21 NCAA champions, 145 Big 12 champions, 13 olympians and 8 olympic medalists.

One of those olympians, Divine Oduduru, was the meet’s high point man winning the 100 meters and finishing second in the 200 meters while being part of the first-place sprint relay team.

This is the program’s third Big 12 title, all coming under Kittley.  Tech won it’s first team title in 2005 and repeated that feat again in 2014.

Now, the Rule, Texas native will try to bring a national title to Texas Tech.  It would be a first for the program but not for Kittley.  At Abilene Christian, Kittley won four consecutive women’s national titles in 1985-88.  He also won a Division II men’s indoor national title in 1993.

Next: 5 Biggest Busts Under Kingsbury

A national title at the highest level of the sport is all that Kittley has left to do in his career.  And after this weekend’s dominating performance, there’s no reason to believe that this could be his year.

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