Barber, Tidwell Allphin & 4x400 squad take event wins at Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Texas — BYU women’s track and field finished off the Jarvis Scott Open with three event wins on Saturday at No. 15 Texas Tech’s Sports Performance Center.

Cierra Tidwell Allphin repeated her high jump performance from the Texas Tech Shootout a season ago with a clearance of 1.86m/6-1.25. Tidwell Allphin’s jump tied her personal best and won the event over runner-up Dora Van Doremalen of Tarleton State (1.70m/5-7).

“I knew this was a good opportunity to jump really high,” Tidwell Allphin said. “I really like how the track feels and I knew I needed to get another mark over 1.80m to reach national qualifying position; it turned out how I wanted it to.”

The junior from Gilbert, Arizona is tied with Ada Robinson (2011) and Melinda Hale (1998) for the third-best indoor high jump mark in school history.

“I don’t know what it is about this place at Texas Tech but Cierra couldn’t have jumped better,” said BYU jumps coach Mark Robison. “Her strength, fitness and technique came together today and we only have one or two more meets before nationals, so she’s in the perfect place.”

BYU’s sprinters showed out on Saturday as well.

Freshman sprinter Marianne Barber burst out to clock a personal best 24.14 and win the women’s 200-meter “B” section. Barber defeated TCU’s Samarra Monrroy and in so doing arrived at No. 6 all-time at BYU, surpassing Dena Burrows (1993). Though in her inaugural season with the Cougars, the Farmington, Utah native has already worked her way onto the program’s indoor 400-meter top-10 board as well.

Annalise Hart, Brilee Pontius, Dolita Shaw and Adaobi Tabugbo competed in the 200 “A” section with each setting personal bests as well.

Barber, Hart and Pontius then returned to the track and teamed up with Sami Oblad to deliver a winning 4x400-meter relay performance. The BYU squad clocked 3:39.40 as Hart turned on the after burners to jet away from Texas Tech and win over the final 100. The Cougars came up just 0.25 seconds short of matching their school record 3:39.15 set at the Razorback Invitational on Jan. 28.

The BYU women are back in action at the 2023 MPSF Indoor Track and Field Championships at The Podium in Spokane, Washington Feb. 17-18.