TCU Track & Field 2022-23 Season Recap

The 2022-23 season was a very successful one for TCU Track and Field as the Frogs as a team won an event at the Big 12 Championship, sent three individuals and one team to NCAA Championship events, had three Second Team All-American honors received, and an All-American Honorable mention.

Indoor Regular Season

The Frogs began their season in Fayetteville, Arkansas at the Arkansas Invitational where Jaren Holmes shined winning the triple jump with 16.14 meters which was the best distance in the triple jump in the NCAA at that point in the season. Also having a very strong performance was Benjamin Kirbo who set the school record for indoor pole vault with a height of 5.10 meters. TCU would next travel to Nashville, Tennessee for the distance only Vanderbilt Open the following week.

Texas transfer Graydon Morris picked up his first win as a Frog with an excellent time of 14:19.64 in the men’s 5,000-meter race. Ryan Martin picked up a victory for the Frogs as well with a win in the men’s 1,000-meter race thanks to a time of 2:23.69. The Frogs had two top-five finishers in the women’s 5k with Mariana Martinez and Peyton Mcquillan coming in second and fourth with times of 17:29.07 and 17:31.69 respectively. On the second day of competition in Nashville, Gracie Morris took home a dominant win in the 3,000-meter race with a phenomenal time of 9:31.49.

While the distance team was in Tennessee, the rest of the Frogs headed to Lubbock, Texas for the Red Raider Open. Gavin Champ had a very solid meet as he finished second overall in the triple jump with a leap of 14.88 meters. Jaren Holmes secured another top-three finish for the Frogs in the long jump with a distance of 7.19 meters.

A trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico was next on the schedule for the Frogs for the two-day New Mexico Collegiate Classic. Samarra Monrroy was the star on day one for TCU with a win in the unseeded 400-meter race thanks to a time of 55.82 meters. Grace Anigbata had a very good day as well with a second-place finish in the triple jump thanks to a distance of 13.24 meters on day two of competition. The distance team was in Ames, Iowa at the same time and Gracie Morris took over with wins in both the mile and the 800-meter race thanks to times of 4:49.71 and 2:10.54 respectively. Jasmin Muhammad-Graham joined Morris in the top five for the 800-meter race at the Iowa State Classic with a time of 2:15.87.

The final meet of the indoor regular season for the Frogs was the Jarvis Scott Open, back in Lubbock, Texas. Dreunna Washington picked up a win for TCU in the long jump with a very strong leap of 5.88 meters. Iyana Gray finished second in the 60-meter race with a time of 7.32 seconds. The Frogs had a great day in the men’s long jump, taking two of the top three spots with Patrick Sylla taking second and Jaren Holmes taking third. Jasmin Muhammad-Graham secured another top-three finish for the Frogs with a second-place race in the 800-meter race and a time of 2:13.11 seconds. Peyton Mcquillan had the final top-three finish for TCU with a second-place finish in the 5,000-meter race thanks to a time of 17:52.11.

Holmes continued his strong performance on day two of the meet with a win in the men’s triple jump with a final distance of 16.28 meters. Theophilus Mudzengerere joined Holmes in the top three with a second-place finish thanks to a jump of 15.67 meters. Quinn Calhoun took first place for the Frogs in the pole vault with a height of 4.11 meters. Donnie James secured a win in the men’s 200-meter unseeded with a time of 21.35 seconds. Mariana Martinez was the final winner of the day for TCU as she took first place in the 3,000-meter race thanks to an excellent time of 10:24.91.

Indoor Postseason Recap

The first meet on the post-season schedule for Indoor Track and Field was the two-day Big 12 Championships meet, back in Lubbock, Texas. The Frogs had two finishers in the top 10 of the men’s long jump as Patrick Sylla and Jaren Holmes finished in fifth and sixth place thanks to leaps of 7.38 meters and 7.36 meters respectively. Elise Dobson finished in the top ten of the pentathlon in eighth place with 3,602 points and there were numerous Frogs to qualify for the finals that would take place on the final day of the meet.

David Seete was one of those Frogs to qualify for the finals and he capped it off with a second-place finish in the 600-yard race thanks to a great time of 1:08.83. Also finishing in the top three of her event was Grace Anigbata who secured bronze in the triple jump thanks to a distance of 13.16 meters. Iyana Gray had a very solid showing in the women’s 60-meter as she finished in fifth place with a time of 7.30 seconds. Theophilus Mudzengerere had the final top-five finish of the day for the Frogs as he took fifth place in the men’s triple jump.

The Frogs had two athletes qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Jaren Holmes and Grace Anigbata who competed in the men’s and women’s triple jump respectively. Anigbata had an outstanding performance as she broke the program record for triple jump with a leap of 13.58 meters to finish in tenth place and earn Second Team All-American honors. Holmes had a great day as well with a leap of 16.23 meters that landed him in ninth place which was enough to earn him Second Team All-American honors too.

Outdoor Regular Season Recap

The outdoor season opened with a throwers-only meet in Austin, Texas for the Longhorn Invite. Mathilda Bjorklund started the season off with a commanding win in the hammer throw with a distance of 56.50 meters which was over 16 feet further than second place. Samantha Callaway was the second and final winner for the Frogs in Austin as she took first place in discus with a very good throw of 51.08 meters. The Armor UTA Invite in Arlington, Texas was next for the Frogs where both Bjorklund and Callaway picked up their second wins of the season. Bjorklund took first in hammer throw, this time with a distance of 56.76 meters while Callaway finished in first place in discus with a throw of 49.08 meters. Kyler Van Grouw took home a victory for TCU in men’s shot put behind a throw of 49.28 meters.

The next meet would be hosted by TCU for the TCU Alumni Invite in Fort Worth. Donnie James took home the win in the men’s 200-meter thanks to a time of 21.06 seconds. Iyana Gray had a great meet with two individual wins in the 100-meter and the 200-meter and was also a part of the women’s 4x100 team, which also included Rachel Hall, Samarra Monrroy,. and Dreunna Washington, that took first place with a time of 45.13. Gracie Morris won the women’s 1,500-meter with a time of 4:26.77. Clinton Muunga completed the sweep of the 100-meter races as he took first on the men’s side with a time of 10.28.

The Frogs won both of the 800-meter races as well with Jasmin Muhammad-Graham and Ryan Martin taking first in their respective races. David Seete secured another victory for TCU in the 400-meter with a time of 48.04. London Culbreath took the final running victory for the Frogs of the meet with a first-place finish in the 3,000-meter thanks to a time of 9:55.20. Sydney Juszczyk picked up a win in javelin with a throw of 46.53 meters. Mathilda Bjorklund won her third hammer throw event of the year with a distance of 52.64 meters. Gavin Champ took first in the long jump thanks to a leap of 7.10 meters while Theophilus Mudzengerere won the triple jump with a leap of 15.74 meters.

A trip to Waco was next for TCU for the Clyde Hart Classic. Gracie Morris stole the show on day one of the event with a win in the 1500 meter thanks to what was the best time in the NCAA at that point in the season at 4:17.93. London Culbreath joined Morris in the top three with a second-place finish and a time of 4:34.65. Morris continued to dominate on day two of the meet with a win in the 800-meter thanks to a time of 2:06.38. Jade Ferrell secured a win for the Frogs in the high jump with a jump of 1.73 meters which set a new school record for the event.

Gavin Champ was victorious in the triple jump thanks to a leap of 15.66 meters. TCU swept the top three spots in the women’s 3,000 meter as Mariana Martinez, Peyton Mcquillan, and London Culbreath finished first, second, and third respectively. Ryan Martin won the men’s 800-meter to complete the sweep of the event thanks to a time of 1:50.52. Iyana Gray took first place in the 100-meter thanks to a great time of 11.38 seconds. The TCU relay teams had a great day as well with the women’s 4x100 team and the men’s 4x40 team winning their respective events.

The Frogs would head back to Austin for their next meet in the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays where Sydney Juszczyk broke a school record in javelin with a distance of 50.62 meters. Gracie Morris had another excellent race as she finished first among collegiate athletes in the women’s 1500 meter thanks to a time of 4:19.23.

The next meet for TCU took place in Norman, Oklahoma for the Sooner Invitational. Jade Ferrell had the first victory of the day for the Frogs with a win in high jump thanks to a jump of 1.63 meters. Ryan Martin and Iyana Gray continued the winning ways for TCU as they won the 1500 meter and the 200 meter respectively. The Frogs swept the 4x400 relay as both the men’s and women’s teams took first place in the event. The men’s 4x100 relay team won their event as well with a great time of 40.28 seconds.

The Michael Johnson Invitation followed for the Frogs as they would make another trip down to Waco, Texas for the meet. London Culbreath started the meet off for TCU with a win in the 5k thanks to a very good time of 16:44.34. Gracie Morris took first in the 800 meter thanks to the best time in program history at 2:03.97 to continue her historical season. Jaren Holmes continued his phenomenal season as well with a win in triple jump thanks to a distance of 16.40 meters.

The Frogs split up for their next meet as the one-day meet at Abilene Christian overlapped with the first day of the Penn Relays. Holmes collected yet another win in the triple jump as fellow Frog Patrick Sylla finished right behind him in second place in the event. Mathilda Bjorklund won another hammer throw event thanks to a distance of 54.85 meters. Jasmin Muhammad-Graham was the final winner of the day for the Frogs as she took first in the 800 meter thanks to a time of 2:07.87. After multiple Frogs qualified for the finals of their events on the second day of the Penn Relays, Iyana Gray took home the win in the 100-meter race with an excellent time of 11.50 seconds. Also finishing first was the men’s 4x400 relay team who finished with a great time of 3:04.41.

Outdoor Postseason Recap

The Big 12 Championships were first up on the post-season schedule for the Frogs as Sydney Juszczyk started TCU off with a win in the javelin thanks to a great throw of 50.40 meters. Gracie Morris capped off a great regular season with a third-place finish in the 1500 meter with a very solid time of 4:19.61. Also finishing in third was the men’s 4x400 team thanks to a very good time of 3:03.92.

Next for the Frogs was the NCAA West Regional where the Frogs would compete for a chance to advance to the NCAA National Championships in Austin, Texas. Freshman Theophilus Mudzengerere clinched an invitation to Austin in the triple jump thanks to an outstanding leap of 15.74 meters that was good for 8th place overall. Also punching their ticket to the National Championship meet was the men’s 4x400 team of Ethan Brown, Donnie James, David Seete, and Simbarashe Maketa who finished 5th in their heat thanks to a great time of 3:05.20 which was enough to claim the last qualifying spot for Austin. Unfortunately, Gracie Morris was unable to compete in the finals of the 1500 meter despite finishing second in her heat in qualifying due to an injury that kept her out of the race.

The 4x400 team shined in Austin at the NCAA Nation Championship like they had done all season as they finished in 3:02.62 which was good for 14th place overall and for Second Team All-American honors. Mudzengerere had a great showing in Austin as well as he finished in 18th place overall in the triple jump thanks to a leap of 15.32 meters which was enough to earn All-American Honorable Mention for the freshman.