WACO, Texas — Fresh off recording the No. 1 pole vault in the NCAA this indoor season, KC Lightfoot has been named the Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week.
“It’s another very nice honor for KC,” head coach Todd Harbour said. “He is starting where he left off last season.”
Lightfoot cleared a national-best and school-record mark of 18-8.25 (5.70m) to win the men's pole vault Saturday at the Larry Wieczorek Invitational, hosted by the University of Iowa. The sophomore from Lee's Summit, Mo., just missed clearing 19 feet but still walked away with the event title and the Field Athlete of the Meet award for his performance.
“It means a lot, especially this early in the season that things are going well,” Lightfoot said. “It’s an honor to get the award, and hopefully things keep going well.”
It is Lightfoot's second career Big 12 weekly award (Feb. 20, 2019), and the 11th men's indoor track & field athlete of the week in program history. It is the 42nd overall conference athlete of the week award (men's and women's indoor/outdoor) for Baylor track & field since 2002.
“He did a great job for the first meet of the year,” pole vault coach Brandon Richards said. “Breaking the school record and getting the No. 1 mark in the nation, he’s ready to go this year for a lot of reasons.”
Lightfoot has held the Baylor indoor record since breaking it last February, and now holds the top four jumps in school history. He is currently a full 3.75” ahead of second place as the No. 1-ranked pole vaulter in the country in 2020.
“He wants to continue his track on the Big 12 Conference wins, and he also has his sights set on NCAA wins,” Richards said. “Being an Olympic year, he’s also kind of set his target on that towards the end of the year. He’s taking this year seriously, and he’s shown that through the first meet getting the year off to a good start.”
Lightfoot and the Bears will now head to the Texas A&M Invitational this Saturday (Jan. 25) in College Station.
