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Elijah Jefferson (photo by Dustin Wyatt)
Elijah Jefferson (photo by Dustin Wyatt)
Posted: Mar 28, 2023

Bulldogs Check In at No. 7 in Week One USTFCCCA Rankings

NEW ORLEANS, LA -- Texas Lutheran men's track and field come in ranked No. 7 in the first installment of the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) outdoor rankings.

This is the highest ranking for the Bulldogs in program history since the USTFCCCA first began releasing rankings in 2008 and is the highest ranking for TLU since being ranked 13th in 2018. They are also the highest rated team in the state of Texas with Trinity (No. 8) and McMurry (No. 10) also finding themselves in the top 10.

Elijah Jefferson (San Antonio/Construction Careers Academy) has been on a tear to start the new season.  Jefferson swept the 100m and 200m dashes behind two record breaking performances. Jefferson, in his first outdoor meet since the NCAA Indoor Championships, won the 100m and 200m dash at the 2023 D3 Challenge last weekend with times of 10.48 seconds in the 100m and 21.05 seconds in the 200m dash - both new school records. The previous 100m record (10.43 seconds) held by Darren Jones was a wind-aided record while Jefferson's time was wind-legal.

Jefferson now ranks third nationally in the 100m and second nationally in the 200m. Jefferson also anchored the TLU 4x100 squad that finished third at the D3 Challenge with a time of 42.05 seconds - ranking 12th nationally.

Texas Lutheran currently has four marks that rank inside the top 10 of the national rankings this season; a full list of those performances can be viewed below.

Elijah Jefferson – No. 2 – 200 meter – 21.05

Elijah Jefferson – No. 3 – 100 meter – 10.48

Gerrit Twitero – No. 2 – High Jump – 2.02m

Ezra Acero – No. 2 – Pole Vault – 4.80m

TLU has competed in three meets this season following last weekend's D3 Challenge home meet. The Bulldogs kicked off the year at Hardin-Simmons and Trinity.

Up next, Texas Lutheran travels to San Marcos for the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Texas State, March 30-April 1. For all updates on Texas Lutheran Track and Field, follow @tluthrows and @tluxctf on Instagram as well as as all official TLU Athletics accounts. All schedule updates can be found on tlubulldogs.com.