Dean finds new motivation with Tech track and field

By JAMES KEITH editor S ASSiStAnt

When it comes to navigating the unknown, there is no mitigation of risk. The only guiding lights are faith and self-assurance, an experience akin to driving down a narrow road without headlights. For Caleb Dean, 1,641 miles separated him from a town he didn't know he'd call home, and a program he didn't know he'd go on to set records for. Transferring from the East Coast to the Hub City left Dean with no expectations, but sometimes going in blindly doesn't mean the vision isn't there.

Coming from Hyattsville, Maryland, senior Caleb Dean didn't get his start at Texas Tech. Dean began his track that plan.”

The recommendation of a middleman in fellow Maryland transfer Kaithon McDonald brought about the union between Dean and Tech. Tech was unaware of Dean’s availability in the portal until McDonald had put in a word, an action Dean said was based on the two friends’ goal of attending the same school.

I call (Dean) my swiss army knife ... he is just incredible.”

WES KITTLEY TRACK HEAD COACH

Dean has found success in multiple events, but made a statement on Tech history by helping break the men’s 4x400 relay record that stood for over 18 years, clocking a time of 3:04.52, according to Tech Athletics. Dean said helping to break the record meant a lot, and hard practices and intra-team competition, as well as sharp focus helped push him to where he is now.

“We didn’t know he was in the portal, and then Kaithon had contacted us and told us about him and then we started researching him,” head track coach Wes Kittley

Courtney Lindsey, a Tech graduate student and fellow contributing member of the record breaking 4x400 relay run, went into detail about just how competitive the practices can be at the Sports Performance Center.

“It’s very competitive, but we help each other work and we help each other get better,” Lindsey said. “I like the energy we’re bringing this year, and it’s gonna continue to be a very special season.”

“Having so much support from all the fans, my teammates and everything is very important when I transferred here, some of that stuff I didn’t get at the

University of Maryland,”

Dean said. “I’m just thankful for the opportunity to work with the coaching staff, with the trainers, the academic support group staff and everything like that, I’m just thankful for everybody and they’ve made me better everyday.”

JamesKeithDT

Milly Latino/The Daily Toreador

Senior Caleb Dean begins the 4x400 relay race during the Red Raider Open in the Sports Performance Center, Jan. 21, 2023. career at the University of Maryland, where he qualified for the outdoor nationals twice in the men’s 400 meter hurdles.

Upon entering the transfer portal, the kinesiology major had not considered Tech, and shifted his focus to other programs instead.

“I heard from a lot of schools, a lot of D2 schools and D1 schools. The main school that I was trying to go to was the University of Florida, you know, (but) that didn’t work out and that was God’s plan honestly,” Dean said. “I’m excited to be at Tech … I’m proud to be here, I’m thankful to be here and I think God had a plan for me so I’m thankful I followed said. “I love the hurdles and so he was a quarter hurdler, I thought, and so I knew he’d run some other things ... I call him my swiss army knife because he can run the 60 to the 400 hurdles, and he can run the 60 meter, the 200, the 400, the mile relay. He is just incredible.”

Kittley went on to describe Dean’s versatility as a dilemma, an athlete who presents so many options the coaching staff isn’t sure where to put him for the Big 12 Championships. Kittley said that he feels he’s never coached anyone with the skillset brought about by the Maryland native.

As Kittley’s self-proclaimed swiss army knife,

With a transfer cycle that involved more hurdles and turns than the tracks Dean has built a legacy on, the Tech record holder said that keeping his faith and staying consistent helped prevent any mental or physical burnout. Now holding national qualifying times in multiple events, Dean said him becoming a Red Raider was meant to be.

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