Bears Win Four Big 12 Titles
8/14/2000 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 21, 2000
COLUMBIA, Mo. - Baylor crowned three individual Big 12 Champions and won the men's 4x400-meter relay title for the third consecutive time today in Columbia, Mo., at the 2000 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
Sophomore Barbara Petrahn started the day off with a win in the 400 meters. Her personal best time of 52.32 edged Moushami Robinson of Texas who clocked a 52.44. Petrahn has now provisionally qualified to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championship May 31-June 3 in Raleigh, N.C.
"I got out fast and did what Coach Hart said, which was to just run from the heart. I knew it would be a tough race and I just wanted to run my best. I am very happy," Petrahn said.
Petrahn came into the meet with the league's third best time.
"Barbara did an outstanding job today. She is such a competitor who really exceeded some expectations today," head coach Clyde Hart said.
In the men's 400 hurdles, the Bears again claimed the top two spots as Bayano Kamani successfully defended his league title running a 49.47. Sophomore Michael Smith clocked his best time ever with an automatic qualifying 49.60. In the 110 high hurdles Smith finished 6th with a 14.26.
Brandon Couts took the men's 200-meter title with an automatic qualifying and personal best time of 20.48. Nebraska's Chris Chandler was second with a 20.59.
"I knew I was running pretty good when I didn't see anyone else around me. It felt good because this is the first time all season I have run against tough competition in the 200," Couts said.
Couts did not repeat in the 400 meters, after winning the event for the last two years. Michael Blackwood of Oklahoma took the title with a mark of 44.69. Baylor's Zsolt Szeglet was third with a season best and automatic qualifying 46.08.
"I was not too upset about the 400 meters because I know I made a mental mistake. I held back in the last 100 instead of following my instincts, so I let him catch me," Couts said.
"We are proud of what Brandon did today. He had a great race in the 400 meters and to come back after such a tough competition and win the 200 meters just shows the kind of heart he has," Hart said.
However, Couts and Blackwood matched up again in the final leg of the 4x400-meter relay. This time, Couts and the rest of the men's 4x400 meter relay team took the victory with a season best and automatic qualifying time of 3:03.47.
"I knew if we ran well, they couldn't catch us. I just ran a smart race because I had already had a long day," Couts said.
The women's 4x400 meter relay team held off a late surge by the University of Nebraska to finish second with an automatic qualifying time of 3:34.43. Texas won the title with a 3:32.60.
"Our women's relay team did an outstanding job. They weren't picked any higher than third, so to have them get second after all the injuries we have had is such a great accomplishment for them," Hart said.
The Baylor men finished fifth overall with 81.50 points. Nebraska won the Big 12 title with 134 points. For the women, Baylor was seventh overall with 53 points. Nebraska won the women's title with 169, becoming the first school besides Texas to win the women's championship.
"I am really proud of how we performed. We probably could not have gotten much more out of our athletes. A lot of them exceeded our placing expectations throughout the meet. Overall I am just very pleased with how we performed," Hart said.
In other events, both the men's and women's 4x100-meter relay finished second and had season best performances. The women ran a 44.66 while the men's team clocked a 39.96, both provisionally qualifing the teams for the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Floyd Thompson was second in the 800 meters. His time of 1:48.75 is a provisional mark and season best for the junior transfer.
Nzingah Kamani was fifth in the 100 meters with a time of 11.67, while Tre Gardner took eighth in the men's 100 meters with a 10.58.
Pole vaulter Jim Autenreith tied for fifth with a mark of 16-11.50. Sophomore T.J. Henderson set a personal best with his clearance of 16-07.50 tying him for ninth place.
Kara Newton followed up her second place finish in the 10,000 meters with a seventh place finish in the 5,000 meters (17:01.16). Freshman Ferenc Bekesi was ninth in the 1500 meters with a 3:51.91.
