Baylor
NCAA Indoor Championships
Bears Tie Texas For 14th At NCAA Indoors
3/10/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
March 10, 2001
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Alleyne Francique of Louisiana State moved ahead of Baylor's Zsolt Szeglet in the last 30 meters as the Tigers clipped the Bears in the finals of the 4x400-meter relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Still, the Bears finished tied for 14th along with Texas, scoring 14 points on the weekend. By virtue of its first-place finish in the 4x400 and a non-scoring 12th-place finish by Texas Christian, Louisiana State walked away with its first indoor national championship. TCU entered the 4x400 needing only to finish seventh or better, or not have LSU win the event in order to hold on to first-place. However, the Horned Frogs dropped the baton on the first exchange and were not able to climb back into the race.
Instead, the Tigers became the first team other than Arkansas to win the men's team title since George Mason in 1996. Arkansas, which had won 16 of the last 17 titles dating back to 1983, finished third, and TCU placed second.
On the women's side, UCLA won its second-consecutive indoor title, edging South Carolina in the team standings 53.5 to 40.
Bayano Kamani, Michael Smith, Floyd Thompson and Szeglet posted a mark of three minutes, 4.72 seconds in the 4x400, LSU edged the Bears at 3:04.44. It was a two-team race as third-place South Carolina finished a distant third with a 3:06.43 clocking.
The Bears were running without regular anchor Brandon Couts, who suffered a hamstring injury two weeks ago at the Big 12 Conference Championships. Even without the nine-time all-American, Baylor still posted the third-fastest time of the indoor season. Kamani, Davis, Thompson and Couts had a mark of 3:04.46 at the Tyson Invitational in early February, that time at LSU's winning time were the only faster marks this season.
"They did all they could do," Baylor head coach Clyde Hart said of the relay team. "You lose the guy who holds the stadium record here (Couts in the 400), and you still almost win it up until the last few yards. There wasn't anybody that choked, there wasn't anybody that didn't run well. We'll be fine outdoors. At least we know that we have five guys that can step in, and that's something good to know."
Meanwhile, Kamani became Baylor's seventh athlete to earn all-America honors in the indoor 400 meters, placing third in the even with a personal-best time of 46.20. He won the first section of the two-section final, and then watched Rickey Harris of Florida and Andrew Pierce of Ohio State take first and second, respectively, in a true photo finish. Harris came from behind to clip Pierce at the wire, the former clocked at 45.775, the latter at 45.779.
Kamani, who came out strong in the first 200 meters, actually had a faster split time that either Harris or Pierce. He said setting the pace at his own pace allowed him to have a good time.
"I knew I had to get out faster than I did in the preliminaries," he said. "I just couldn't hold on. I wanted to run in the 45s, but I just don't have enough strength at this time in the season. But I'm happy with how I ran."
With its tied-for-14th-place finish, Baylor posted its best finish at the indoor nationals since taking seventh in 1998. It also marked the 11th time in the last 14 years that the Bears have finished 15th or better in the NCAA indoor meet.
Baylor will immediately begin its outdoor season, traveling to the University of Texas-San Antonio next weekend for the Whataburger/UTSA Relays.
NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships
Randal Tyson Track Center - Fayetteville, Ark.
Men's 400-meter finals
1. Rickey Harris (Florida), 45.775, 2. Andrew Pierce (Ohio State), 45.779, 3. Bayano Kamani (Baylor), 46.20, 4. Alleyne Francique (Louisiana State), 46.31, 5. Michael Decker (Liberty), 46.33, 6. Avard Moncur (Auburn), 46.35, 7. Mitch Potter (Minnesota), 46.50, 8. Otis Harris (South Carolina), 47.02.
Men's 4x400-meter finals
1. Louisiana State, 3:04.44, 2. Baylor, 3:04.72, 3. South Carolina, 3:06.43, 4. Arizona, 3:06.50, 5. Auburn, 3:07.07, 6. Florida, 3:07.39, 7. Texas A&M, 3:07.85, 8. Minnesota, 3:07.97, 9. Ohio State, 3:09.43, 10. Oklahoma, 3:10.63, 11. Arizona State, 3:12.18, 12. Texas Christian, 3:12.83.
Men's Final Team Standings (Top 20 only)1. Louisiana State 34.02. Texas Christian 33.03. Arkansas 32.04. Alabama 31.05. Stanford 28.56. Southern Methodist 27.07. Florida 26.08. Kansas 20.09. Tennessee 19.010. Mississippi 18.011. Washington 16.0 George Mason 16.013. Arizona 15.014. Baylor 14.0 Texas 14.016. South Carolina 13.0 Weber State 13.018. Georgia 12.019. Texas A&M 11.020. Colorado State 10.0 Clemson 10.0 Georgetown 10.0 Indiana State 10.0 Northern Iowa 10.0 Villanova 10.0
