March 14, 2003

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - On the first day of competition at the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center, Baylor freshman Jeremy Wariner clocked the fourth-fastest time of the day in the 400-meter race to advance to the finals on Saturday. Wariner, who took second at the Big 12 Championships two weeks ago, recorded a season best time of 46.12 to finish second in his heat and fourth overall to advance to the finals.

"All I did was try to go out faster in the first 200," Wariner said. "I wasn't first, but I was where I needed to be. Tomorrow, I need to beat everybody to the break."

Sophomore Lakadron Ivery, participating in her first NCAA Championships, competed in both the 60 and 200-meter events. Despite running two strong races, she did not advance to the finals. Ivery, the school recordholder in both events, opened in the 60, recording a 7.47 to take 20th place. In the 200, Ivery took fourth in her heat and 18th overall with a time of 23.96.

Distance specialists Kyle King and Debbie Thornhill each ran the 5,000-meters. King, who set the school record in the event here at the Tyson Track Center a month ago, ran a 14:28.60 to finish 15th. In an extremely fast women's 5,000-meters, Thornhill clocked a 16:26.36 to finish 14th.

"I'm very proud of Jeremy (Wariner)," head coach Clyde Hart said. "As a freshman, he made it to the fast heat of the finals in the 400. He was definitely the high point of the meet today. Debbie (Thornhill) and Kyle (King) are both more 10,000 runners, and they were running in fast 5,000 races. Lakadron (Ivery) was able to get her feet wet. Overall, everything went fine."

Baylor will continue action from the NCAA Indoor Championships Saturday, March 15, as Wariner races to become Baylor's 16th men's indoor 400-meter All-American since 1990. The men's 1,600 relay looks for its third straight title and its 19th consecutive All-America honor. The men's 400 is slated for 6:55 p.m. CST. while the men's 1,600 relay is the last race of the championships, scheduled for 8:10 p.m.

Baylor First Day Results from the NCAA Indoor Championships
Name	           Event	Time	Finish
Jeremy Wariner	400	46.12	2nd (heat 2), 4th overall
Lakadron Ivery	60	7.47	6th (heat 1), 20th overall
	             200	23.96	4th (heat 1), 18th overall
Debbie Thornhill	5,000	16:26.36	14th overall
Kyle King	5,000	14:28.60	15th overall