March 20, 2003
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This Week
Baylor opens the outdoor campaign Sat., March 22 with its first home event of the season. The annual Dr Pepper Invitational will be held at the Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex. Field events will start at 9 a.m. with running events slated to begin at 12:30 p.m. The Bears will host Northwood, Tarleton State, TCU and North Texas.
Wariner Garners All-America Accolades
Freshman Jeremy Wariner clocked a season-best time of 46.12 to finish second in his heat and fourth in the prelims of the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships last weekend at the University of Arkansas' Randall Tyson Track Center. He proceeded to the finals where he finished seventh with a time of 46.21 to earn his first career All-America honor.
Ivery has Stellar Indoor Campaign
Sophomore Lakadron Ivery exploded out of the blocks during indoor competition. She set school records in both the 60-meter (7.37) and 200-meter (23.69) dashes. Both of those times were NCAA provisional qualifying marks. Ivery also met the provisional standard in the long jump. She placed in all three events at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. She made her first trip to the NCAA Championships, competing in both the 60 and 200.
Petrahn Concludes Career at Big 12 Indoor Championships
Barbara Petrahn concluded her stellar Baylor career at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. She is tied for the women's record, earning nine All-America honors. During her time with the Green and Gold, Petrahn anchored six relays to the NCAA finals as well as running third on one relay and twice earning individual All-America honors in the 400. Petrahn also was a five-time Big 12 champion, which also ties her for the Baylor women's record. The Gyor, Hungary-native clocked a provisional time of 54.24 in the 400, but it was not fast enough to qualify for another shot at All-America honors.
Hart Begins 40th Season at Baylor
Clyde Hart begins his 40th season as the head coach of Baylor's track and field program this season. In his tenure at BU, Hart has firmly established the Bear program as one of the best in the nation. Hart has coached athletes to 24 national championships (11 individual/13 relay) and 446 All-America awards (148 individual/298 relay). Named the men's assistant coach for Team USA at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Hart has coached athletes to ten world record performances. In 1996, he was named the Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee. That year he coached Michael Johnson to gold medals in the 200-meters and 400-meters at the Games of the 26th Olympiad in Atlanta, Ga. Hart also was named the NCAA Indoor Coach of the Year in 1996 after garnering such honors in 1989. A four-time Southwest Conference Indoor Coach of the Year, Hart has established Baylor as a quarter-mile powerhouse after producing 13 4x400 relay national champions and four individual 400-meter national champions.
School Indoor Records Fall
The Baylor recordbooks were rewritten during the 2003 indoor campaign. Junior Kyle King ran an impressive 5,000-meter race in the Olympic Development heat at the Tyson Invitational. He finished the race in a school-record and NCAA automatic qualifying time of 13:57.22. Senior Rebecca McPherson cleared a pole vault height of 10-8 1/4, which is a new indoor best for a Baylor women's pole vaulter. Sophomore Lakadron Ivery had an impressive meet at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. She set new school records in both the 60-meter dash (7.37) and the 200-meters (23.69) en route to scoring in both events. Junior Jordan Willmann also placed her name in the record book at the conference meet, accumulating a school-record heptathlon total of 3,891 points.
1,600 Relay Plagued by Injuries
The Baylor men's 1,600-meter relay qualified for the NCAA Championships and would have been running for its 19th-consecutive indoor All-America honor, but injuries forced the team to be scratched from the competition. The qualifying mark of 3:07.79 was clocked with a quartet that included sophomore All-American Darold Williamson. Since he was out with a hamstring injury, the Bears were already competing with the alternate. Jeremy Wariner suffered leg cramps during the open 400 which prevented him from anchoring the relay squad.
Williamson Remains Out
Sophomore All-American Darold Williamson has been out with a hamstring strain for more than a month now. The injury occurred during the 400-meter race at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 14. He is expected to return to the line-up next weekend at the Tom Tellez Invitational in Houston.
Men's Relays Run Away with Titles
The Baylor men's relay squads continued to be successful at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. They capped of the first night of the competition by taking first place in the Distance Medley Relay. Nick Devenport, Robbie Quiroga, Jordan Lewis and Kyle King combined to score the first 10 points for the men's team. In the final race of the championships, Seth Billy, Quiroga, Brian McDonald and Jeremy Wariner edged out Texas bringing home Baylor's sixth-consecutive 1,600 relay title.
NCAA Indoor Championships Recap
Four individuals and the men's 1,600 relay made the trip to Fayetteville, Ark. for the 2003 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. For the women, sophomore Lakadron Ivery and senior Debbie Thornhill each qualified for the first time. Ivery competed in both the 60 and 200-meter dashes, taking 20th place in the 60 (7.47) and 18th in the 200 (23.96). Thornhill exceeded the provisional mark in the 5,000-meter run. With a time of 16:26.36, she finished 14th.
On the men's side, junior Kyle King and freshman Jeremy Wariner qualified as individuals. King clocked a 14:28.60 to finish 15th in the 5,000-meter run. Wariner earned his first All-America honor, taking seventh in the 400-meter dash. Sophomore Darold Williamson had also met the automatic standard in the 400 but was unable to compete due to injury. The men's 1,600 relay made its 19th-consecutive trip to the indoor national championships, but was unable to run because of injuries to Williamson and Wariner. Overall, the men tied for 54th place with a total of two points.
Outdoor Track and Field Changes to Regional Format
Instead of qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships by the traditional method of automatic and provisional qualifying standards, the 2003 season will be the beginning of regional qualifying. Four two-day regionals will be held accross the country with the top five individuals and the top three relays advancing to nationals. At large bids, expected to be around six for individual events and five for relays, will then be selected based on the descending order lists compiled throught the season and the conference championships. The participants in the multi events, heptathlon and decathlon, and the 10,000-meter run will continue to be determined by the traditional format of automatic and provisional qualifying marks. The move to regional qualifying will increase the number of NCAA competitiors to nearly 1,100 participants.
