April 30, 2004

NORMAN, Okla. - Baylor senior Jordan Willmann (Llano, Texas) won the 800 meters, but came up just short of the overall title in the heptathlon to finish second, her highest finish at a championship meet, and junior April Holliness (Duncanville, Texas) finished fourth in the long jump during day two action at the 2004 Big 12 Outdoor Championships Friday at John Jacobs Field.

Willmann scored 5,326 points, a season best, but Missouri's Jessica Stockard posted 5,378 to earn the title. Willmann ran a 2:14.52 in the 800, and had the second-longest mark in the long jump at 5.44 meters (17-10 ?), but threw only 28.87 meters (94-9) in the javelin to place ninth. The championship came down to the final event, where Willmann needed to beat Stockard by five seconds, but Stockard stayed close enough to Willmann and shattered her personal best in the event at 2:15.46 to hold on to the victory.

"To finish second is definitely not a letdown," Willmann said. "I'm happy with second, it's definitely better than third - I was getting tired of that place. After the javelin I realized I had a chance, this was a chance of a lifetime, especially being a senior."

"I didn't get out as fast as I should have in the 800, but Jessica had the advantage of having me in her sights and she knew what she had to do to win and hung in there, she's a great athlete. This was a weird meet, because the events I didn't think I would do well in, I did, and the events I thought I would do well in, I probably should have been better."

Holliness, a two-time All-American, battled through an ankle injury and finished fourth in the long jump with a mark of 6.31 meters (20-8 ?) to earn All-Big 12 honors for the fifth time.

The men's team got on the board in the last field event of the night, with freshman Dominique Zeigler (Killeen, Texas) finishing sixth at in the long jump at 7.49 meters (24-7) and junior Chris Gillis (Camden, N.J.) taking eighth with a mark of 7.44 meters (24-5). Both earned All-Big 12 honors, just as they did indoors in the winter.

All four of the Bear men qualified for the finals of the 400 meters with sophomore Jeremy Wariner (Grand Prairie, Texas) clocking a 46.02 and junior Darold Williamson (San Antonio, Texas) posting 46.33 to qualify 1-2. The duo also ranks 1-2 in the world, with Williamson holding down the top spot. Williamson is the two-time defending Big 12 outdoor champion, while Wariner was the NCAA and Big 12 indoor champion earlier this winter. Freshman Mark Teter (San Antonio, Texas) qualified sixth at 47.38, while senior Joel Martin (Stephenville, Texas) qualified seventh at 47.48.

Junior Lakadron Ivery (Tyler, Texas) qualified third in the 100 meters with a time of 11.54, then qualified second in the 200 meters at 23.23. Sophomore Marquisha Sefas (Ft. Worth, Texas) finished 12th at 11.97 and junior Elizabeth Wilson (Duncanville, Texas) finished 13th at 12.10 in the 100 meters. Wilson also qualified for the 200-meter finals with the eighth-best and a career-best time of 23.71, while Sefas finished 11th at 23.85 and Holliness finished 13th at 24.06.

Sophomore Wil Fitts (Desoto, Texas) almost cruised a little too much at the end of the 800 meters, qualifying ninth for the finals at 1:51.13. Freshman Kevin Mutai (Round Rock, Texas) finished 21st at 1:55.45, while junior Korey Wright (Arlington, Texas) finished 25th at 1:57.56.

Junior Danielle Myricks (Willingboro, N.J.) and freshman Lauren Tillman (Lawrenceville, Ga.) each qualified for the finals. Myricks had the fourth-fastest time at 1:00.93, while Tillman had the ninth-best time at 1:02.32.

Freshman Rena Napoleon (Colorado Springs, Colo.) had the fourth-fastest time in the women's 400 meters to qualify for the finals, while sophomore Shanta Bibbs (San Antonio, Texas) finished 11th at 55.85 and junior Lindsey Ramey (Garland, Texas) finished 18th at 59.15.

Freshman Bo Price (Atlanta, Texas) qualified for the finals of the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:49.76, the fifth fastest time and fewer than a second behind the top time. Sophomore Janelle Mulkey (San Antonio, Texas) qualified for the finals of the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.10, while senior Candace Carroll (Robinson, Texas) finished 13th at 14.81.

In the men's 100 meters, freshman Braelon Davis (Dallas, Texas) finished 10th at 10.72, while sophomore Jamen Saziru (Waco, Texas) finished 21st at 11.75. In the 200, Davis finished 12th at 21.43, freshman Stephen Harbour (Lorena, Texas) finished 15th at 21.76 and Saziru finished 17th at 21.81. Sophomore Brad Settles (San Antonio, Texas) finished 13th in the pole vault with a season-best mark of 4.70 meters (15-5). Sophomore Mary Pearce (Anchorage, Alaska) finished 11th in the 800 meters with a time of 2:12.23. In the shot put, sophomore Austin Heape (Dallas, Texas) finished 13th at 13.66 (44-9 ?), while freshman Blake Havran (Ft. Worth, Texas) finished 14th at 11.69 (38-4 ?). Senior Brandon Baker (DeMotte, Ind.) finished 16th in the 400-meter hurdles at 53.78.

The Bears return to action when the championships conclude Saturday. The first event is the women's triple jump at 1 p.m. The finals of the running events begin at 4 p.m. with the 4x100 relay and the meet wraps up with the 4x400 relay at approximately 7:30 p.m. Live results can be followed on baylorbears.com, soonersports.com and big12sports.com.

TEAM STANDINGS
Men: 1. Nebraska 47, 2. Texas A&M 36.5, 3. Texas Tech 28.5, 4. Kansas State 28, 5. Missouri 18, 5. Iowa State 18, 5. Oklahoma 18, 8. Texas 15, 9. Oklahoma State 14, 10. Colorado 5, 11. Baylor 4, 12. Kansas 2.

Women: 1. Texas A&M 65.5, 2. Nebraska 43.5, 3. Kansas State 35, 3. Missouri 35, 5. Colorado 20.5, 6. Texas 14, 7. Baylor 13, 8. Iowa State 12.5, 9. Kansas 12, 10. Texas Tech, 11. Oklahoma State 8, 12. Oklahoma 2.5.