Baylor
Michael Johnson Classic
Track Impressive at Michael Johnson Classic
4/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
April 22, 2006
WACO, Texas - Baylor sophomore Brittany Devereaux (Denton, Texas) launched a new school-record discus throw of 53.12 meters (174-3) to claim the victory and move up to 21st in the national standings to highlight a successful meet for the Bears Saturday at the Michael Johnson Classic at Hart-Patterson Track & Field Complex. The Bears won 15 events and recorded 16 regional qualifying marks on the day.
The women's sprinters had an outstanding meet, finishing 1-2-3 in the 100 meters and the 200 meters. Sophomore Carla Grace (San Antonio, Texas) won the 100 meters with a season-best time of 11.64, followed closely by junior Kandace Tucker (Irving, Texas) at 11.65 and senior Marquisha Sefas (Ft. Worth, Texas) at 11.80. Tucker came back in the 200 meters to run 23.48 and clip Grace, who ran 23.59, while Sefas ran 23.85. All three ladies ran regional qualifying times in both events Saturday and teamed with senior Angel Perkins (Cerritos, Calif.) to win the 4x100-meter relay with a regional qualifying time of 44.74.
"It felt great for everything to finally come together," Grace said. "My start has gotten better and I finally got the regional qualifying time, so I'm thankful for that. As long as I keep getting faster and getting better, I'm happy."
Perkins won the 400 meters with a season-best time of 52.36, while freshman Katrina Taylor (Baton Rouge, La.) finished fourth in 54.46 - both regional qualifying times. Taylor, Tucker, Grace and Perkins then won the mile relay with a regional qualifying time of 3:36.24. Professional Sanya Richards, the world leader in the event, ran 50.44.
In the 400-meter hurdles, senior Shanta Bibbs (San Antonio, Texas) finished second with a regional qualifying time of 59.53 in only the second intermediate hurdles race of her career, while junior Lauren Tillman (Lawrenceville, Ga.) finished third and lowered her regional qualifying time to 59.57.
With the meet's namesake, former Baylor and Olympic legend Michael Johnson, looking on, the highlight of the meet for the fans was watching Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner run 44.12 to finish ahead of former Baylor teammate and fellow 4x400-meter relay gold medalist Darold Williamson, who ran 44.88. The Bears finished 1-2-3 in the 400 meters as junior Reggie Witherspoon (Marietta, Ga.) won the 400 meters with a regional qualifying time of 46.36, lowering his previous best from 46.99, while freshman Quentin Iglehart-Summers (San Antonio, Texas) ran a regional qualifying time of 47.16 and freshman R.J. Anderson (Big Pine Key, Fla.) finished third just missing the qualifying mark with a time of 47.34.
Senior Wil Fitts (DeSoto, Texas) won the 800 meters with a time of 1:48.69 to lead five runners that posted regional qualifying times. Freshman Erin Bedell (Plano, Texas) finished second in the 800 meters with a regional qualifying time of 2:07.72, giving her qualifying marks in both the 800 and 1,500 meters.
"It felt good to finally get my first win of the season and it came at the right time heading into the Big 12 Championships," Fitts said. "My goal is 1:47 and I've been putting the work in practice, so it will come sooner or later. The conditions were perfect and having the home crowd cheering you on is always a plus. I'm glad we had a good meet, so we can come back for Big 12 and do the same thing again."
Sophomore Lyndsy Bedell (Plano, Texas) won the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a regional qualifying time of 10:46.45, while junior Monique Ortega (El Paso, Texas) finished third in 10:56.53.
"The race was pretty good, it was a little warmer than at Stanford - I just kept thinking every time I hit the water, `this water is a lot warmer than it was there,'" Bedell said. "I can't be disappointed with my second-fastest time ever, and under these conditions, it was pretty good. At the Big 12 Championships, the race is almost at the same with around the same number of girls, so they will be similar."
Junior Mitch Sanders (Katy, Texas) won the 1,500 meters in 3:50.05, while sophomore Rey Hinojosa (Cedar Park, Texas) finished fourth in 3:58.31. Sophomore Lauren Hagans (Little Rock, Ark.) won the women's 1,500 meters with a time of 4:28.53, while freshman Charity Williams (Corpus Christi, Texas) took third in 4:34.34.
Junior Cody Wells (Crawford, Texas) won the 5,000 meters in 14:51.41 and junior Chris Cardwell (Abilene, Texas) won the hammer throw with a school-record mark of 50.94 meters (167-1).
The Bears also swept the men's relays with a 41.80 in the 4x100-meter relay and a 3:07.71 in the mile relay.
Sophomore Jeremy Jackson (Round Rock, Texas) had a regional qualifying time of 14.82 in the 110-meter hurdles and freshman Jacob Norman (Temple, Texas) ran a regional qualifying 10.42 in the 100 meters.
Senior Chris Gillis (Pennsauken, N.J.) finished second in the long jump with a mark of 7.61 meters (24-11 ¾). Senior Austin Heape (Dallas, Texas) finished second in the shot put with a toss of 15.28 meters (50-1 ¾). Freshman Stasia Kelly-Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.) took second in the triple jump at 12.08 meters (39-7 ¾). Freshman Kaleigh Teel (Friendswood, Texas) took third in the pole vault at 3.50 meters (11-5 ¾), beating out freshman teammate Ashley Korol (Wheaton, Ill.) on the judge's sheet.
The Bears return to action at the Drake Relays April 27-29 in Des Moines, Iowa, before taking a week off for finals. Baylor will then host the 2006 Big 12 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships May 12-14 at Hart-Patterson Track & Field Complex.
Players Mentioned
