Baylor
Big 12 Championships
Chris Gillis Explodes to Big 12 Long Jump Title
5/14/2006 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
May 13, 2006
WACO, Texas - Baylor senior Chris Gillis (Pennsauken, N.J.) popped a career-best leap of 7.97 meters (26-1 ¼) on his final attempt to claim the long jump crown as Texas A&M's Fabrice Lapierre, the national leader, fell short on the competition's final jump Saturday at the 2006 Big 12 Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Hart-Patterson Track & Field Complex.
"Coming into the meet, I knew it was a loaded field and I wouldn't win if I didn't jump my best," Gillis said. "My coaches told me to not worry about what everyone else is doing and just go out and do my best and everything will be fine. Having such great competition shows that I'm not scared of anyone and now I know I can jump with the best."
Gillis' won his first career conference title with the fifth-best mark in school history, and he became only the second Baylor athlete to clear 26 feet. Current associate head coach Danny Brabham holds the school's top four marks in the event. Lapierre finished second at 7.88 meters (25-10 ¼), while Nebraska's Arturs Abolins, the nation's second-ranked long jumper, finished third at 7.85 meters (25-9 ¼). Freshman two-sport athlete Queito Teasley (Katy, Texas), a wide receiver on the Bears' football team, finished sixth with a mark of
The Baylor women tied Texas with 12 qualifiers for Sunday's running finals, highlighted by freshman Erin Bedell (Plano, Texas) clocking the top qualifying time in the 1,500 meters at 4:29.93, while junior Ruth Waller (Manchester, England) qualified sixth in 4:33.91. Sophomore Jessi Barnes (Bentonville, Ark.) finished 18th with a time of 4:46.25.
"I've tried to clear (being sick) from my mind - I tried not to think about it and get my legs back," Bedell said. "It's a really good field, so we just tried to stay relaxed and make sure we make it to the finals. Tomorrow I would just like to get a PR, place well and score for the team."
Three Bears qualified for the women's 200-meter final as sophomore Carla Grace (San Antonio, Texas) qualified fourth in 23.49, senior Angel Perkins (Cerritos, Calif.) qualified fifth in 23.71 and junior Kandace Tucker (Irving, Texas) qualified sixth in 23.71. Senior Marquisha Sefas (Ft. Worth, Texas) fell just short of the finals, finishing ninth with a time of 24.01. Tucker also qualified for the 100-meter final with a time of 11.68 as did Grace, clocking 11.61. Sefas finished 13th with a time of 11.92.
Perkins clocked 53.36 to qualify third for the 400-meter final, while freshman Katrina Taylor (Baton Rouge, La.) qualified seventh in 54.66. Sophomore Janet Jones (Houston, Texas) finished 18th in 56.94.
Senior Shanta Bibbs (San Antonio, Texas) qualified third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 59.88, while junior Lauren Tillman (Lawrenceville, Ga.) qualified fourth in 59.46. Sophomore Lauren Hagans (Little Rock, Ark.) had the fourth-fastest qualifying time in the 800 meters with a time of 2:07.42.
The women also have sophomore Brittany Devereaux (Denton, Texas) competing in the discus, sophomore Erin Bedell (Plano, Texas) and junior Monique Ortega (El Paso, Texas) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, possibly both the Bedell sisters, Ortega and junior Brittany McGuire (Humble, Texas) in the 5,000 meters and freshman Stasia Kelly-Taylor (Atlanta, Ga.) in the triple jump. The Bears will also run the 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays.
On the men's side, senior Jerome Miller (Houston, Texas) qualified for the finals in both the 110- and 400-meter hurdles. Miller qualified third in the 110 with a time of 13.84 and sixth in the 400 with a time of 51.75.
"My thing is I'm a better starter than most, but I haven't had that in a while," Miller said. "I had a good practice and pushed my body, so now it seems to be coming together."
Freshman Jacob Norman (Temple, Texas), the NCAA indoor champion in the 60 meters, tied for the fastest qualifying time in the 100 meters, clocking a season-best 10.32. Senior Wil Fitts (DeSoto, Texas) qualified third in the 800 meters with a time of 1:49.54, while junior Kevin Mutai (Round Rock, Texas) finished 16th in 1:53.86.
Three Bears qualified for the finals in the 400 meters, with junior Reggie Witherspoon (Marietta, Ga.) qualifying fourth in 46.86, freshman Quentin Iglehart-Summers (San Antonio, Texas) qualifying fifth at a season-best 46.60 and junior Mark Teter qualifying eighth in 47.07. Freshman R.J. Anderson (Big Pine Key, Fla.) finished 16th in 48.06, while freshman Jesse Rice (Hollister, Calif.) finished 23rd in 49.17.
Senior Bo Price (Atlanta, Texas) finished 17th in the 1,500 meters in 3:57.56, sophomore Rey Hinojosa (Cedar Park, Texas) finished 18th in 3:57.66 and junior Mitch Sanders (Katy, Texas) finished 22nd in 4:01.97. Sophomore Jeremy Jackson (Round Rock, Texas) finished 10th in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.25 and 19th in the 100-meter dash in 10.89, while senior Janelle Mulkey (San Antonio, Texas) also finished 10th in the women's 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.98 and 19th in the 100-meter dash in 12.40. Freshman Rachael Long (Houston, Texas) finished 16th in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:03.89, while Teasley finished 12th in the 200 meters in 21.48.
Freshman Kaleigh Teel (Friendswood, Texas) finished 11th in the pole vault with a mark of 3.65 meters (11-11 3/4), while freshman Ashley Korol (Wheaton, Ill.) finished 13th with a vault of 3.50 meters (11-5 3/4).
Sunday's field events begin at 11 a.m., while the running event finals begin at 5:30 p.m. For more on the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, please visit the Championships Central page at http://baylorbears.cstv.com/sports/c-track/stats/030206aab.html.
Players Mentioned
