March 5, 2011
Alex Wilson Invitational Results
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Select members of Baylor's track and field team improved their standing among NCAA leaders at the Alex Wilson Invitational last chance qualifying meet on Saturday at the University of Notre Dame.
"Overall, we had some nice performances and some really good personal-bests today," head coach Todd Harbour, "We have a few that will end up being right on the edge of making the field, depending on which qualifiers enter each event. It was a good meet for us, and hopefully we'll get another one or two in the NCAA field."
All five of Baylor's entries in the meet improved their season-best performances, including four individuals and the women's 4x400-meter relay. Half-milers Gavyn Nero and James Gilreath, along with Diamond Richardson in the 400 meters, each moved their marks into what would rank in the top 16 in the NCAA entering the weekend. However, last chance qualifying meets at Washington and Virginia Tech will be added to the final season standings once those events conclude.
Nero and Gilreath each neared the automatic qualifying mark of 1:48.00, running their fastest times of the season. Nero placed second overall in the race with his personal-best of 1:48.20, the second-fastest time ever run at Baylor. The time moves Nero from 35th entering the week to 15th at press time, putting him on the verge of making the championship field.
Gilreath, on the other hand, was right on Nero's heels at 1:48.26, the second-best time of his career. One year ago at Notre Dame, Gilreath used the last chance qualifier to run a 1:48.00 in the 800 to earn an automatic spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships and set the school record. Gilreath made the biggest leap of the day in the standings, moving from 77th to 16th.
For the women, Richardson shaved nearly a full second off her season-best and nearly a half-second off her personal best with a meet-winning time of 53.40. The time moves Richardson from 48th to 22nd at press time, which will likely miss the NCAA field.
Women's 800-meter runner Brittany OgunMokun dropped more than two seconds off her previous best with a 10th place time of 2:07.93, moving her only to 41st in one of the NCAA's deepest events. The sophomore's previous best time this season was 2:10.03.
OgunMokun and Richardson also made up half of Baylor's women's 4x400-meter relay team, along with Lizzy Whitney and Brittany Bruce. The crew was able to improve Baylor's season-best time by almost two seconds, placing seventh overall at 3:37.74.
Baylor's NCAA qualifiers will compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend on March 12-13, in College Station, Texas. Tiffany Townsend (60m, 200m), Tiffani McReynolds (60m Hurdles), Skylar White (shot put) and Baylor's men's 4x400-meter relay have all met automatic qualifications. The entire NCAA championship field will be announced on Sunday evening, March 6.
