Baylor
Drake Relays
Track Adds Two More Drake Relays Crowns
4/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
April 30, 2011
Drake Relays Results | Mean Green Twilight Results
DES MOINES, Iowa - For the seventh consecutive season, Baylor's men's 4x400-meter relay won the crown on the final day of the 102nd Drake Relays on Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.
For the fifth consecutive season, Baylor won at least four relay titles at the meet, giving the team 25 over that span. The Bears added two victories on Saturday, winning the men's 4x400-meter relay and women's 4x100-meter relay.
"We had another outstanding weekend at the Drake Relays, with four more victories and a bunch of near-misses," head coach Todd Harbour said. "This meet is always great competition and a great atmosphere for our team to get to run in with the national meet being back here in six weeks. Our ladies really stepped up big in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays, and our men performed at a high level as well."
Baylor held true to form in the men's 4x400-meter relay, claiming the Drake title for the seventh consecutive season and 17th time in the last 20 Drake Relays. Grabbing the lead from the opening leg, the crew of Zwede Hewitt, Whitney Prevost, Joe Barb and Marcus Boyd strengthened their iron-grip on the event at Drake with a time of 3:05.01.
The Baylor women surprised the competition in the 4x100-meter relay, moving up from the third-fastest qualifying spot to race past the field for their fifth Drake Relays title in the history of the event. The group of Tiffani McReynolds, Tiffany Townsend and Brittany Carr, who anchored for the first time in 2011, ran the nation's fourth-fastest time and a Drake record of 43.75. The win marks the third in the event at Drake in the past six seasons and first since 2008.
Townsend, Bruce and Richardson then joined forces with Brittany OgunMokun to shave more than four seconds off their season best, but couldn't hold off Arkansas in the 4x400-meter relay. The Baylor group's runner-up time of 3:31.58 is the third best in the NCAA this season, and the seventh best in program history.
On the men's side, Illinois ran their best time of the year by more than a full second to unseat the defending champion Baylor for top honors in the 4x100-meter relay. BU's contingent of Marcus Boyd, Whitney Prevost, Woodrow Randall and Zwede Hewitt ran a season-best time of 39.19.
Individually for the women, sprinters Townsend and McReynolds warmed up their day each with a top-three finish. Townsend was edged by .02 seconds in the 100 meters to finish second overall with a time of 11.19.
In the men's 400-meter hurdles, freshman Gabriel El Hanbli turned in a career-best performance from Lane 8 to place fifth overall in the event. El Hanbli's time of 50.77 was fourth in his heat and ranks just outside of the top 10 in the NCAA this season.
Both the men's and women's sprint medley relay teams claimed fourth-place finishes early in the day. On the women's side, sophomore Lizzy Whitney brought the Lady Bears from seventh to fourth on her 800-meter anchor leg. Brittany Carr and Idia Omogiate started the race with 200-meter legs, followed by a 400-meter carry from Alyssa Nichols. The team finished the race with a time of 3:54.98.
For the men, sophomore Drew Seale moved the Bears from fourth to third on his 400-meter third leg, passing to James Gilreath for the 800-meter carry. Gilreath couldn't make up the distance to the two leaders, finishing third in the heat and fourth overall. Joe Barb and Dennis Scruggs ran the opening 200-meter legs for the team that finished with a time of 3:20.95.
Baylor's men distance medley relay, poised for a top finish, had a botched handoff on the first exchange between the 1,200-meter leg, Zac Flowers, and the 400-meter leg Drew Seale. James Gilreath and Gavyn Nero completed the relay, but the falter on the baton exchange put the team well behind the leaders. Baylor finished in 12th at 10:03.32.
In other action for Baylor, senior Joe Farley won the pole vault at the Bobcat Invitational at Texas State. Farley cleared a career-best 16-10.75 for his second victory of the season.
Baylor also had several competitors at the Mean Green Twilight Invitational at North Texas, but results were not immediately available at press time. The results will be compiled and released as soon as available.
MEAN GREEN TWILIGHT RESULTS
Baylor made the most of a small contingent of student-athletes in the field at the Mean Green Twilight on Saturday night in Denton, Texas. The Bears combined to win two of the three events they were entered in, including both of the 400-meter hurdle events.
Christina Holland and Michelle Nwachukwu finished 1-2 in the women's 400-meter hurdles with times of 1:01.92 and 1:03.29, respectively. On the men's side, Chance Casey was first and Philip Raaf was fourth in the one-lap hurdle event. Casey finished in 52.70, while Raaf crossed the line in 54.02.
Baylor's Robert Griffin III made his return to the track for the first time since earning All-America honors at the 2008 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Griffin took on the 200-meter field, finishing in a time of 21.46 to place sixth overall.
Baylor will have a week off to fine tune for its next event, the Big 12 Outdoor Championships on May 13-15 in Norman, Okla. The Bears will look to improve on last year's fifth-place men's finish and eighth-place women's finish.
COMPLETE DRAKE RELAYS BAYLOR RESULTS
Women's 100 Meters
2. Tiffany Townsend (SR), 11.19
Women's 1,500 Meters
12. Leigh Ann Ganzar (SR), 4:27.07 (Career best)
Women's 100-Meter Hurdles
3. Tiffani McReynolds (FR), 13.08
Men's 400-Meter Hurdles
5. Gabriel El Hanbli (FR), 50.77 (Career best, Ranks 11th in NCAA)
Women's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase
18. Kristen Hanselka (JR), 10:56.31
Women's 4x100-Meter Relay
1. Tiffani McReynolds, Tiffany Townsend, Brittany Bruce, Brittany Carr - 43.75 (Fourth in NCAA, Third all-time at BU)
Men's 4x100-Meter Relay
2. Marcus Boyd, Whitney Prevost, Woodrow Randall, Zwede Hewitt - 39.19 (Season best)
Women's 4x400-Meter Relay
2. Diamond Richardson, Tiffany Townsend, Brittany OgunMokun, Brittany Bruce - 3:31.58 (Season best, Fourth in NCAA)
Men's 4x400-Meter Relay
1. Zwede Hewitt, Whitney Prevost, James Gilreath, Marcus Boyd - 3:05.01
Women's Sprint Medley Relay
4. Brittany Carr, Idia Omogiate, Alyssa Nichols, Lizzy Whitney - 3:54.98
Men's Sprint Medley Relay
4. Dennis Scruggs, Joe Barb, Drew Seale, James Gilreath - 3:20.95
Men's Distance Medley Relay
12. Zac Flowers, Drew Seale, James Gilreath, Gavyn Nero - 10:03.32
Women's Triple Jump
5. Jessica Ubanyionwu (JR), 41-4.25
Players Mentioned
