Track & Field: Women’s 4x4 Advances to Final

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            AUSTIN, Texas– Having won five individual high school state championships on this very track, Aaliyah Miller has obviously had some great memories at Mike A. Myers Stadium.
            The Baylor sophomore made another one Thursday night.
            Stuck behind a frontrunning trio of Tennessee, Texas and South Carolina when she got the baton for the anchor leg of the 4x400-meter semifinals at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, Miller ran a blistering 52.34-second split and chased down two of the runners to qualify Baylor for Saturday's final with a qualifying time of 3:32.69.
            "It's really big for us," said Miller, who struggled in her 800-meter semifinal and placed 19^thoverall with a time of 2:06.30. "We've all, each individually, dealt with adversity this year – dealing with injuries, not running as fast as we want. So, for all of us to come together and run that fast time – when I saw that time pop up, I was like, 'Oh, my goodness!'''
            Seeded 23^rdout of the 24 teams going into the NCAA Championships, Baylor ran its second-fastest time of the year and knocked out a Tennessee team (3:32.88) that came in with one of the fastest times in the nation to make Saturday's final.
            "It's been a rough year for the ladies, so this was a big deal," Baylor coach Todd Harbour said. "We didn't have a whole lot go well at regionals. It was going to be depressing not having anybody running Saturday. So, it might not look like it, but for us it was a pretty big victory. There were some good teams that didn't make it."
            Baylor dug an early hole and was in the middle of the pack after a leadoff leg of 55.1 seconds by Victoria Powell, but senior All-American Kiana Horton returned from a toe injury to get the Bears back in it with a blistering second leg of 51.6.
            "I was really nervous, (because) I had never run second before," said Horton, who sat out the relay in the NCAA West Preliminary after failing to advance in the 400 meters. "I just knew I had to get them in a good position. First leg, you can't really tell with the stagger. But, the second leg is really where you put your team into position. And I knew Sydney (Washington) and Aaliyah would take care of business on the end."
            Harbour said they made the decision to move Horton up to the second leg, "because we felt like we needed to stay in it. And it worked out. She ran an amazing leg and got us back in it."
            Since the Sacramento meet two weeks ago, Horton had been getting treatment and doing some Alter-G training, but didn't have her first "ground workout" until Monday.
            "We had hoped all along she would be ready to go," he said. "That toe has just been really bothering her and inflamed, so it was good to see her get a good one in."
            With a solid third leg by Washington (53.45), Miller got the baton on the heels of NCAA Indoor champion and national-leading South Carolina. Still in fourth, Miller passed the Texas anchor on the final curve and then ran down Tennessee in the last 50 meters to finish second for the automatic qualifying spot.
            "That was amazing," Horton said. "I was screaming from the top of my lungs. But, I knew she could do it. As an 800 runner, she's got all the stamina, all the power in the world to bring us through. So, I kind of stat down on one of those stools and looked down. When I looked back up, it was the last 50, and I was like, 'Go Aaliyah!' She did what she had to do, and we're in the final."
            "I knew if we didn't (get one of the automatic qualifying spots), this would be the last time I ran with Kiana and (Powell). And I was like, 'No.' I put the team on my back and finished strong so we could have a chance to run the final on Saturday. . . . I felt like I got one of them, and then I could just read the two people in front of me. They weren't finishing as strong as I believed that I could. I just wanted to stay strong and finish it and hopefully get the (qualifying spot)."
            Harbour said Miller "didn't have time to feel sorry for herself" after failing to make the 800-meter final.
            "It shows you in our sport you have to bounce back pretty fast," Harbour said. "With a half-miler, she's strong, so you know she's going to have a strong finish. And she did what she needed to do. She knew there were girls on there that she could run with. But, if she hadn't been close, she wouldn't have had a shot. So, those other ladies did a great job getting her in that position."
            Baylor will draw Lane 8 for Saturday's final and has the slowest qualifying time of the eight finalists. USC (3:28.31) and Alabama (3:28.51) won the other two heats, with Florida (3:29.32) also recording a sub-3:30 time.
            "It's amazing to end my senior year with an All-American (honor)," Horton said. "I've been dealing with a lot of adversity on and off the track. So, just to get that one last Baylor hurrah right before I close this chapter of my life, I wouldn't want to do with anybody else but these four girls."
            In the 800 semifinals, Miller got off to a good start and had the lead when the runners made their first break. But she couldn't hold it, running a 1:02.17 first lap, and never made a big move on a lead group that included heat winner Jazmine Fray from Texas A&M.
            Fray won the heat and had the second-fastest qualifying time at 2:03.08, with Miller fading at the end and finishing eighth in the heat and 19^thoverall at 2:06.30. She had a season-best time of 2:03.68 in the NCAA West Preliminary, a time that would have got her into Saturday's final.
            "Once you're not in it, it's kind of hard to make it up," Miller said. "The 800 is two laps, so you don't really have time for any mistakes."
            Last year, after sweeping the Big 12 indoor and outdoor titles, Miller finished 23^rdout of 24 runners at the NCAA Championships.
            As the action turns back to the men's side on Friday, senior All-American Wil London will try to build off his unbelievable 44.16-second anchor leg split that got Baylor's 4x400 relay into the final with a season-best time of 3:02.54 that ranks fourth among the eight qualifiers.
            Before the night's closing relay event at 9:51 p.m., London will have a Lane 7 assignment for the 400-meter final that's scheduled to start at 8:32. London was second in his heat and recorded the fourth-fastest qualifying time at 45.32 in Wednesday's semifinals.
            The men already have five points on the board with freshman KC Lightfoot's fourth-place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 18-8 ¼. It was the first time in the history of the NCAA Championship that seven vaulters cleared 18-8 ¼ or better, with South Dakota's Chris Nilsen defending his title with a meet-record vault of 19-6 ¼.

AUSTIN, Texas - Aaliyah Miller ran a 52.34 split on the anchor leg to lead the Baylor women's 4x400-meter relay team to a come-from-behind second-place finish in the final heat, sending the Bears into Saturday's final at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.

Victoria Powell led off, Kiana Horton ran the second leg, Sydney Washington went third and Miller closed the deal to give Baylor a time of 3:32.69, just shy of a season best and good for an automatic bid to the finals.

"We expect to be there, but they've had to battle some pretty good stuff this year," head coach Todd Harbour said. "With Kiana's toe, Aaliyah coming back off a tough 800. That was disappointing for her. She got back up and ran a great leg. All of those ladies did. Kiana got us back in it with a big leg. Sydney's still learning how to run it, and she did a great job. We're really proud of them. There are some good teams that didn't make it."

Earlier in the night, Miller placed 19^th in the 800 meters after running 2:06.30 to come up short of the finals.

The men's team is back up Friday as Wil London competes for the national championship in the 400 meters at 8:32 p.m. CT and the 4x400-meter relay team looks to take home the title at 9:51 p.m. CT. Live results can be found at https://dt8v5llb2dwhs.cloudfront.net/NCAA/index.htm.

For continued updates on the Baylor Track & Field team, follow the team's social media accounts all season long: @BaylorTrack.

Track & Field: Women’s 4x4 Advances to Final

Players Mentioned

Kiana Horton

KC Lightfoot

Wil London

Aaliyah Miller

Victoria Powell

Sydney Washington

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