Track & Field: Miller Sets School Record in 800 Meters

Saturday, April 17

Waco, Texas

All Day

Baylor

Michael Johnson Invitational

Track & Field: Miller Sets School Record in 800 Meters

4/17/2021 11:35:00 PM | Track & Field

Complete Results

Maxwell Willis wins the men’s 200 meters with a time of 20.95

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Running just a few steps behind her, Aaliyah Miller watched as Texas A&M freshman Athing Mu made history Saturday night at the Michael Johnson Invitational.
            Already the NCAA indoor record-holder in the 800 meters, Mu shattered the NCAA outdoor record with a world-leading time of 1:57.73 to beat the reigning NCAA indoor champion while setting the stadium record at the Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium.
            "1:57, that's legend in the making. That's not even in the making, I watched it, I witnessed it, I saw it," said Miller, who broke the school record set by Olicia Williams six years ago (2:02.26), finishing as the runner-up with a time of 2:00.87. "It was really crazy. I'm not disappointed in myself at all. Props to her, I'm really proud of her."
            Baylor coach Todd Harbour says Mu's time is "probably a stadium record that'll never be broken." The previous stadium record of 2:00.72 was set in 2016 by Nike-sponsored Laura Roesler of Texas Elite. "For what Aaliyah did to run 2-flat . . . is really good right now, and 1:57 is ridiculous. We had a lot of great performances, but that was definitely the highlight. That was a big one."
            Miller, whose previous outdoor best was the 2:02.41 mark she ran on this same track three years ago in winning the 2018 Big 12 title, won the NCAA indoor championship five weeks ago with a school-record time of 2:00.69.
            "I knew it was going to be a fast race, because Athing is a great competitor. She's never going to run anything scrubby," Miller said. "I wanted to maintain contact with her and maintain contact with Olivia (Baker) and Kendra (Chambers), and tell myself that I belong up here and I can race with these girls."
            Ultimately, the race was won and lost on the first curve of the second lap, when Miller went wide to avoid getting trapped on the inside and fell too far behind Mu when she made her move.
            "When someone that's that talented, that may be the favorite to win an Olympic medal, makes a move, you've got to be ready to go," Harbour said. "You can't spot them two yards. Two yards becomes six. (Mu) is an incredible talent, but so is Aaliyah. We've got to take a little bit from this."
            A former Baylor All-American who's running for &Mother, Williams placed third with a personal-best time of 2:01.78 that meets the U.S. Olympic Trials qualifying standard. Baker and Chambers finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the elite race.
            "I'm still proud of myself, because I know all the stuff I've overcome to come to this spot and to feel great mentally, physically, and just really put everything together at this meet," Miller said. "It's just really nice to have that confidence building in and, obviously, helping more when we get to higher-stake meets."
            Baylor got some other outstanding performances in its second-straight and final home meet of the season, including a sweep of the 4x100-meter relays, Maxwell Willis winning the 200 in 20.95 and runner-up finishes by Howard Fields III in the 400 (46.28), Deshaun Jones in the 110-meter hurdles (14.03) and the 4x400 relay (3:09.56).
            "It was a good evening, and we're just glad that we kept everybody healthy and got a good meet in," Harbour said. "I just wish we had gotten better weather. I was praying and hoping, but we got some good things accomplished."
            After Baylor's 31 seniors were recognized, the evening session started with the women's 4x100 relay team of Caira Pettway, Demitra Carter, Sydney Washington and Mariah Ayers outdueling Texas A&M with a winning time of 44.50.
            In another 1-2 finish, the Baylor men's 4x100 relay team of Maxwell Willis, Isaiah Cunningham, Ryan Croson and Kamden Jackson beat the Aggies and recorded a winning time of 40.15.
            It was the start of a busy day for Willis, a fifth-year senior, who was the top collegiate runner and fifth overall in the 100 meters in 10.39. He came back less than an hour later to win the fifth of six heats in the 200 and record the best time of the day in 20.95.
            "I didn't wake up thinking I was going to run these times today," said Willis, who has battled injuries since earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2017. "It just happened. When God calls you to do something, no one else can silence it. . . . I stopped praying for wins and started praying for thanksgiving and just being thankful to be out here in the first place."
            The Baylor men's 4x400 relay was poised to close the night with another win, but former Baylor All-American Wil London III came from 20 yards back to nip Baylor anchor Hasani Barr and lead MFord Racing to the win.
            "To me, one of the biggest highlights of the day is we stayed healthy," Harbour said. "That was huge. You're out there all day, and it's cold and rainy and misty. To my knowledge, we came out of it in pretty good shape. And we had some really good performances, so I was excited about that."
            Highlighting the field events portion of the meet was Cole Hardan finishing second in the men's premier shot put with a mark of 58-0 ¼ and Mikayla Deshazer being the runner-up in the women's open shot put at 45-5 ¾.
            On top of the senior recognition, Baylor assistant coach and former NCAA triple jump champion Stacy Bowers-Smith was honored as a Baylor Legend.
            Baylor will compete in one-day meets the next two weeks at LSU and Texas A&M as final tune-ups for the Big 12 Outdoor Championships May 13-15 in Manhattan, Kan.

WACO, Texas – Aaliyah Miller set the Baylor school record in a historic 800 meters to highlight the second and final day of the Michael Johnson Invitational Saturday at Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium.

"Thanks for all of the work that people put in to make it a nice meet," head coach Todd Harbour said. "Thanks to all of the teams that came, and all of our officials. The weather wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great. It's hard out there for the officials two days in those elements, so you really take your hats off to them."

In what will go down as one of the greatest 800-meter races in collegiate history, Miller finished as the runner-up in a school record time of 2:00.87 behind only Athing Mu of Texas A&M, who set the collegiate record with a time of 1:57.73. Miller now holds both the indoor and outdoor school records in the 800 meters.

Both the men's and women's 4x100-meter relay teams took home victories to kick off the action-packed evening session.

The women's team of Caira Pettway, Demitra Carter, Sydney Washington and Mariah Ayers recorded a time of 44.50 to win the title, while the men's squad of Maxwell Willis, Isaiah Cunningham, Ryan Croson and Kamden Jackson won in a time of 40.15.

Willis was just getting started, as he placed fifth in the 100 meters with a season-best time of 10.39 before coming back and winning the 200 meters with a time of 20.95.

In the women's 200 meters, Mariah Ayers recorded the second-best collegiate time (23.56) to place fourth overall.

Howard Fields III made a strong push down the stretch in the men's 400 meters, finishing as the runner-up with a time of 46.28.

It was a strong day for Cole Hardan and Mikayla Deshazer in the shot put. Hardan placed second in the men's premier shot put with a mark of 58-00.25 (17.68m), while Deshazer was the runner-up in the women's open shot put with a throw of 45-5.75 (13.86m).

Deshaun Jones (14.03) took second in the men's 110-meter hurdles, while Eli Morris (14.17) placed third.

Ackera Nugent and Kavia Francis finished in fourth place in their respective events, as Nugent clocked in at 13.41 in the women's 100-meter hurdles while Francis registered a time of 54.00 in the women's 400 meters.

To close the day, the men's 4x400-meter relay team of Chris DuPree, Ryan Croson, Dillon Bedell and Hasani Barr took second in a time of 3:09.56.

"Our athletes competed hard," Harbour said. "We had some good performances. Some of them were impacted by the weather. It was tough for some of them to overcome. Some of them had to compete in the rain, and it's tough in the throwing events, pole vault, sprints, etc. There were some solid performances, but maybe the times weren't what you would like to see because it was just cold. But we had some great performances."

Next up for Baylor track & field is the LSU Alumni Gold April 23-24 in Baton Rouge, La.

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