By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Going in as fresh and healthy as both sides have been maybe since the end of the indoor season, Baylor track and field coach Michael Ford is excited to see what the Bears can do at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships that begin Friday at the John Jacobs Track & Field Complex in Norman, Okla.
            "I think the big thing for us is to get as many points as we can," said Ford, whose teams are projected to place sixth in both the men's and women's divisions.
            "We can probably get fourth on both sides if we just hit right. The ones that need to step up need to step up, the ones that are in the top eight (in an event). I think we have 13 men and 10 ladies in the top eight. If they do their part, and then somebody else brings up, I think we'll be fine."
            Baylor will get a boost from the healthy return of Ricquan Graham, Kavia Francis and Ben Conacher.
            Graham has been out since Texas Relays with a slight PCL tear, but has season-best times of 10.37 (100 meters) and 20.96 (200); Francis, a two-time Big 12 champion in the 4x400 relay, has been limited by a minor stress reaction; and Conacher's had shoulder issues since finishing second at last month's Michael Johnson Invitational with a career-best vault of 17-8 ¼.
            Francis, named the Co-Female Student-Athlete of the Year at last week's Golden Bruisers, "had a great season last year," Ford said.
            "I was so proud of her, especially dealing with all the stuff she's been dealing with this year," he said. "But it was a huge honor. We actually cleaned up quite a bit at the Golden Bruisers. I'm just proud of how the team has been performing on and off the track."
            Ranked just outside of the top 25 at No. 27, the Baylor men's strongest event is not surprisingly the 400 meters. The Bears had three finalists at the NCAA Indoor Championships and hold four of the top eight spots going into the Big 12 meet – Hasani Barr (2^nd, 45.56), Dillon Bedell (3^rd, 45.68), Demar Francis (45.84) and Matthew Moorer (8^th, 46.02.
            "Honestly, I feel like we're probably the deepest (4x400 relay) team in the NCAA," Bedell said, "just the fact that we have arguably five people who could go 44 in the open (40) and at least six who can also split 44 on any of the legs on the 4x4. That's a testament to Coach Ford's training."
            Baylor has two of the top-10 times in the nation in the 4x400 relay and is ranked No. 1 in the Big 12 with a time of 3:00.61 that it ran at Texas Relays. Indoors, the foursome of Bedell, Francis, Moorer and 400-meter hurdler Nathanel Ezekiel placed fifth at the NCAA Championships in 3:03.60.
            "I think this is probably the deepest we've had on both sides, the men and women," Ford said. "We've had some kids step up. I think on the men's side, we're probably seven-deep."
            Other than the 4x400 relay, topping the list of Baylor hopefuls is defending champion and All-American Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi in the men's javelin. He is ranked fourth nationally with a league-leading mark of 262 feet, 5 inches.
            "His ankle's healed up, and I think he's ready to throw some bombs out there this weekend," Ford said.
            Ezekiel ranks third nationally and second in the Big 12 in the 400-meter hurdles, matching a career-best with a time of 49.24 that he ran at Texas Relays.
            On the women's side, grad transfer Annamaria Kostarellis from New Mexico ranks first in the Big 12 and seventh nationally in the 10,000 meters with a school-record time of 32:13.77. But for the conference meet, she will compete in the 5,000 with a mark of 15:39.16 that ranks second in the league and top-20 nationally.
            "I definitely think I'm more suited for the longer events," Kostarellis said, "so I'll be racing the 5K here at conference and then transition to the 10K for (the NCAA) first rounds. Just doing the 5K to get my legs a little bit more of a break before really rolling into those longer events."
            Kostarellis, who started her collegiate career at Xavier before three seasons at New Mexico, hails from Rochester, N.Y., the same hometown as Ford.
            "He is absolutely (a legend)," Kostarellis said of Baylor's head coach and former All-America quarter-miler. "He's on the Section 5 record board from the same place where I ran. I also have a friend that was a huge Michael Ford fan. So, when he heard that I took a visit to Baylor, he was like, 'No way! You're kidding!' And he pulled up a photo with Coach Ford back in the day when he was still running. And he was like, 'You've got to go to Baylor, it'll be so sick.'''
            Finishing semester final exams on Thursday, Baylor's student-athletes get to focus solely on track & field for the next three days.
            "We all get a chance to get a taste of what the professional life is," Bedell said. "Not having to go to class, just training, sleep, nutrition and run."
            Kostarellis said she gets to "sit by the pool, eat good food and train. It's the life."
            The Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be streamed all three days by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with DeltaTiming providing a full meet schedule and live results.


NORMAN, Okla. – Baylor track and field opens the 2023 postseason in the Big 12 Outdoor Championships at the John Jacobs Track & Field Complex on the University of Oklahoma campus. The meet begins early on Friday morning with the 10,000 meters at 7 a.m. and continues through Sunday evening.
 
The Baylor men enter the competition just outside of the top 25 at No. 27 and sixth in the Big 12. Chinecherem Prosper Nnamdi in the javelin and the men's 4x400 squads lead the Big 12 in the outdoor marks, while Nathaniel Ezekiel (400mH) and Hasani Barr (400m) occupy the second-best spots.
 
The men's 200- and 400-meter races leaderboards are filled with Bears at four each, the most of any school. Demar Francis, Kamden Jackson, Matthew Moorer and Barr find spots in the 200, while Barr, Dillon Bedell, Francis and Moorer are in the quarter-mile list. 
 
The Baylor women are 36^th nationally and sixth in the Big 12. Annamaria Kostarellis is the lone Bear atop the conference standings with her program record-setting mark in the 10,000 meters at the Stanford Invitational.
 
The women's 4x400 mark of 3:29.75 ran at the Michael Johnson Invitational in Waco is second in the league, paired with Kostarellis again in the 5,000 meters. 
 
On the national list, Baylor showcases five top-10 marks, including two men's 4x400 marks, Kostarellis' 10k, Ezekiel in the 400mH and Prosper Nnamdi in the javelin.
 
All three days of the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. A full meet schedule and live results from DeltaTiming can be found online. 
 
Tickets are available now through the OU ticket office and can be found online or in-person for single day and weekend passes.