Men's Track Team Jumps to Second at NCAA Championships
6/1/2001 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
June 1, 2001
EUGENE, Ore. - Oregon returned to its normal self here Friday as the clear skies and 80-degree temperatures that greeted the first two days of the 2001 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships gave way to overcast skies with drizzling rains and temperatures in the 60s. However, that did not deter Baylor's 12th-ranked men's team from climbing into the national championship picture.
Bayano Kamani and Michael Smith finished first and second, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles to give Baylor 18 points. Meanwhile, Floyd Thompson picked up four points with a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters. Added to the two and half points tallied by Jim Autenreith for a sixth-place tie in the pole vault Wednesday afternoon, Baylor stands in second place with 24.50 points through the third day of competition and the first 12 of 21 events. Oregon leads with 27 points, all garnered in the first two days.
The 1999 national champion, Kamani claimed his second national title with a time of 48.99 seconds to become the first three-time outdoor national champion in Baylor history. Kamani, who also won a national with the Bears' 4x400-meter relay team in 2000, was the runner-up last year when he was edged by four hundredths of a second. Smith turned in a season-best time of 49.34, he was eighth at the 2000 championships.
"Finishing 1-2 is far better than winning three years in a row would have been," Kamani said. "I knew Michael would be my biggest competition. It was just like the conference meet, we came around the last turn and there he was. I'd rather have Michael there than anybody."
Kamani's mark is the best in the nation this year, he has been the national leader in the 400-meter hurdles every day since he won at the Tellez Invitational with a clocking of 50.30 seconds March 31. Smith's time ranks second in the nation this season.
"I felt like I had the best chance out of anybody," Kamani said. "But sometimes when you think you have the upper hand, you really don't. It feels really good to be back on top. I didn't realize how good it feels to walk back up on the awards stand, and it's a lot different being in first than in second."
Smith said he and Kamani knew they could vault Baylor into the title picture with such a finish.
"We figured if we could go 1-2 in the hurdles and if Floyd could do something in the 800, with Brandon (Couts) in the 400 and the (4x400-meter) relay tomorrow that we will have a great chance to take home a trophy," Smith said. "As for my race, I hit the second hurdle hard and that cost me. I thought I would go out stronger, but Bayano was tough."
Thompson, who entered the finals as the final of eight qualifiers from the semifinals, ran 1:47.77, the second-fastest mark of his career. The Big 12 champion in the 800, Thompson was in the front four for the first 500 meters before Mao Tjiroze of Brigham Young pulled slightly ahead. However, Thompson came off the final turn with the lead and stayed a step ahead of Tjiroze all the way down the last straightaway.
Baylor will likely feel strong pushes by Tennessee and Texas Christian in the meet's final day. Both teams have several athletes in the finals of the 100 meters and 200 meters. The Volunteers are currently in third place with 21 points, while the Horned Frogs are in a four-way tie with Georgia, Utah State and Southern California for seventh place with 16 points. Arkansas (fourth, 20 points) and Texas-El Paso (fifth, 19 points) are also expected to make noise.
"It's been a great day," Baylor head coach Clyde Hart said. "We realize that tomorrow TCU and Tennessee have a lot of potential to score points with all the people they have in the sprints, but we also have potential to score a lot of points with the relay team and with Brandon (Couts) in the 400. But I told the kids to take it one day at a time, and that's what they're doing."
Hart said the Bears' second-place standing heading into the final day of competition is a pleasant surprise.
"We're in a better position than I thought we would be," Hart said. "Very seldom do you see teammates go 1-2 in an event, especially one like the intermediate hurdles. We're in the hunt for a trophy. Of course, our goal coming in was to finish in the top 10, and I think we've pretty well assured of doing that."
But the Baylor men's team did not have all the glory Friday. Chava Demart finished fifth in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.52 seconds. The school-record holder in the intermediate hurdles, Demart earns all-America honors for the first time as an individual. She was a member of the Bears' 4x400-meter relay team that was sixth last year.
"I was just happy to be here and to make it back from injury," said Demart, a junior who missed most of 2000 with stress fractures in her legs. "I see where I am now, and what I have to work toward for next year."
Kerry O'Bric, who finished sixth in the heptathlon last year, is 20th through the first four events at this year's championships.
The championships will conclude here Saturday. Along with Couts in the men's 400 and the men's 4x400-meter relay, Baylor will have Barbara Petrahn in the women's 400 meters and the women's 4x400-meter relay. Also, Kerry O'Bric will conclude her competition in the heptathlon.
2001 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships
Hayward Field - Eugene, Ore.
Men's Team Standings - through 12 of 21 events
1. Oregon, 27, 2. Baylor, 24.50, 3. Tennessee, 21, 4. Arkansas, 20, 5. (tie) Texas-El Paso, 19, Stanford, 19, 7. Texas A&M, 18, 8. (tie) Georgia, 16, Utah State, 16, Texas Christian, 16, Southern California, 16, 12. Alabama, 15, 13. (tie) South Carolina, 13, Notre Dame, 13, California, 13, 15. California, 12, 16. Brigham Young, 11, 17. (tie) Weber State, 10, Mississippi, 10, 17. (tie) Auburn, 8, Louisiana State, 8, Oklahoma, 8, Idaho State, 8.
Women's Team Standings - through 10 of 21 events
1. Southern California, 24, 2. (tie) UCLA 20, Brigham Young, 20, 4. Rice, 16, 5. Arkansas, 15, 6. (tie) Clemson, 13, Louisiana State, 13, 8. Arizona State, 12. ... 28. Baylor, 4.
Men's 400-meter hurdles
1. Bayano Kamani (Baylor), 48.99, 2. Michael Smith (Baylor), 49.34, 3. Viktors Lacis (Wichita State), 49.60, 4. Brian Derby (Penn State), 50.06, 5. Eric Dudley (Washington State), 50.28, 6. Laboris Bean (Oklahoma), 50.48, 7. Rickey Harris (Florida), 50.59, 8. Kurt Duncan (George Mason), 51.30.
Men's 800 meters
1. Otukile Lekote (South Carolina), 1:46.68, 2. Bryce Knight (Idaho State), 1:47.22, 3. Dirk Heinze (Arkansas), 1:47.35, 4. Michael Stember (Stanford), 1:47.49, 5. Floyd Thompson (Baylor), 1:47.77, 6. Mao Tjiroze (Brigham Young), 1:47.94, 7. Sam Burley (Pennsylvania), 1:48.44, 8. Eliud Kjubi (Texas Christian), 1:48.50.
Women's 400-meter hurdles
1. Brenda Taylor (Harvard), 55.88, 2. Allison Beckford (Rice), 56.22, 3. Angel Patterson (Texas), 56.45, 4. Frances Santin (Cal State-Northridge), 57.30, 5. Chava Demart (Baylor), 57.52, 6. Tawa Babatunde (Arkansas), 57.85, 7. Michelle Perry (UCLA), 59.64, 8. Erika Martensson (Texas-Arlington), 1:00.19.
