April 27, 2002
DES MOINES, Iowa - Despite wind and rain-soaked conditions both Baylor's men's and women's 4x400-meter relays captured gold in the final day of competition at the 93rd annual Drake Relays.
The men's 4x400 returned to its dominance at Drake after having finished second in the race in 2001, snapping a nine-year win streak in the event. Sophomore Joel Martin ran a solid first leg for the Bears before handing off the baton to freshman Dwight Ruff. Ruff gave Baylor the early lead before falling into fourth-place in his final 100 meters. Senior Michael Smith then took over running an impressive 46.30 third-leg split to catapult the Bears from fourth to first, with a 10 meter cushion going into the final leg of the race. After a clean hand off, freshman Darold Williamson anchored the Bears with a 45.20 split, extending Baylor's lead to 15 meters crossing the finish line. The foursomes final time came in at 3:06.73, an NCAA provisional qualifying mark and the Bears second fastest outdoor time this season.
The Lady Bear 4x400 relay turned in an impressive performance of their own, winning the event for the first time since 1999 and for the seventh time in last nine years. Sophomore Tiffany Wise got the Bears out into second place before handing off to senior Chava Demart. Demart's 54.2 split kept the Bears in a solid second going into the third leg. Freshman Danielle Myricks then turned up the heat in the third leg running a 53.10-second 400 to propel the Bears into a three-meter lead going into the final lap. With the lead in hand senior Barbara Petrahn ran a sizzling 52.8 final leg to give the Bears a season-best time of 3:34.69,defeating runner-up Arkansas by over two seconds (3:36.86).
In other relay action, the women's 4x100-meter relay ran to a fourth-place finish in the finals with a time of 45.35. It was the second-best mark of the season for the foursome of Lakadron Ivery, Demart, Elizabeth Wilson, and Petrahn. They finished behind Georgia (44.08), Illinois (44.94) and Arkansas (45.05).
Other athletes racing for the Bears included Jon Capron in the 800 (6th, 1:53.11), Alisha Hooker in the 100-meter hurdles (7th, 14.36), and Matt Chance (7th, 3:53.97) and Ferenc Bekesi (9th, 3:56.49) in the 1,500.
Due to the inclement weather several athletes did not participate in today's events, including the open 400 meters, the 400-meter hurdles and the long jump.
Baylor track and field will return to action next weekend, Sat., May 4, at the Texas Invitational in Austin.
