Track Preview - Big 12 Outdoor Championships

May 14, 2002

WACO, Texas -

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Big 12 Outdoor Championships
Audrey J. Walton Track Stadium * Columbia, Mo.
May 17-19, 2002

Schedule -
Friday: 11:30 a.m. - 7 p.m.
Saturday: 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday: 10 a.m. - 6:30 p.m.

For a complete schedule please visit the Missouri athletics website at www.mutigers.com.

Participating Teams: Baylor, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech

Television: Fox Sports Net Southwest will be televising this year's championships on a tape-delay basis. The broadcast is scheduled to air Thursday, May 23 at noon and then again Sunday, May 26 at 4 p.m.

Bears heads to Columbia for Big 12 Outdoor Championships - Baylor's men's and women's track and field teams will return to action this week, traveling to Columbia, Mo., for the 2002 Big 12 Outdoor Championships, May 17-19. Festivities will get under way Friday, May 17 with the heptathlon, decathlon, and the men's and women's 10,000 meters and hammer throw. Competition will wrap up Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. with the finals of the men's 4x400-meter relay. For a complete meet schedule and live updated results, visit the Missouri website at www.mutigers.com.

Baylor men climb to 20th in Trackwire poll - The Baylor men climbed one spot to No. 20 in the latest Trackwire Top 25 poll released May 14. The Bears are tied at the No. 20 spot with three other teams (Clemson, Eastern Michigan, Michigan) with 13 total points, while Tennessee tops the chart with 85 points. The Bears have been ranked as high as ninth this season (April 9). Week by week national rankings for the Baylor Bears can be viewed on the page six sidebar.

Bears among the nation's elite - Baylor's men's and women's 4x400-meter relay teams as well as five other Bear athletes are listed among the nation's elite in the latest "Dandy Dozen" rankings compiled by Trackwire. The Dandy Dozen provides a detailed overview and ranking of the top 12 athletes in each NCAA track & field event based on several factors, including performances at major competitions, progression of marks throughout the season and times and places in head-to-head competition against name competitors. Below is a complete list of Baylor athletes represented in the nation's top-12 this week:

Athlete(s)                    Event          Nat'l Ranking   Top MarkJim Autenreith                    Pole Vault 10th            18-0 1/2Dwight Ruff                  400 Hurdles    9th         50.55Michael Smith                  400 Hurdles    5th         50.47Darold Williamson          400 meters 5th         45.28Smith, Ruff, Quiroga, Williamson 4x400 relay    4th         3:05.28Barbara Petrahn                  400            11th            52.73Wise, Demart, Myricks, Petrahn   4x400 relay    8th         3:34.69

Last Year at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships - Baylor claimed five conference titles at the 2001 Big 12 Outdoor Championships hosted by Texas A&M. On the women's side, Barbara Petrahn won her second consecutive conference championship in the 400 meters with an impressive 51.85 clocking. The men's team brought home four championships of their own as Zsolt Szeglet led a top-three Baylor sweep in the 400 meters with a time of 45.43, Floyd Thompson won the 800 crown in 1:48.40, Bayano Kamani finished first in the 400-meter hurdles (49.22) and the 4x400-meter relay team of Brandon Couts, Kamani, Michael Smith and Floyd Thompson won Baylor's fourth consecutive title in the event with a mark of 3:02.92. The men's team finished fourth at the meet with 88 points, while the women's team total of 80 points placed fifth.

The Bears history at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships - With its five titles at the 2001 championships, Baylor has now won 23 Big 12 titles since the conference's inception. The women have claimed eight titles (seven individual, one relay), while the men have won 15 (10 individual, five relay). In addition, the men's 4x400-meter relay has won four consecutive conference titles dating back to the 1998 season (4x440-yard relay in 1999).

Baylor athletes competing at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships -
WOMEN: Stephanie Bennett (steeplechase); Candice Carroll (100 hurdles); Chava Demart (400 hurdles, relays); Rebecca Denham (pole vault); Katherine Duncan (1,500); Eboni Hammond (discus); April Holliness (long jump, triple jump, 200, relays); Alisha Hooker (100 hurdles); Annie Housholder (heptathlon); Lisa Housholder (javelin); Lakadron Ivery (long jump, 100, 200, relays); Candice Kolb (5,000, 10,000); Leah Marbach (steeplechase); Megan McCoin (5,000, 10,000); Lanie Millar (800); Danielle Myricks (400 hurdles, relays); Kara Newton (5,000, 10,000); Lisa Padon (pole vault); Barbara Petrahn (200, 400, relays); Debbie Thornhill (5,000, 10,000); Rachal Tibbs (800); Jessa Vacek (steeplechase); Jordan Willmann (heptathlon); Elizabeth Wilson (100, 200, relays); Tiffany Wise (800, relays).
MEN: Jim Autenreith (pole vault); Jason Baker (steeplechase); Ron Beauford (javelin); Ferenc Bekesi (1,500, 5,000); Sam Bernal (5,000, 10,000); Jon Capron (800); Matt Chance (1,500, 5,000); Charley Donaldson (pole vault); Chris Gillis (long jump); Sherman Harness (high jump, long jump); T.J. Henderson (pole vault); Ryan Jeffrey (400, relays); Kyle King (5,000); Jordan Lewis (400 hurdles); Matt Linn (long jump); Joel Martin (400, relays); Robert Quiroga (200, 400, relays); Dwight Ruff (400 hurdles, relays); Michael Smith (400 hurdles, relays); Charles Sterling (400, relays); Darold Williamson (400, relays); Korey Wright (800).

Petrahn sets sights on Baylor conference title record - After winning both the 200 meters and the 600 yards at the Big 12 Indoor Championships, senior Barbara Petrahn is currently tied with three other Baylor athletes for the women's school record for most overall conference titles (5). An additional conference title this weekend would make Petrahn the most decorated female athlete in Baylor's conference history. In all, four of Petrahn's conference titles have come in individual events (200 meters - 2002; 400 meters - 2000, 2001; 600 yards - 200 meters), while the fifth came as a member of the 2000 4x400 meter relay team. Her four individual event conference titles tie her with two former BU athletes (current Baylor assistant coach Stacey Bowers and Lisa Stone) for second all-time on Baylor's individual conference title list.

Williamson sweeps the conference? - After taking home gold in the 400 meters at the Big 12 Indoor Championships (47.01), freshman Darold Williamson looks to complete the 2002 sweep of 400 meter conference honors this weekend in Columbia, Mo. Heading into this weekend's championships Williamson owns the Big 12's top time in the event having already automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships with a time of 45.28. Williamson will also anchor the men's 4x400-meter relay that hopes to win its fifth consecutive Big 12 outdoor title. The Bears won the 2002 indoor title earlier this year in Lincoln, Neb, bringing home gold with a time of 3:08.15.

Holliness jumping for joy - All-American long jumper April Holliness matched her feat from the indoor season, setting a school record in the long jump at the Michael Johnson Invitational with an NCAA automatic qualifying distance of 21-4 1/2. Holliness' distance blew away the previous record of 20-10 3/4 set by Brandi Harris during the 1997 season. She enters this weekend's Big 12 Championships with the conference's top distance in the long jump and the third-best mark in the triple jump (41-11 1/4). Earlier this year the Duncanville, Texas native posted a personal best mark of 42-1 1/4 in the triple jump, however her meet-winning jump was performed with an illegal wind reading, negating its NCAA provisional status.

In awe of Autenreith - Pole vaulter Jim Autenreith recorded his best clearance since the 2000 season at the Michael Johnson Invitational, topping 18-0 1/2. The senior from Houston, Texas became just the eighth athlete in Baylor history to reach the 18-0 1/2 plateau. Autenreith's clearance currently ranks fifth in the nation and second in the Big 12 Conference.

Petrahn named Big 12 Athlete of the Week - Senior Barbara Petrahn was honored as the Big 12 Athlete of the Week (May 14) for winning both the 100- and 200-meter titles at the Texas A&M All-Comers meet. The senior provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships in both events with times of 11.44 in the 100 and 23.47 in the 200. Her time in the 100 currently ranks second in the Big 12, while her mark in the 200 is third. Petrahn was the first Baylor track athlete to receive Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors this season.

Millar breaks her own 800-meter school record - Lanie Millar, a former walk-on, broke her own school record in the 800 meters at the Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. Her time of 2:06.08, an NCAA provisional qualifying mark, was good enough for a seventh place finish and improved upon her previous school record by .58 seconds, set last year. Millar enters the Big 12 Championships with the top women's 800 meter time, edging out second ranked Shannon Spaulding of Texas Tech (2:06.52).

Men's 4x1,500 relay establishes new school record - The Baylor quartet of Kyle King, Jon Capron, Matt Chance and Ferenc Bekesi combined for an impressive 15:35.74 mark in the 4x1,500-meter relay at the Texas Relays to establish a new Baylor record in the event. The foursome's time was nearly five seconds faster then the previous school record mark (15:40.08) set last year.

Lady Bears set four meet records at Tom Tellez Invitational - Knocking off defending national champion and then-No. 1 LSU, 155.50 points to 144 points, the Lady Bears dominated the competition at the Tom Tellez Invitational March 30. Senior Chava Demart posted her first provisional mark of the season in the 400-meter hurdles on the way to setting a meet record with a blistering 58.82 time in the event. Demart later combined with fellow senior Barbara Petrahn, sophomore Tiffany Wise and freshman Danielle Myricks to set another meet record in the 4x400-meter relay with a then season-best 3:36.59 clocking. Representing the Lady Bears in the field events, April Holliness set a meet record, while also taking top honors, in the triple jump with a leap of 41-11 1/4. Rounding out the field of meet record breaking performances was junior Erin Dixon's 17:57.56 mark in the 5,000 meters.

10 Baylor athletes selected to Big 12 all-Academic teams - Baylor had 10 student-athletes selected to academic all-Big 12 teams it was announced this week by the conference office. The Bears had eight women earn first-team, accolades while the men had two student-athletes honored on the second-team. Sophomore Megan McCoin was just one of ten female student-athletes recognized for maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade point average. A complete list of honorees is as follows: (first-team) Jordan Willmann, Kara Newton, Lanie Millar, Stephanie Bennett, Erin Dixon, Katherine Duncan, Leah Marbach and Megan McCoin; (second-team) Jon Capron and Zsolt Szeglet.

Bears capture fifth indoor 4x400-meter relay national title - Baylor's men's 4x400-meter relay team captured its fifth indoor national title March 9th at the 2002 NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark. The gold-medal winning team comprised of seniors Zsolt Szeglet and Michael Smith, junior Charles Sterling and freshman Darold Williamson combined for a season-best time of 3:05.54, a mark that ranked as the second-fastest indoor time in the nation this year. The Bears' win capped off a three-meet winning streak that included first-place finishes at the Big 12 Championships (3:08.15), the Last Chance Meet in Ames, Iowa (3:05.77) and the NCAA Indoor Championships (3:05.54).

Lady Bears watch indoor records fall - During the 2002 indoor season Baylor's women's team saw four of its school records fall by the wayside. Senior Rachal Roessler started off the year breaking her own school record mark in the weight throw recording a distance of 52-9 1/2 at the LSU Purple Tiger Invitational. Her distance was nearly a full foot better then the previous mark (51-9 3/4) she set at the 2001 Big 12 Championships. Sophomore Katherine Duncan then went on to set a school record in the 1,000 meters at this year's indoor conference meet. Duncan's time of 2:54.96 was over a second faster then the previous mark (2:55.99) set by Janet Dollins in 1992. In Ames, Iowa two more records fell as senior Lanie Millar shattered the indoor 800 meter record and freshman April Holliness topped the long jump mark. Millar's time of 2:06.34 in the 800 earned her an automatic bid into the NCAA Championships and broke the previous school record mark (2:07.42) held by Jill Chertudi since 1994. Holliness' jump of 20-6 3/4 bested the previous distance of 20-5 set by Yulanda Nelson in 1997.

Szeglet's career concludes at NCAA Indoor Championships - Running out of eligibility, senior Zsolt Szeglet concluded his phenomenal career at Baylor at the 2002 NCAA Indoor Championships. Szeglet went out in style running the lead-leg on the Bears' national championship 4x400 relay team. In all, Szeglet earned All-American honors four times, all of which were achieved as a part of Baylor's 4x400 relay teams. Szeglet was also a member of two Big 12 4x400 championship relay teams (2000 indoor and 2001 indoor) and was the 2001 Big 12 Conference champion in the 400 meters.

Bears finish tied for 25th in Trackwire poll - Baylor's men's team concluded the indoor season tied for 25th with five other teams (Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, Notre Dame, SMU) in the Trackwire Top 25 poll. Despite the ranking the Bears finished tied for 15th at the NCAA Indoor Championships, earning ten points for their first-place finish in the 4x400-meter relay.

Hart begins 39th season at the helm - Clyde Hart is in his 39th season as the head coach of Baylor's track and field program. In his tenure at BU, Hart has firmly established the Bear program as one of the best in the nation. Hart has coached athletes to 24 national championships (11 individual/13 relay) and 431 All-American awards (144 individual/287 relay). Named the men's assistant coach for Team USA at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Hart has coached athletes to ten world record performances. In 1996, he was named the Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee. That year he coached Michael Johnson to gold medals in the 200 meters and the 400 meters at the Games of the 26th Olympiad in Atlanta, Ga. Hart was also named the NCAA Indoor Coach of the Year in 1996 after garnering such honors in 1989. A four-time Southwest Conference Indoor Coach of the Year, Hart has established Baylor as "Quarter Mile University," after producing 13 4x400 relay national champions and four 400 meter national champions.

Track Preview - Big 12 Outdoor Championships

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