June 5, 2003
NCAA Track & Field Championships
June 11-14, 2003
A.G. Spanos Sports Complex
Sacramento, Calif.
Wednesday, June 11 Thursday, June 12
Field Events: 10 a.m. Field Events: 10 a.m.
Running Events: 10:25 a.m. Running Events: 10:15 a.m.
Friday, June 13 Saturday, June 14
Field/Heptathlon: 10 a.m. Field/Heptathlon: 10 a.m.
Running Events: 7 p.m. Running Events: 7 p.m.
*all times listed are Pacific and subject to change*
***The NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships will air on CBS June 21 at 3 p.m. EST***
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Bears Search for Gold in Golden State
Eight individuals and three relays make the journey to Sacramento, Calif., June 11-14 with the hopes of winning NCAA titles at Sacramento State University's A.G. Spanos Sports Complex. Sophomore Darold Williamson is looking for his second-straight outdoor 400 All-America honor after taking fifth last season. He ran the second-fastest time in the nation (44.95) to qualify for the national meet. He also has high hopes of repeating as a 4x400 relay All-American. He anchored the team to a second-place finish last season. Two of his relay mates last season are alternates Joel Martin and Robbie Quiroga. Several women also are making return trips to the National Championships. Tiffany Wise has twice earned All-America honors with the 4x400 relay team. Danielle Myricks also ran for the quartet that finished sixth last season. April Holliness is the only other Bear returning to the Championships. She took 19th in the long jump at last year's outdoor meet.
Several Bears earned bids to the NCAA Outdoor Championships for the first time. Sophomore Lakadron Ivery leads the way for the newcomers after qualifying in four events. She won both the 100 and 200 meter dashes at the regional meet as well as qualifying as the anchor of both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Joining her for the relays are first-time qualifiers Shanta Bibbs, Marquisha Sefas and Elizabeth Wilson. Several other women also are ranked highly in their events. Junior Jordan Willmann has recorded the ninth-highest heptathlon total in the country (5,499). Two distance runners also will be competing at the outdoor championships for the first time. Freshman Angela Marvin qualified for the 3,000-meter steeplechase while senior Debbie Thornhill hopes for another stellar 10,000 race. Among the first-time outdoor qualifiers on the men's side are 5,000-meter runner Kyle King and 400 intermediate hurdler Jordan Lewis. Freshman 4x400 relay runners Jeremy Wariner and Jamen Saziru along with transfer student Brian McDonald also are making their first trips to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Relays Look to Continue Streaks
The men's 4x400 relay has once again qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The men are looking for their 23rd-consecutive outdoor All-America honor. In other words, the Baylor men's 4x400 relay has been one of the top finishers every year since 1981. That streak includes seven national titles, most recently in 2001. Last season the quartet of Joel Martin, Robbie Quiroga, Michael Smith and Darold Williamson finished second.
The women's 4x400 is working on a steak of its own. The women have brought home All-America honors for nine straight years, placing among the best teams since 1994. Junior Tiffany Wise has been the leadoff runner for the last two outdoor relay teams, both of which recorded sixth-place finishes. Sophomore Danielle Myricks ran the third leg of the relay last season.
Bears Move Up in Trackwire and Dandy Dozen Rankings
The Baylor men have earned their highest Trackwire ranking of the season. Heading into the NCAA Championships, they are ranked 19th. Several Baylor athletes are among those listed on the Trackwire Dandy Dozen as well. The men's 4x400 relay has moved into first in the latest rankings while relay mainstay Darold Williamson has moved into his highest individual ranking (4th). Lakadron Ivery is pulling double duty on the women's side, carrying rankings of seventh in the 200 and 11th in 100. Jordan Willmann is ranked ninth in the heptathlon while Debbie Thornhill holds the ninth spot in the 10,000. The women's 4x100 relay has broken into the Dandy Dozen, entering the national meet ranked 10th.
Baylor Athletes Clock Top Times at Regional Meet
The first NCAA Midwest Regional track and field meet was held in Nebraska at the end of May. In their first attempt at regional qualifying, the Baylor women finished fourth with 44 points while the men took eighth with 33 points. The outstanding team finishes were made possible by incredible individual performances. Lakadron Ivery set school records in both the 100 and 200 en route to regional titles in both events. The 4x400 relay team brought home the gold on the men's side with its second-best time of the season (3:03.21). Other top performances included the women's 4x100 relay team (second), Darold Williamson in the 400 (second) and Debbie Thornhill in the 5,000 (second).
Ivery's Incredible Season Continues
Sophomore Lakadron Ivery continues to have an incredible season. After tying the school record in the 100-meter dash at the Big 12 Championships, she proceeded to better her time as well as setting a new record in the 200 at the Midwest Regional. Ivery clocked a new record time of 11.28 in the 100 before recording a new school record of 22.89 in the 200. She won regional titles in both events as well as anchoring both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays to NCAA bids. Ivery also set indoor school records in both the 60 (7.37) and 200 (23.69). She qualified for the Indoor Championships in both events and is making her first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Williamson Returns to Championships
Three-time All-American Darold Williamson returns to the NCAA Championships after being sidelined during the indoor national meet with a hamstring injury. Last season as a freshman, he anchored the indoor 4x400 relay team that won the national title. He also anchored the outdoor relay that finished second and placed fifth in the open 400.
Marvin Sets School Record in the Steeplechase ... Again
After a plethora of school records fell during the indoor campaign, it took four meets before a new name was added to the outdoor record book. Freshman Angela Marvin was the first Bear to accomplish the feat this spring, clocking a 10:30.56 to set a new Baylor standard in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Running the race for only the second time in her career, the cross country standout recorded the fastest time in the Big 12. She proceeded to break her record with a stellar race at the Drake Relays. In just the third steeplechase race of her career, the freshman set a meet record and broke her own school record, clocking a 10:23.73 to win one of four Drake titles for the Bears.
Willmann Shines in Heptathlon
After breaking the indoor school record in the pentathlon at the Big 12 Championships, junior Jordan Willmann easily made the transition to the heptathlon for the outdoor campaign. At the College Station Multi Event Festival and Relays, Willmann took fourth with a provisional qualifying total of 5,102 points. In the process, she cleared a regional-qualifying height of 1.73m (5-8) in the high jump. She matched that high jump mark at the Texas Relays en route to finishing second in the heptathlon, bettering her provisional mark to 5,152. The third time was a charm for the Llano, Texas, native as she broke the school record the third time she competed in all seven events. At the Big 12 Championships she recorded personal-best marks in five of the seven events to tally a school-recordbreaking total of 5,499 points, just one point shy of the NCAA automatic qualifying standard.
Thornhill Runs Stellar 10K at Stanford
Senior Debbie Thornhill traveled to Cobb Track and Angell Field March 28 to compete in the 10,000-meter race at the Stanford Invitational. She had an incredible race clocking an automatic NCAA qualifying time of 33:34.85. It was the second-fastest 10K ever by a Baylor female as well as being the fastest women's time clocked at a meet other than the national championships. Thornhill has only competed in the event one other time this season, successfully defending her Big 12 title.
Lewis Heads Home for Final Race
Senior Jordan Lewis will conclude his Baylor career not too far from where his athletic success began. The Shafter, Calif.-native will compete in the 400 intermediate hurdles at the NCAA Championships in Sacramento, which is not quite 300 miles from his hometown. Lewis, the Big 12 champion in the event, graduated from Shafter High School in California. He also attended Bakersfield College.
Saziru Earns Relay Position
Freshman Jamen Saziru, a Waco-native, began the year running the 60, 100 and 200. After running a stellar 400 leg for the distance medley relay team that finished second at the Drake Relays, he earned the opportunity to run on the 4x400 relay. Since that time, he has been on the relays that won both Big 12 and NCAA Midwest Regional titles.
Wariner Garners a Trio of Honors After Incredible Meet
Freshman Jeremy Wariner ran the first outdoor open 400 race of his career April 12 at the Sun Angel Classic, blowing away the competition with a long-time nation-leading time of 45.13. In winning the race, he defeated World Champion Avard Moncur. Wariner clocked what at the time was the fastest open 400 time of any Baylor athlete since Brandon Couts clocked a 44.79 in May of 2000. He came back to record a blazing split of 43.72 in the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay, leading the Bears to a second-place finish with a time of 3:04.68. Both the open and relay times easily exceeded the regional qualifying standards. For his outstanding performances, Wariner garnered Athlete of the Week honors from the Big 12, Trackshark and Mondo.
Bears Successfully Defend Conference Titles
Two individuals and one relay entered the Big 12 meet with the hopes of defending their 2002 outdoor conference titles. All three were successful. Senior Debbie Thornhill captured her second-straight 10,000-meter crown with a time of 35:43.14. She was the fourth Baylor women's champion in the event in the seven-year history of the conference. Darold Williamson and the men's 4x400 successfully defended their titles. For the second-straight year, Williamson won the open 400 (45.76) before anchoring the relay to victory (3:03.90). Bears have taken the last three gold medals in the individual 400 as well as claiming five of the seven conference titles in the event. The 4x400 relay earned its third consecutive victory and its fourth overall crown. Two new Bears stood at the top of the awards stand as freshman Angela Marvin claimed the gold medal in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (10:27.90) and senior Jordan Lewis claimed the conference crown in the 400 intermediate hurdles (51.33).
Three Athletes Compete for Baylor Firsts
Three athletes enter the national meet with the hopes of becoming Baylor's first All-Americans in their events. Lakadron Ivery could become the first women's outdoor 200-meter All-American. The Baylor women also are hoping for Angela Marvin to be the first to earn the honors in the steeplechase. On the men's side, Kyle King could become the first Bear to finish among the top in the 5,000-meter run.
Petrahn Concludes Career at Big 12 Indoor Championships
Barbara Petrahn concluded her stellar Baylor career at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. She is tied for the women's record, earning nine All-America honors. During her time with the Green and Gold, Petrahn anchored six relays to the NCAA finals as well as running third on one relay and twice earning individual All-America honors in the 400. Petrahn also was a five-time Big 12 champion, which also ties her for the Baylor women's record. The Gyor, Hungary-native clocked a provisional time of 54.24 in the 400, but it was not fast enough to qualify for another shot at All-America honors.
Wariner Garners All-America Accolades
Freshman Jeremy Wariner clocked a season-best time of 46.12 to finish second in his heat and fourth in the prelims of the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships at the University of Arkansas' Randall Tyson Track Center. He proceeded to the finals where he finished seventh with a time of 46.21 to earn his first career All-America honor.
NCAA Indoor Championships Recap
Four individuals and the men's 1,600 relay made the trip to Fayetteville, Ark. for the 2003 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. For the women, sophomore Lakadron Ivery and senior Debbie Thornhill each qualified for the first time. Ivery competed in both the 60 and 200-meter dashes, taking 20th place in the 60 (7.47) and 18th in the 200 (23.96). Thornhill exceeded the provisional mark in the 5,000-meter run. With a time of 16:26.36, she finished 14th.
On the men's side, junior Kyle King and freshman Jeremy Wariner qualified as individuals. King clocked a 14:28.60 to finish 15th in the 5,000-meter run. Wariner earned his first All-America honor, taking seventh in the 400-meter dash. Sophomore Darold Williamson had also met the automatic standard in the 400 but was unable to compete due to injury. The men's 1,600 relay made its 19th-consecutive trip to the indoor national championships, but was unable to run because of injuries to Williamson and Wariner. Overall, the men tied for 54th place with a total of two points.
