April 13, 2004

WACO, Texas - The Baylor men's track team moved up one spot to ninth, while the women remained tied for 19th in the latest Trackwire 25 power rankings released Tuesday.

The men's 4x400-meter relay team of freshman Mark Teter, sophomores Jamen Saziru and Jeremy Wariner and junior Darold Williamson is ranked No. 1 for the 10th straight week, dating back Feb. 10 during the indoor season. Wariner, the indoor national champion in the 400 meters, is also ranked No. 1 and tightened his grip on the spot by clocking a 45.21 at the Sun Angel Classic Saturday for the fastest time in the world so far this year. Williamson ranks ninth in the event, but finished fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Sophomore Wil Fitts soared to the No. 5 ranking in the 800 meters after being unranked all year. Fitts ran a 1:47.80 at Arizona State and has lowered his personal best each of the last four meets.

Junior Lakadron Ivery leads the way on the women's side, ranking sixth in the 100 meters, 10th in the 200 meters and 12th in the long jump. Ivery is also the anchor leg for the third-ranked 4x100 relay and the eighth-ranked 4x400 relay. Junior April Holliness ranks seventh in the long jump.

The Trackwire 25 projects a hypothetical score for the NCAA meet, factoring in injury reports and other variables supported by information gathered from coaches and NCAA-qualifying competitions across the country. This projection is generated by scoring the Dandy Dozen, a power ranking of the top 12 athletes and relay squads in each NCAA event. The complete Trackwire 25 can be found at www.trackwire.com.

The Bears return to action when they host the Michael Johnson Classic Friday and Saturday at the Hart-Patterson Track & Field Complex.