June 9, 2005
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Baylor junior Chris Gillis (Pennsauken, N.J.) moved up to eighth on his final jump to earn All-America honors Thursday at the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships at Alex G. Spanos Sports Complex on the campus of Sacramento State.
Gillis, who stood ninth going into his final jump, posted a mark of 7.45 meters (24-5 ½) to earn the first All-American honor of his career.
"I didn't have a great outdoor season, so to come here and be an All-American is a good feeling," Gillis said. "I was ninth going into the last jump, but I moved up. I didn't improve that much, but it was enough to get eighth."
Sophomore Brittany Brockman (Houston, Texas) also earned All-America honors for the first time in her career by finishing 11th in the 10,000 meters with a time of 33:55.11. Brockman earned All-America honors by being among the top eight Americans - three of the other runners in front of her were from foreign countries.
Junoir Wil Fitts (Desoto, Texas) ran a 1:48.95 to finish 11th in the 800 meters to earn All-America honors. Four foreign athletes ran ahead of Fitts, making him one of the top eight Americans.
Senior April Holliness (Duncanville, Texas) finished 12th in the long jump with a mark of 6.03 meters (19-9 ½). Holliness fouled on her first two attempts in the finals and was forced to just get on the board in her final attempt.
The men's 4x400-meter relay of sophomores Kevin Mutai (Round Rock, Texas) and Mark Teter (San Antonio, Texas), Fitts and senior Darold Williamson (San Antonio, Texas) won their heat to qualify for the finals with a time of 3:03.92, the third-fastest time in qualifying. The women's squad of junior Angel Perkins (Cerritos, Calif.), senior Lakadron Ivery (Tyler, Texas), freshman Carla Grace (San Antonio, Texas) and senior Danielle Myricks (Willingboro, N.J.) ran a 3:33.15 to finish ninth and miss qualifying for the finals by one place.
Grace ran a season-best 23.61 to qualify for the semifinals in the 200 meters, then ran a 23.69 to finish 16th overall. Senior Elizabeth Wilson (Duncanville, Texas) ran a 23.67 to finish 19th, while junior Jerome Miller (Houston, Texas) was disqualified in the 400-meter hurdles.
Williamson is the only Bear remaining in individual competition. He will run in the semifinals of the 400 meters Friday at 7:35 p.m. PDT. The finals of the 400 meters are Saturday at 6:05 p.m. PDT, and the finals of the 4x400-meter relay are Saturday at 8:40 p.m. PDT.
