Track and Field Wins Three Titles at Drake Relays

Track & Field 4/25/2008 12:00:00 AM

April 25, 2008

DES MOINES, Iowa -

On one of the coldest days in the 99-year history of the Drake Relays, the Baylor relays were hot as the Bears claimed three relay titles. The Bears also qualified for four relay finals on Saturday's final day.

Despite 44-degree temperature and a 24-miles-per-hour win at the starting gun, Baylor clocked 11:26.15 to win the women's distance medley relay. The time ranks as the fifth-fastest in Baylor history.

Nichole Jones led off for Baylor holding the lead throughout her 1,200-meter leg. Katrina Taylor ran the 400-meter leg and handed off in first place. Kansas State's 800-meter runner passed Loren Hodges during the first lap, but the redshirt-freshman took back the lead during the second lap, handing off with a five-meter lead. Lauren Hagans was never challenged during the 1,600-meter leg, winning by 40 meters.

The relay title in the distance medley is the first for Baylor in the history of the Drake Relays. Though Baylor had never won a distance medley relay title at the Drake Relays until today, seven of the top 10 times in Baylor history have been run during the Drake Relays, including the school record of 11:08.88 run last season.

"I knew that with the cold weather and wind that I needed to still run my split times," said Hagans. "The cold was really nerve-racking, and on the backstretch the win hit you in the face really hard. I knew that I needed to push a little more to keep my pace."

As the temperature continued to drop, Baylor swept the men's and women's 4x200-meter relay titles in the evening session. With 42-degree weather and a wind-chill factor of 30 degrees, the Bears cruised to relay wins.

The team of Tiffany Townsend, Brittany Carr, Brittany Bruce and Carla Grace dominated the field, clocking a time of 1:34.75 to win the 4x200-meter relay by nearly two seconds. Townsend and Carr beat the stagger on the first lap, and Bruce and Grace finished the race by pulling away from the competition.

"I had a cold wind in my face for the first 100 meters, but once I got through that I was ok," said Grace. "We had good handoffs, and the other girls got me in a good position coming into the anchor leg."

The win in the women's 4x200-meter relay is the fifth all-time for Baylor at the Drake Relays in the event. The total ties the Lady Bears with Lincoln for the most 4x200-meter relays in the history of the meet.

The two women's relay titles bring Baylor's all-time total to 16 relay championships, tying the Lady Bears with Prairie View for second place in Drake Relays history. Only Lincoln (17) has won more relay titles at the Drake Relays.

The men's 4x200-meter relay entered the weekend with the fastest time in the nation at 1:22.02, but Tennessee clocked 1:21.52 at Penn Relays to steal the national lead. Courtney Thomas and LeJerald Betters beat the stagger through the first 400 meters, and Marcus Boyd and Trey Harts left the competition to win their heat by three seconds.

"We love coming to the Drake Relays," said Harts. "The track is so fast and the fans are great here. The headwind was pretty tough, but we were able to push through it. My teammates put me in a good position and I just had to do my job."

Baylor wins the men's 4x200-meter relay for the ninth time in Drake Relays history. The Bears trail only Illinois and Texas with 10 titles each for the most championships in the event.

The men's 4x400-meter relay clocked 3:10.24 to post the fastest time of the preliminaries heading into Saturday's event finals. Robert Griffin led off for the Bears with a 48.5 seconds split out of the blocks to hand off in a tie for first place. Marcus Boyd made a quick move to take the lead out of the break over Nebraska and handed off in first place after a split of 46.5 seconds. Justin Boyd held off the Nebraska runner through the first 200 meters and made a move to pull away down the homestretch, splitting 46.6 seconds. Quentin Iglehart-Summers anchored the Bears with a 48.2 seconds split by himself to win the heat.

Baylor started the meet on Friday with the top qualifying times in the men's and women's 4x100-meter relay. The women opened up with a time of 44.60, their third-fastest time of the season, as one of only two schools to run under 45 seconds in the preliminaries.

The men's sprint relay squad had poor exchanges in the first and second zones, but Courtney Thomas made up ground on the third leg, and Trey Harts passed the leaders on the anchor. Baylor clocked a time of 40.40, its second-fastest time this year after opening with 39.77 at the Michael Johnson Classic last weekend.

The women's 4x400-meter relay won its preliminary heat with a time of 3:42.60, the sixth-fastest time of the preliminaries to qualify for Saturday's event finals. Taylor led off for the Lady Bears with a 55.2 seconds split to hand off in a tie for first place. Brittany Carr was in second place at the break to the rail, but made a move over the last 100 meters, handing off in first place with a split of 55.2 seconds. Brittany Bruce held on to the lead with a 56.5 seconds split, while Carla Grace extended the lead for the Lady Bears with a 55.2 seconds split.

Baylor returns to action on Saturday for the final day of competition at the 99^th-annual Drake Relays. The Bears first action will be at 11:17 a.m. in the women's 4x1,600-meter relay. The Bears will compete in five relay finals on Saturday, entering the men's and women's 4x100-meter relays and the men's 4x400-meter relay with the fastest qualifying times of the preliminary heats. Baylor also runs in the women's 4x1,600-meter relay and the women's 4x400-meter relay.

Live video and live results of the Drake Relays can be found at www.GoDrakeBulldogs.com. Complete meet recaps will be available each evening at www.BaylorBears.com.

FRIDAY RESULTS

Women's Events

4x100-Meter Relay - prelims.

1. Bruce, Grace, Carr, Townsend (Baylor) - 44.60#

4x200-Meter Relay

1. Townsend, Carr, Bruce, Grace (Baylor) - 1:34.75

4x400-Meter Relay - prelims.

1. Brown, Williams, Farrell, Fall (Arkansas) - 3:39.92#

6. Taylor, Carr, Bruce, Grace (Baylor) - 3:42.60

Distance Medley Relay

1. Jones, Taylor, Hodges, Hagans (Baylor) - 11:26.15

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