Feb. 26, 2010

AMES, Iowa - Senior Chris Gowell out-kicked the competition to lead the Baylor men's distance medley relay team to the Big 12 title and a new meet record at the 2010 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships on Friday in Ames, Iowa.

"This was just a rollercoaster day, lots of ups and downs," head coach Todd Harbour said. "We had some great things happen in the DMR with men breaking the Big 12 meet record and the women being all-conference. There was a bunch of nice PR's today with Robbie and Brandon in the 5,000 and Ben in the mile. "

Gowell ran the finishing mile leg in 4:01, coming back after jockeying for position amongst the top four. Gavyn Nero led off the race with a 2:58 1,200-meter leg, handing off to Thaddeus Gordon in second place. Gordon's 47.8 400-meter leg and James Gilreath's 1:54 800-meter leg each held on to the second-place start before handing off to Gowell. The Bears' Big 12 meet record time was 9:41.88.

"I was really happy with the way our middle distance guys ran today, starting with Chris," Harbour said. "I thought James and Gavyn both looked good today and are fit. They should have some good things happen tomorrow."

In the women's distance medley relay, Cate Westenhover (1,200m), Christina Holland (400m), Nichole Jones (800m) and Erin Bedell (1,600m) combined to take the DMR women's team to a third-place finish in a time of 11:23.90. The time was also an NCAA provisional qualifying mark.

In the men's 5,000 meters, Robbie Knorr earned all-Big 12 honors, placing seventh in the event with a seven-second career-best time of 14:17.

With the all-important finals positioning the reward for a solid performance in preliminary races, the Bears put themselves in position to move up the team standings on the final day. In the short sprints, Trey Harts and Tiffany Townsend each qualified for the finals in the 60 and 200 meters. Harts won his heat in both races with a time fo 6.79 in the 60 and 21.01 in the 200. Whitney Prevost qualified for the men in the 60 with a time of 6.82 and Courtney Thomas qualified for the men in the 200 with a time of 21.27. For the women, Townsend was sixth overall in the 60 at 7.45 and seventh overall in the 200 at 23.83.

The men's combination of Marcus Boyd and Michael Liggins each earned a spot in the finals. Boyd won his heat with a time of 47.23, while Liggins placed second in his heat with a career-best time of 47.21. For the women, Diamond Richardson qualified easily with a solid time of 55.03.

The middle distance crew had men's and women's qualifiers in both the 800 and 1,000 meters. In the 800 meters, the men's duo of Gilreath and Nero swiped two of the eight finals spots with career bests. Gilreath, running in the fastest heat of the event, met NCAA provisional qualifying standards with a time of 1:50.26. Nero just missed the provisional mark, but the freshman finished third in his heat with a time of 1:51.04.

In the 1,000 meters, Gowell blew away the field in his heat, cruising to the second-fastest time of the day at 2:25.91. For the women, Leigh Ann Ganzar slipped into the final with a personal best of 2:51.65.

The men's and women's mile, the first running event of the day, had a little heartbreak for the Bears. On the women's side, Westenhover was one spot from making the final with a time of 4:53.54, while men's counterpart Ben Haby was in the same position with a career-best of 4:07.32.

The final day of the 2010 Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships in Ames, Iowa, will begin with the finish of the heptathlon at 11 a.m. Field events are set to begin at noon, while running events will start at 1:30 p.m. at the Lied Recreation-Athletic Facility.

Follow the action with live updates on www.BaylorBears.com all day on Saturday from the meet.