May 16, 2010

Complete Results |

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Baylor's men's 4x100-meter relay collected the conference title on the final day of competition at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships in Columbia, Mo.

For the second straight day rain and cold hit the conference championships, but Baylor's relay teams, along with a breakout group of freshman and sprinters, posted fantastic finishes. In the team races, Texas A&M claimed the women's title with 157 points, while Baylor was eighth at 62 points. For the men, Nebraska claimed the team title at 118 points, while Baylor was fifth at 63 points.

"We battled hard and competed all weekend long," head coach Todd Harbour said. "This is a great track conference, and I felt like we had a good day today. I would like to say a special thanks to our seniors, its hard saying good-bye to such a great group. Our coaching staff appreciates all that they have done."

The men's 4x100-meter relay team reclaimed the conference crown for the first time since 2007, holding off hard-charging Texas A&M. Marcus Boyd, Whitney Prevost, Courtney Thomas and Trey Harts combined for the winning effort in a time of 39.36. On the women's side, the 4x100 relay squad also had a solid day with a second-place finish in a time of 44.68 from DeAna Carson, Tiffany Townsend, Tiana Hood, and Brittany Carr.

In the 4x400, Baylor's men were without the services of Harts, who suffered a leg injury during the 200-meter dash, but battled in the closest finish of the day only fall .03 short of first place. The group of Zwede Hewitt, Michael Liggins, and Boyd added James Gilreath to the mix to run the third leg on their way to a time of 3:04.48. Baylor's women raced to a third-place finish with their second-fastest time of the season. Tiana Hood, Brittany Bruce, Tiffany Townsend, and Diamond Richardson combined for a time of 3:33.66.

"I am really proud of our 4x4's and the way they went after it today," Harbour said. "It was a tough blow losing Trey (Harts) in the 200, but those guys came out and were in a great battle with A&M. Our women put together another great time and are competing at a high level."

Along with the great day from the sprint crew, a group of Baylor freshmen made their mark in the conference. Skylar White added on to her second-place discus finish from Saturday breaking her own school record in the shot put with a toss of 50-10.75. In the 400-meter hurdles, on the women's side, Christina Holland was fourth at 58.56, while two-sport standout Chance Casey was fifth at 50.65 for the men.

"Skylar White has to be the highlight of the weekend for us," Harbour said. "She is competing against some of the best throwers in the country. For a freshman to do that is just amazing. And Skylar wasn't the only freshman that stepped up. Chance (Casey) and Christina (Holland) were both impressive in their hurdle races.

Junior All-American Tiffany Townsend continued her road back to elite form with a second-place finish in the 100 meters at 11.35 and a third-place finish in the 200 meters at 23.07, both season bests. Also for the women, Diamond Richardson made a tough run out of lane one in the 400 meters to place fourth at 54.03 and Brittany Carr ran a season-best for the second straight day to place eighth in the 100 meters of 11.72.

For the men, senior All-American Chris Gowell made a bid for the 800-meter championship, but finished second with a season-best time of 1:48.96, just one spot ahead of Big 12 indoor champ Gilreath, who finished in a season-best of 1:49.36. In the men's 400, Hewitt raced a stacked field to a personal-best time of 46.14 to finish third, while teammate Liggins was fourth at 46.50.

Senior Courtney Thomas led the short-distance sprinters on the men's side with a fourth-place finish in the 200 meters at 20.89. Prevost was seventh in the 200 at 20.99, while Harts was seventh in the 100 at 10.42.

Also for the women, Erin Bedell led two Lady Bears in the top eight of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Bedell was sixth at 10:11.81, while sophomore Kristen Hanselka earned her first all-Big 12 honor in seventh. Hanselka shaved 14 seconds off her previous personal best in just her second career steeplechase race for a time of 10:28.96. Senior Lauren Simpson also collected the first all-Big 12 honor of her career posting an eighth-place finish in the 800 meters.

Next up for the Baylor track and field team is the NCAA West Regional in Austin, Texas on May 28-29.