June 10, 2010
Complete Results | Championship Info
EUGENE, Ore. - The intermittent rain for the second consecutive day didn't stop junior Tiffany Townsend and the men's 4x400-meter relay from qualifying for the finals in front of a record second-day crowd of 11,172 at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Entering with a streak of 21 consecutive years earning All-America honors, but missing half of its fastest quartet, the men's 4x400 relay team gutted out an eighth-place finish to earn their way into the Saturday's finals. With the qualifying bid, the Bears will keep the streak alive with a finish in the finals.
Without the services of All-Americans Marcus Boyd and Trey Harts, who were out with leg injuries, the Bears turned to alternates James Gilreath and Thaddeus Gordon to fill the void with Michael Liggins and Zwede Hewitt. Gilreath and Gordon kept the Bears within striking distance in the top five. Then Liggins and Hewitt came through to move the Bears into third in the heat and grab the eighth and final qualifying spot with a time of 3:06.65.
"You lose guys like Marcus Boyd and Trey Harts, and it's tough, but we pulled it out," head coach Todd Harbour said. "Those guys just did a great job. They refused to give in."
Townsend, who earned her 11th career All-America award as one of the top eight Americans in the 100 meters yesterday, made a late charge in her 200-meter race to grab the second automatic qualifying spot in her heat. Townsend was fourth with less than 50 meters to go and closed fast to nip LSU's Samantha Henry and Takeia Pinckney by less than one-hundredth of a second.
The timing staff examined the finish line photo to the thousandths of a second as Townsend had a time of 23.492, while Henry was at 23.498 and Pinckney was at 23.499. Henry also qualified on time, but Pinckney was the first runner out of the final set for Saturday. Townsend finished sixth overall with her official time of 23.50.
"Tiffany said she didn't feel real good the first 100, but how she got those two runners from LSU was just amazing," Harbour said. "She has fought back from so much this season with being injured during indoor. It's just great to see her finish a race that hard."
In the men's 200, sophomore Whitney Prevost just missed qualifying, finishing in 12th place with a time of 21.03, while senior Courtney Thomas was 18th overall with a time of 21.20.
In the lone field event of the day for the Bears, Jessica Ubanyionwu improved her mark in each of her three jumps, placing 16th overall with a leap of 41-9.75.
The Bears will be back on the track at Hayward Field on Friday for the first day of finals. Senior Chris Gowell, who qualified for the 800-meter final, will be Baylor's lone competitor on the day. The 800 meters is set for 5:40 p.m.
Thursday's Competitors
MEN
Whitney Prevost - 200 meters (21.20, 6th in heat, 18th overall)
Courtney Thomas - 200 meters (21.03, 5th in heat, 12th overall)
4x400-meter Relay - James Gilreath, Thaddeus Gordon, Michael Liggins, Zwede Hewitt (3:06.65, 3rd in heat, 8th overall)
WOMEN
Tiffany Townsend - 200 meters (23.50, 2nd in heat, 6th overall)
Jessica Ubanyionwu - Triple Jump (41-9.75, 16th overall)
