June 7, 2010
COMPLETE CHAMPIONSHIP NOTES
MEN'S START LIST | WOMEN'S START LIST
MEDIA INFORMATION
Television: Friday - CBS College Sports 8-10 p.m. ET (5-7 p.m. PT); Saturday - CBS 1-3 p.m. ET (10 a.m.-Noon PT)
Video Streaming: www.NCAA.com (all action NOT televised)
Results: www.FlashResults.com
PASSIN' THE STICK
Baylor's men's 4x100-meter relay has put together one of its best seasons in recent memory, running with consistency and winning nearly every time out. Entering the NCAAs, the Bears' main crew of Marcus Boyd, Whitney Prevost, Courtney Thomas and Trey Harts has won three times and gotten second twice in their five meets. The 4x100 crew at Baylor, which has only earned All-America honors once (2008) since 1990, took three prestigious titles this season with wins at the Texas Relays, the Drake Relays, and the Big 12 Outdoor Championships.
However, the Bears took fourth overall at the NCAA €ˆWest Preliminary Rounds and were without former national sprint champion Harts on the anchor leg due to a hamstring injury. After injuring his leg in the 200 meters at the conference meet, Harts will look to get back in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays to help the Bears contend for a national title.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
The Bears will have 12 student-athletes who earned All-America honors in their careers returning to the NCAA Outdoor €ˆChampionships this season. On the men's side, Baylor has seven returning All-Americans, while the women have five in this year's field.
All-American Certificate Totals (Indoor and Outdoor combined)
Marcus Boyd - 4x400m Relay (5)
Brittany Carr - 4x100m Relay (1), 4x400m Relay (1)
DeAna Carson - Long Jump 4x100m Relay (1)
Chris Gowell - 800m (2)
Trey Harts - 200m (5), 4x400m Relay (3), 4x100 Relay (1)
Zwede Hewitt - 4x400m Relay (2)
Tiana Hood - 4x100m Relay (1), 4x400m Relay (1)
Michael Liggins - 4x400m Relay (1)
Diamond Richardson - 4x400m Relay (1)
J.T. Scheuerman - 4x400m Relay (3)
Courtney Thomas - 4x100m Relay (1)
Tiffany Townsend - 60m (1), 100m (1), 200m (4), 4x100m Relay (2), 4x400m Relay (2)
BU'S SENIOR CLASS: ONE FOR THE AGES
Head coach Todd Harbour will say goodbye to one of the most decorated senior classes of his five years at the helm of the Baylor program. The Bears will lose 10 All-Americans with graduation including six women and three men. The departing class has combined for 27 All-America certificates, 20 individual Big 12 championships and currently holds eight school records, along with multiple all-region and all-conference honors.
Graduating All-Americans include Erin Bedell, Danielle Bradley, Brittany Carr, DeAna Carson, Tiana Hood and Nichole Jones on the women's side, while Chris Gowell, Trey Harts, Courtney Thomas and Michael Liggins will hang it up on the men's side after the NCAAs.
100 YEARS OF BU COACHING
In a program built on a tradition of passion for Baylor University, head coach Todd Harbour staff features a group of coaches who all graduated from BU and competed under legendary former head coach and current Director of Track and Field Clyde Hart. With Hart's 47 years of full-time service to the Baylor track and field program, the staff entered the season with a combined 100 years of coaching the Bears. Harbour (Baylor, 1981) has completed 10 seasons, while assistant head coach Danny Brabham (Baylor, 1973) has 21, associate coach Michael Ford (Baylor, 1995) has 10, assistant coach Stacey Smith (Baylor, 2000) has eight and assistant coach Jon Capron (Baylor, 2003) has completed six.
FRESHMAN WHITE MAKING A NAME
BU €ˆfreshman thrower Skylar White has given the Lady Bears another dimension with her spectacular season. Indoors, White broke the school shot put record on four times with a best toss of 51-6.25. Outdoors, White has equaled her record-breaking feat in the shot, with her third school-record toss of 50-10.75 at the Big 12 Championships. The DeSoto, Texas, native is also nearing the BU record of 178-06 with her best toss of 168-11. She enters her first national championship meet ranked 17th in the discus after placing eighth in the NCAA €ˆWest Preliminary Round.
THE 4X400-METER RELAY
Long a tradition at Baylor, the Bears have earned All-America honors in the 4x400-meter relay 21 years in a row at the NCAA €ˆOutdoor Championships. With the fourth fastest time in the nation at 3:02.70, this season's men's squad is in position to continue that streak. In history, BU has won 11 outdoor national titles in the event, including back-to-back titles in 2007 and 2008, with current Baylor anchor leg Marcus Boyd helping the 2008 squad to the title.
Along with Boyd and Trey Harts, who helped Baylor win 4x400 indoor titles in 2008 and 2009, this season's squad boasts senior Michael Liggins and sophomore Zwede Hewitt. Hewitt qualified for the NCAA €ˆChampionships in the 400 meters along with Boyd, while Liggins narrowly missed, finishing one spot out in 13th at the NCAA €ˆWest Preliminary Rounds.
ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
During the course of the 2010 season, the Baylor track and field team collected 70 all-Big 12 honors in 43 total events, with an even 35 honors at both the Big 12 Indoor and Outdoor Championships.
| Big 12 Women's Indoor | Big 12 Men's Indoor | Big 12 Women's Outdoor | Big 12 Men's Outdoor |
| Erin Bedell (3,000, DMR) | Marcus Boyd (400, 4x400) | Erin Bedell (3,000 SC) | Marcus Boyd (4x100, 4x400) |
| Brittany Bruce (4x400) | James Gilreath (800, DMR) | Brittany Bruce (4x400) | Chance Casey (400H) |
| Leigh Ann Ganzar (1,000) | Thaddeus Gordon (DMR) | Brittany Carr (100, 4x100) | James Gilreath (800, 4x400) |
| Christina Holland (4x400, DMR) | Chris Gowell (1,000, DMR) | DeAna Carson (4x100) | Chris Gowell (800) |
Tiana Hood (4x400) | Trey Harts (60, 200, 4x400) | Kristen Hanselka (3,000 SC) | Trey Harts (100, 4x100) |
| Nichole Jones (DMR) | Zwede Hewitt (600y, 4x400) | Christina Holland (400H) | Zwede Hewitt (400, 4x400) |
| Stephanie Morgan (800) | Robbie Knorr (3,000, 5,000) | Tiana Hood (4x100, 4x400) | Michael Liggins (400, 4x400) |
| Diamond Richardson (400, 4x400) | Michael Liggins (400, 4x400) | Dess Meek (HJ) | Nick Lyons (JAV) |
| Tiffany Townsend (60) | Gavyn Nero (800, DMR) | Diamond Richardson (400, 4x400) | Whitney Prevost (200, 4x100) |
| Jessica Ubanyionwu (TJ) | Whitney Prevost (60) | Lauren Simpson (800) | Courtney Thomas (200, 4x100) |
| Skylar White (SP) | Courtney Thomas (200) | Tiffany Townsend (100, 200 , 4x100, 4x400) | |
| | Skylar White (SP, DISC) | |
BEARS SIGN 17 FOR 2010-11
The 2010 signing class includes seven Texas high school athletes including The Woodlands High School products Justine Charbonnet and Taylor Torres. Hunter Brooks (Houston), Katelyn Cranfill (China Spring), Jennifer Gueldner (Houston), Alyssa Nichols (Cedar Hill) and Jessica Shadley (Carrollton) rounds out the Texas natives. The class covers both coasts with California native Chad Rozean (Mission Viejo), New York native Dennis Scruggs (Springfield Gardens). Maryland native Brittany Ogunmokun (Landover), and Georgia Native Woodrow Randall (Marietta). Kansas native Tiffani McReynolds (Kansas City) and Illinois native Ericka Wilk (West Chicago) also join Anchorage, Alaska, native Symphony Bagsby and Hatfield, Pa., standout Brad Miles. Head coach Todd Harbour also signed two from outside of the United States in Canada's Mariah Kelly (Niagara Falls, Ontario) and Australia's Robyn Bennett (Ayr, Queensland).
HART NAMED WORLD COACH OF THE YEAR
Legendary Baylor track and field coach Clyde Hart was named the 2009 World Coach of the Year by the International Amateur Athletic Federation at the World Athletics Gala in Monte Carlo on Nov. 24, 2009.
During the past year, Hart trained Sanya Richards, the world champion 400-meter runner, as well as resuming coaching duties for former Olympic champion and Baylor alum Jeremy Wariner. Richards was named the World Athlete of the Year for 2009 by the IAAF. Hart adds the award to an already lengthy list of coaching honors, including USA Track and Field's Nike Coach of the Year in 2004 and 2006 and NCAA national indoor coach of the year in 1986 and 1996. He was also named the conference coach of year five times while at the helm of the Baylor squad.
After 42 years as Baylor's head track and field coach, Hart retired his position in 2005, but remains as the program's Director of Track and Field and coach of the Bears' 400-meter runners.
SMITH (BOWERS) INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME
Current Baylor assistant coach Stacey Smith, formerly Bowers, was elected into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame on Oct. 23, 2009, for her outstanding accomplishments as a student-athlete. During her career from 1996-1999, Bowers rewrote the triple jump records, winning the Lady Bears' only individual national championship in program history,
Originally recruited as a 400-meter runner, Bowers earned the first of her nine All-America honors on the 4x400-meter relay. However, the triple jump quickly became her specialty. Bowers went on to win four Big 12 titles and the 1999 NCAA €ˆtitle in the triple jump, while also setting the BU and Big 12 record in the indoor triple jump and the BU record in the outdoor triple jump.
WARINER, RICHARDS NAMED U.S. ATHLETES OF THE DECADE
Baylor's legendary track and field coach Clyde Hart added to his list of accolades when two of his current athletes, Olympic gold medalists Jeremy Wariner and Sanya Richards, were named the U.S. Men's and Women's Athletes of the Decade by Track and Field News on Feb. 4, 2010. Both athletes train in Waco, Texas, under Hart direction.
Both Wariner, a former Baylor All-American, and Richards train under Hart's tutelage at Baylor's Hart-Patterson Track and Field Complex. The honor also marks the first time that one coach has had both the men's and women's award winners for a decade. In 2009, Hart was the IAAF World Coach of the Year, and Richards was the IAAF Female World Athlete of the Year.
Wariner, the 2004 Olympic gold medalist in the 400 meters and 4x400-meter relay, was a four-time NCAA champion and six-time All-American from 2003-04 at Baylor. The Grand Prairie, Texas, native was the top-ranked 400-meter runner in the world from 2004-07, then won his third career gold medal in the 4x400-meter relay at the 2008 Olympics. Wariner was also an Olympic silver medalist in 2008 and a two-time World champion in the 400 meters during the decade.
Richards, the current World champion in the 400 meters, won two individual NCAA titles while at Texas and four U.S. titles from 2003-06. Richards the current No. 1-ranked runner in the world, has won the IAAF World Athletics Final at 400 meters five years in a row from 2005-09.
