May 13, 2003

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Big 12 Outdoor Championships
Mike A. Myers Stadium - Austin, Texas - May 17-19, 2003


Saturday, May 17
Combined Events: 3 p.m.
Field Events: 3 p.m.
10,000-meter Run: 8 p.m.

Sunday, May 18
Combined Events: 11 a.m.
Field Events: 4 p.m.
Running Events: 6 p.m.

Monday, May 19
Field Events: 4 p.m.
Running Events: 5:30 p.m.



This Week
The Bears will compete at Texas' Mike A. Myers Stadium for the third time this season when they travel to Austin for the Big 12 Outdoor Championships on May 17-19. Last season the women finished fourth at the outdoor conference meet while the men came in 10th. Neither team has ever finished higher than second with the men accomplishing the feat in 1998 (101 points) and the women following in 1999 (106.5 points).

Bears Return to Defend Conference Titles
Two individuals and one relay will attempt to defend their 2002 outdoor conference titles this weekend in Austin. On the women's side, Debbie Thornhill will try to win her second-straight title in the 10,000-meter run. If she does so successfully, she will be the fourth Baylor women's champion in the event in the seven-year history of the conference. Darold Williamson and the men's 4x400 relay also are looking to defend titles. Last season Williamson won the open 400 before anchoring the relay to victory. Bears have taken the last two gold medals in the individual 400 and four of the six. The 4x400 relay is searching for its third consecutive victory and its fourth overall crown.

Marvin Sets School Record in the Steeplechase ... Again
After a plethora of school records fell during the indoor campaign, it took four meets before a new name was added to the outdoor record book. Freshman Angela Marvin was the first Bear to accomplish the feat this spring, clocking a 10:30.56 to set a new Baylor standard in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Running the race for only the second time in her career, the cross country standout recorded the fastest time in the Big 12. She proceeded to break her record with a stellar race at the Drake Relays. In just the third steeplechase race of her career, the freshman set a meet record and broke her own school record, clocking a 10:23.73 to win one of four Drake titles for the Bears.

List of Regional Qualifiers Continues to Grow
In the final regular-season meet of the spring, the Bears had three more athletes qualify for the regional meet while one previous qualifier exceeded the standard in a second event. Senior Jon Capron ran the fastest 800-meter time of the spring for the Bears, a 1:49.96, to become the second 800 qualifier from Baylor. All-American Joel Martin was the third regional qualifyer in the 400 as he clocked a season-best 47.27. Jamen Saziru was the third new qualifier, recording a personal-best time of 21.11 in the 200. Jeremy Wariner, who has the nations best time in the 400, ran the 200 for the first time in his collegiate career, clocking a 20.78 to qualify for the regional meet in both events. The Bears now have 24 individuals qualified in 27 events. Three relays also have met the regional-qualifying standards.

Willmann Shines in Heptathlon
After breaking the indoor school record in the pentathlon at the Big 12 Championships, junior Jordan Willmann has easily made the transition to the heptathlon for the outdoor campaign. At the College Station Multi Event Festival and Relays, Willmann took fourth with a provisional qualifying total of 5,102 points. In the process, she cleared a regional-qualifying height of 1.73m (5-8) in the high jump. She matched that high jump mark at the Texas relays en route to finishing second in the heptathlon, bettering her provisional mark to 5,152.

Thornhill Runs Stellar 10K at Stanford
Senior Debbie Thornhill traveled to Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field March 28 to compete in the 10,000-meter race at the Stanford Invitational. She had an incredible race clocking an automatic NCAA qualifying mark of 33:34.85. It was the second-fastest 10K time ever recorded by a Baylor female as well as being the fastest women's time clocked at a meet other than the national championships. Thornhill, who is the defending Big 12 champion in the event, qualified for her first trip to the NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Wariner Garners a Trio of Honors After Incredible Meet
Freshman Jeremy Wariner ran the first outdoor open 400 race of his career April 12 at the Sun Angel Classic, blowing away the competition with a nation-leading time of 45.13. In winning the race, he defeated World Champion Avard Moncur. Wariner clocked the fastest open 400 time of any Baylor athlete since Brandon Couts clocked a 44.79 in May of 2000. He came back to record a blazing split of 43.72 in the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay, leading the Bears to a second-place finish with a time of 3:04.68. Both the open time and the relay time easily exceeded the regional qualifying standards. For his outstanding performances, Wariner garnered Athlete of the Week honors from the Big 12, Trackshark and Mondo.

Wariner Garners All-America Accolades
Freshman Jeremy Wariner clocked a season-best time of 46.12 to finish second in his heat and fourth in the prelims of the 400-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Championships at the University of Arkansas' Randall Tyson Track Center. He proceeded to the finals where he finished seventh with a time of 46.21 to earn his first career All-America honor.

Hart Leads Baylor for 40th Season
Clyde Hart begins his 40th season as the head coach of Baylor's track and field program this season. In his tenure at BU, Hart has firmly established the Bear program as one of the best in the nation. Hart has coached athletes to 24 national championships (11 individual/13 relay) and 446 All-America awards (148 individual/298 relay). Named the men's assistant coach for Team USA at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, Hart has coached athletes to ten world record performances. In 1996, he was named the Coach of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee. That year he coached Michael Johnson to gold medals in the 200-meters and 400-meters at the Games of the 26th Olympiad in Atlanta, Ga. Hart also was named the NCAA Indoor Coach of the Year in 1996 after garnering such honors in 1989. A four-time Southwest Conference Indoor Coach of the Year, Hart has established Baylor as a quarter-mile powerhouse after producing 13 4x400 relay national champions and four individual 400-meter national champions.

Outdoor Track and Field Changes to Regional Format
Instead of qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships by the traditional method of automatic and provisional qualifying standards, the 2003 season will be the beginning of regional qualifying. Four two-day regionals will be held across the country with the top five individuals and the top three relays advancing to nationals. At large bids, expected to be around six for individual events and five for relays, will then be selected based on the descending order lists compiled throughout the season and the conference championships. The participants in the multi events, heptathlon and decathlon, and the 10,000-meter run will continue to be determined by the traditional format of automatic and provisional qualifying marks. The move to regional qualifying will increase the number of NCAA competitors to nearly 1,100 participants.

Bears Listed Among Dandy Dozen
Several Baylor athletes are among those listed on the Trackwire Dandy Dozen. The men's 4x400 relay has moved into second in the latest rankings while relay mainstays Jeremy Wariner (9th) and Darold Williamson (7th) are ranked individually in the 400. On the women's side, the 4x400 relay broke into the rankings last week at No. 11. Relay anchor Danielle Myricks also appears on the list, coming in tenth in the 400 hurdles. Lakadron Ivery remains ninth in the 100 and Debbie Thornhill has moved up to eighth in the 10,000-meters.

Men's Relay Teams Run Stellar Races in 2003
The 4x400 relay has annually been the signature event for the Baylor men's track team, but the other relays also are running well. The 4x400 has clocked the second-fastest time in the nation and consistently finished in the top-2, but the other relays also have had stellar performances. The men's 4x800 team won the Drake Relays title with the fastest time in the world so far this year (7:23.23). The quartet of Jon Capron, Wil Fitts, Brian McDonald and Nick Devenport also brought a second-place finish home from the Texas Relays. The men's distance medley relay also has recorded two second-place finishes this season, garnering the honors at the Drake and Texas Relays. Dating back to the Big 12 Indoor Championships on Feb. 28-Mar. 1 where the men brought home conference titles in both the 4x400 and DMR, the men have not finished lower than second in any relay they have run.

Petrahn Concludes Career at Big 12 Indoor Championships
Barbara Petrahn concluded her stellar Baylor career at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. She is tied for the women's record, earning nine All-America honors. During her time with the Green and Gold, Petrahn anchored six relays to the NCAA finals as well as running third on one relay and twice earning individual All-America honors in the 400. Petrahn also was a five-time Big 12 champion, which also ties her for the Baylor women's record. The Gyor, Hungary-native clocked a provisional time of 54.24 in the 400, but it was not fast enough to qualify for another shot at All-America honors.

Baylor Athletes Set 18 Regional-qualifying Marks In Arizona
The list of Baylor's NCAA regional qualifiers grew dramatically as the Bears had a great meet at Arizona State's Sun Angel Classic, recording 18 regional-qualifying marks. While several athletes improved their previous season bests, some athletes joined the list of qualifiers for the first time including Jeremy Wariner and Darold Williamson (400), Nick Devenport (1,500) and Kyle King (5,000) on the men's side and Lakadron Ivery (LJ), Jessa Vacek (steeple) and Debbie Thornhill (5,000) for the women.

Drake Relays Recap
The Bears had one of their most successful trips to Drake Relays in recent history. On the opening night of the event, senior Debbie Thornhill took the crown in the 5,000-meter run, bettering her regional-qualifying time to 16:24.45. Thornhill was Baylor's first individual women's champion at Drake since 1999. Ironically, 1999 was the last time the women's team had multiple individual winners, taking three titles. The same held true this year as two more Bears took individual titles. Freshman Angela Marvin broke her own school record as well as the Relays record, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 10:23.73. The third title came from sophomore Lakadron Ivery in the 100. She clocked an 11:57 to take the title in a photo-finish. The men also claimed a title as the 4x800 relay team of Jon Capron, Wil Fitts, Brian McDonald and Nick Devenport clocked a world-best time of 7:23.23. Along with the four titles, the Bears had many other strong performances. The men's 4x400 relay team took second in a photo-finish clocking the second-fastest time in the world so far this year (3:02.82). The women's 4x400 and the men's DMR also brought home second-place finishes. On the individual side, Jordan Lewis ran a personal best time of 51.62 to take second in the 400 hurdles.