Baylor track sends 11 entries to NCAAs
AUSTIN Even with the skies clear for Saturday’s final session of the NCAA West preliminary track and field meet, the puddles around Myers Stadium stood as soggy reminders of previous downpours.
For Baylor, though, there proved to be a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
Baylor freshman Ashley Fields breezed to an NCAA qualifying berth in the women’s 200, and the Bears also advanced four relay teams on the meet’s final day of action. That gives Baylor a combined 11 men’s and women’s entries for the NCAA Championships on June 3 5 in Eugene, Ore.
To gain a roster addition at this late stage of the season is rarer than a buffet of steak tartare. But Baylor augmented its roster in just such a unique way when Mark’Quis Frazier became academically eligible for the first time all season a few days after the Big 12 championships.
And Frazier paid off in rapid rewards, running a brisk third leg on Baylor’s 4×100 relay squad, which won its heat
in a season best time of 39.68 to qualify for [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] nationals.
"I transferred in, and I had some (academic) issues," said Frazier, a junior transfer from Houston who spent two years at [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] Barton County (Kan.) Community College. "I worked on that last semester and was able to come back a few days after conference, because I was eligible again. So I was fortunate to run the 4×100 here.
"I was very confident in our group of guys, because all we had to do is get the stick around. That’s it. We could rely on our God given talent to make it there."
That’s how it played out, as Justin Allen broke out to a strong leadoff leg before passing off to Blake Heriot, who gained some separation to propel the Bears the lead. Frazier widened the gap with a burst around the curve after the next [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] pass, and then freshman Alex Reece held off a pair of hard charging anchors from Arizona State and Oregon for the victory and the automatic trip to Eugene.
"Being a freshman, it’s an experience, because you have a group of guys who are relying on you to bring it home," Reece said. "And you just have to hold on. At the end, I was like, ‘Oh, I hope I can finish in first.’ And I did. We got the job done."
The Baylor women’s 4×100 relay also reached the NCAA stage, though they had to sweat out the results more than their men’s colleagues. Thanks to a powerful anchor leg from frosh Justise Dayries, Baylor nipped UCLA for the 12th and final qualifying spot. Both the Bears and Bruins finished in a dead heat at 44.95, but Baylor moved on when that season best time was broken down to thousandths of a second, coming in at 44.946 to UCLA’s 44.948.
TCU’s Charles [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] uk Silmon added a bit more sparkle to his dazzling senior season by moving on to nationals in two more events, the 200 meter dash and the 4×100 relay. The former Waco High state champion had already qualified in the 100, running 10.03 earlier in the meet despite shutting it down near the finish.
He ranks in the top 10 in the world in both the 200 (20.23) and the 100 even though he’s competing on a pair of surgically repaired knees due to past ACL injuries.
"I’m just trying to get stronger each and every time out, and fortunately that’s the way it’s worked," Silmon said. "I’ve really been blessed."
In Saturday’s 200, Silmon exploded out of the blocks and sped out in front through the first turn, ensuring a going away victory in the straightaway. His time of 20.23 was a personal best and tied the Myers Stadium record previously set by Texas A Charles Mitchell in 2024.
Silmon, who offset his purple singlet with a pair of bright yellow cleats, said he has gold fever entering the NCAA meet.
"I’m trying to do it all, man," he said, smiling.
Like Silmon, Baylor’s Fields will likely compete in three events at the NCAAs. In the women’s 200, the freshman from New York charged to a time of 23.37, second best in her heat and fourth best of the day.
When Fields arrived on campus, BU assistant coach Michael Ford compared her to Tiffany Townsend, a past Swiss [عزيزي الزائر يتوجب عليك التسجيل لمشاهدة الرابط للتسجيل اضغط هنا] Army knife sprinter for the Bears.
The Baylor men’s 4×400 team will make its familiar trip to NCAAs after finishing second in its heat at 3:05.75, picking up an automatic spot. The Bears rambled out to a nice lead after the first two legs by Justin Allen and Isaiah Duke, but Illinois shaved the gap on Baylor’s third leg by Drew Seale. The Illini and Bears took the final handoff almost simultaneously before Illinois anchor Stephon Pamilton shot out to a 10 meter lead heading around the curve.
BU’s Heriot made a frenetic surge on the final straightaway and almost caught Pamilton at the line, but couldn’t complete the comeback. Still, the Bears advanced.
In the women’s 4×400, Baylor survived a sluggish anchor leg from Raena Rhone to advance with the ninth fastest time at 3:32.71. The Bears fell from second to fourth in their heat on that last lap, but their time ultimately wasn’t far off their seed time.
Also advancing to nationals for Baylor in the first two days of action were Erin Atkinson (women’s hammer throw), Skylar White (women’s discus), Desmine Hilliard (men’s discus), Christina Holland (women’s 400 hurdles), Heriot (men’s 400) and Olicia Williams (women’s 800).
However, Baylor had its share of misses, too. Freshman Brianna Richardson fell a half inch short of an NCAA berth in the women’s triple jump, as her best of 41 10 came up just shy of UTEP’s Nickevea Wilson (41 101/2). In the men’s triple jump, Felix Obi entered the meet ranked fifth in the region, but he couldn’t advance out of his preliminary flight.
In the women’s 1,500, Mariah Kelly positioned herself well through three laps, in a tight bunch just a few steps behind the leaders, but faded on the final lap to come in 17th overall at 4:24.82.
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