2007 Nt Classic

[GreenBat]

Wariner's team wins relay, 200 has to wait

Olympic champion doesn't risk it with cool conditions at UNT

11:40 PM CDT on Saturday, April 14, 2007

By C. ANTHONY MOSSER / Special Contributor to The Dallas Morning News

DENTON – Cold and windy conditions kept Olympian Jeremy Wariner from competing in the 200 meters at Saturday's North Texas Classic, but Wariner did anchor the Waco All-Stars to a win in the 4x400-meter relay.

Wariner, the 2004 Olympic champion in the 400 meters who attended Arlington Lamar and Baylor, ran a 45.79 for his anchor leg of the 4x400. It was good enough to run down Baylor's Kevin Mutai in the final 150 meters and win the event for the Waco All-Stars in 3:13.28. The Waco All-Stars were comprised of Wariner, 2005 NCAA outdoor 400-meter champion Darold Williamson, Jamacian Olympian Sanjay Ayre and Joe Shelton. Baylor finished second in 3:13.60.

"I had hoped to run in the 200 but with the weather and the wind I didn't want to chance it," Wariner said. "We were just out there having fun. Baylor is probably the top college team in the 4x400 so running against them helped us and it helps them."

The lead oscillated between the teams through the first three legs of the relay. Baylor's Mutai had about an 8-meter lead at the final exchange. Wariner quickly cut that in half but didn't overtake Mutai until the final stretch.

"I always run my relay leg the same," Wariner said. "I always kick it in at the final 150 meters."

The teams could meet again Saturday when Baylor hosts the Michael Johnson Invitational. Wariner is planning his season debut in the 400 meters at that race.

"I'd like to go under 44 [seconds]," Wariner said. "I did last year to open up the season."

Baylor track coach Clyde Hart, who continues to train Wariner, was pleased with Wariner's performance Saturday and thinks next week's 4x400 relay should be even better.

"Jeremy need a good race and he got it," Hart said.

From DRC

Despite unseasonable weather, North Texas garnered another pair of regional qualifiers for the 2007 outdoor season at the Boathouse Sports North Texas Classic on Saturday at Fouts Field.

Senior high jumper Mark Lee used the third of his jumps at the regional qualifying mark of 2.1 meters to clear the bar and punch his ticket to the regional meet.

Lee is the fourth UNT qualifier for the regional meet along with Heath Smith, Heather Wood, and the women’s 4x400 relay team, and will now have the remainder of the season to improve upon his mark in preparation for regionals.

Sophomore Brandi Stanfield also qualified in her first attempt of the outdoor season at the triple jump. She managed to drop in three jumps that were not only long enough, but also under the wind validations, topping out with a leap of 12.59 meters in her fifth try. The regional-qualifying mark stands at 12.32 meters with less than 4 meters-per-second.

However, Stanfield encountered a stroke of bad luck, as well. She surged off the board for a long jump of 6.28 meters, good enough to take first in the event and 0.28 meters past the regional qualifying mark; however, a wind reading of 4.4 deemed the mark invalid and forces Stanfield to wait another week to qualify. She also had another qualifying mark deemed invalid due to wind, and a mark that would have been good enough by wind factors but came up only 0.01 meters shy of qualifications.

The Mean Green also claimed a number of gold medals on the day including another in the women’s high jump. Ryan Hill cleared 1.65 meters with ease to take first, while Brooke Hewitt came in fourth with a leap of 1.60.

Heather Wood and Alana Tyler also took a pair of firsts in the women’s throwing events. Wood, the reigning Sun Belt Conference shot put champion, checked in with a throw of 14.26 meters for first after passing the regional-qualifying mark two weeks ago in Arlington.

Tyler also inched closer to the mark, taking the hammer throw title with a throw of 51.31 meters, shattering the old school record of 47.77 meters. On top of that, Tyler took a second gold medal in the discus with a toss of 40.21 meters.

Senior Josh Rogers took first in the 3,000-meter steeplechase in a time of 9:54.30.

Christal Brewster finished fourth in the pole vault, but tied the school record by clearing 3.35 meters.

The evening finished off with a pair of Olympic gold medalists making appearances.

Jeremy Wariner, a former Baylor All-American and dual-gold medalist in the 2004 Olym-pics, anchored the Waco All-Stars team.

His former teammate at Baylor, and the anchor for the 2004 Olympic 4x400 relay team, Darold Williamson, ran the initial leg for the squad; however, it was Wariner that overcame an 8-meter deficit on the last leg to overtake a stingy Baylor group for first place in a time of 3:13.28.

The Mean Green track team will be back in action on April 21, traveling to Fort Worth for the TCU Invitational.

2007 NT Classic results

Edited April 15, 2007 by GreenBat