The Baylor track & field team had an exciting finish and qualified the women’s 4x400-meter relay on day two of the NCAA Track & Field Outdoor Championships Thursday at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
In all, the women’s team qualified just one of six entries to Saturday’s championship final.
The women’s 4x100-meter relay team of Kiana Horton, Taylor Bennett, Juanita Mainoo and Raven Grant ran their second-fastest race of the season (43.92) but finished fifth in heat three and 12th overall. The time was one-thousandths of a second off BU’s all-time outdoor list.
In the 400 meters, junior Kiana Horton went 53.33 out of lane two to finish seventh in heat three and 21st overall. The school-record holder closed out her individual season with three of BU’s top-10 outdoor times in school history along with the indoor and outdoor Big 12 400-meter titles.
In the 800 meters, redshirt freshman Aaliyah Miller opened up well but couldn’t hold on as she logged 2:08.33 to finish seventh in heat three and 23rd overall in her first outdoor national meet. She finishes the season with two of the top-four times in program history, running to her first Big 12 outdoor title in the event.
In her final race of her collegiate career, Kiana Hawn ran 58.65 in the 400-meter hurdles to finish fifth in heat three and 16th overall in her third consecutive race at Hayward Field. Her semifinal placing is her highest finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in three appearances after she finished 24th in 2016 and 20th in 2017.
Taylor Bennett closed out her individual season after running 23.11 to finish fifth in heat three and 17th overall in the 200 meters.
In a win-or-go-home situation, the 4x400-meter relay tandem of Victoria Powell, Taylor Bennett, Aaliyah Miller and Kiana Horton ran the fourth-fastest time in program history at 3:30.03 to finish second in heat one and automatically qualify for Saturday’s final. They posted the fifth-fastest semifinal time and are the only Big 12 squad to move on to Saturday.
The women’s and men’s 4x400m relay teams will both compete in the finals for the first time since 2009.
