WACO, Texas - The Baylor track and field team opens the 2016 NCAA Outdoor Championships with 11 student-athletes in action Wednesday through Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
STORYLINES
Baylor will have nine entries made up of 11 student-athletes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. The 45th-ranked women have five entries (four individuals, 1 relay), while the No. 36 men have four total (3 individuals, 1 relay).
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Baylor freshman Wil London comes in to the meet with the nation’s fifth-fastest 400-meter time (45.28). The Waco, Texas product and Big 12 champion was the fastest qualifier in the event at the NCAA?West Prelims with a time of 45.84.
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Baylor also has three other athletes, who will compete in two events, including George Caddick (400m, 4x400), Kiana Hawn (400h, 4x400) and Olicia Williams (800m, 4x400).
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Three members of Baylor's contingent are school record holders, including Felix Obi in the triple jump (53-9.75 [16.40m]), Annie Rhodes in the pole vault (14-7.25 [4.45m]) and Williams in the 800 meters (2:02.26).
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The men have had their 4x400-meter relay qualified for every NCAA?Championships since 1980 - a string of 37 straight years. BU is one of just four schools to get both its men's and women's 4x400-meter relays to Eugene.
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Baylor's group of 11 student-athletes, plus four relay alternates includes nine athletes with prior experience at the NCAA?outdoor meet and three former outdoor All-Americans, including Caddick (2014, 4x400), Isaiah Duke (2013, 4x400) and Ashley Fields (2014, 200m).
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Rhodes enters the meet in search of her first outdoor All-America accolade, after placing 10th last year. The junior won her first Big 12 pole vault title in May and her school-record vault of 14-7.25 [4.45m] is fifth-best in the NCAA.
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Obi won the 2014 NCAA?Indoor triple jump title, but an injury forced him to miss the 2014 outdoor season and he finished 10th at last season’s outdoor meet. He looks for his first outdoor All-America honor, coming in with the sixth-best jump in the country at 53-9.75 [16.40m], which won him his second-straight Big 12 title.
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Williams, who battled through injuries early in the outdoor season, will look to tally her first outdoor All-America honor. She won the Big 12 800-meter title with a season-best time of 2:04.12, which is 19th-best in the NCAA?entering the meet.
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The Bears will be represented by two men’s 400-meter runners, Caddick and London, at the national outdoor meet for the first time since 2011 (Zwede Hewitt and Marcus Boyd).
A full recap of each day's results with video highlights will be posted on BaylorBears.com.
ESPN Networks, including ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will cover every day of the meet. The event will also be available on the WATCH ESPN app.
