WACO, Texas - The Baylor track and field team is slated to have four athletes in action at the USATF Junior Outdoor Championships, which start Friday and continue through Sunday, at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in Clovis, Calif.
All four participants are coming off their freshman collegiate seasons in Waco. Taylor Bennett and Kiana Horton will run in both the 100 and 200-meter dashes, while on the men’s side Blaine Listach will take part in the high jump competition and Wil London will run the 400 meters.
The meet features the future of USA Track & Field as the best athletes under the age of 20, including high school standouts and the nation's most promising college freshmen, look to qualify for the IAAF World U20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, July 19-24.
Coming into the meet, Bennett owns the fourth (11.33) and second-fastest (22.71) qualifying marks in the 100 and 200-meter events, respectively. After suffering an injury at the Drake Relays, Bennett returned to place 18th at the NCAA West Preliminary Championships with a time of 23.39 in the 200 meters and ran the opening leg for BU’s 4x400-meter relay at the NCAA Championships.
Horton boasts the ninth (11.61) and four-best (23.02) qualifying times in the two sprint races. She has not competed since pulling up with an injury in the finals of the 100 meters at the Big 12 Championship on May 15.
For the two BU freshmen, the first round of the 100 meters will be at 5:05 p.m. Friday (7:05 p.m. CT) with the final slated for later that night at 8 p.m. (10 p.m. CT). The first round of the 200 meters will be contested at 6:35 p.m. (8:35 p.m. CT) on Saturday with the event final running at 7:22 p.m. (9:22 p.m. CT) Sunday.
Listach will be the final BU competitor to get in on the action. He will compete in the high jump at 5:45 p.m. (7:45 p.m. CT) on Sunday. Listach had a top clearance in his first year in Waco of 6-11 [2.11m] to finish seventh at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship in May.
London, the Big 12 outdoor champion in the quarter mile, comes into the meet with the second-fastest qualifying time at 45.28. He concluded his season with a 14th-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 46.08. The first round of the 400 meters is scheduled for 5:45 p.m. Saturday and the finals will be held at 6:55 p.m. (8:55 p.m. CT) Sunday.
