TCU Wins 4x400 Relay at NCAA Indoor Championhsips
3/11/2000 12:00:00 AM
TCU sent seven athletes to the meet and all seven Kim Collins, Darvis Patton, Lindel Frater, Roy Williams, Johnny L. Collins II, Anthony Amantine and Kendrick Campbell earned All-America honors as the Horned Frogs posted the highest finish ever by a TCU team at an NCAA Indoor meet and obliterated TCU's previous high-point team total of 10 set in 1985 and 1989. Perennial champion Arkansas continued its domination of the meet, winning the men's team title for the 16th time in the last 17 years with 69.5 points. Stanford was second with 52 points, SMU third with 38.
"We had a tremendous meet and I couldn't be prouder of the athletes," said TCU head coach Monte Stratton. "Our guys have had a tremendous indoor season and it is great for them to be rewarded with such a high team finish."
The final event of the meet, the 4x400-meter relay, produced TCU's first NCAA indoor relay title ever, a breakthrough for a program that has produced seven outdoor NCAA relay crowns. The TCU quartet of Roy Williams, Anthony Amantine, Kendrick Campbell and Johnny L. Collins II edged Oklahoma by three-tenths of a second with a winning time of three minutes, 6.69 seconds.
The performance capped a monumental indoor season for TCU, which won its first conference team title ever two weeks ago by winning the Western Athletic Conference Indoor crown. The NCAA meet set new TCU standards by almost any measure as the Horned Frogs set new standards for indoor All-Americans, team points and team finish. The fourth-place finish by TCU, while the highest at an NCAA indoor meet, has only been bettered twice at NCAA Outdoor meets as TCU placed third at the outdoor championships in 1987 and 1998.
Saturday's action began with a strong showing by TCU in the 60-meter dash. TCU junior Kim Collins and senior Lindel Frater placed second and third, respectively, behind South Carolina's Terrence Trammell, who won the event in 6.54 seconds. Collins broke the tape in 6.61 while Frater was close behind in third at 6.63.
TCU added more points in the final of the 400-meter dash as TCU senior Johnny L. Collins added two points to TCU's team total with a seventh-place finish in a time of 46.58 seconds. Baylor's Brandon Couts, who set a collegiate record in qualifying Friday night, won the final in 45.79.
For complete results, go to www.NCAAChampionships.com.
