Seventeen Big 12 track & field representatives placed in the top eight in the finals of the 2009 IAAF World Championships, highlighted by 12 total medals including eight gold.
Texas and Texas A&M led the Big 12 with the most athletes and medals captured at the events held Aug. 15-23 in Berlin, Germany.
Texas’ former Longhorns tallied four first-place finishes, headed by Sanya Richards who won individual gold in the 400-meter dash and anchored the U.S. relay team to its 10th-gold-medal win in the 4x400.
Melaine Walker collected her world title in the 400-metter hurdles, the second of her career. On the men’s side, Trey Hardee was awarded gold in the decathlon, becoming the first Texas male to win an individual World Championship. Texas Ex Michelle Carter competed in the shot put and came in sixth.
Texas A&M boasted medals in four events. Sophomore Jessica Beard, the youngest member of the U.S. team, received a gold medal for running in the prelims of the 4x400 relay. In the 4x100 relay, A&M alums Simone Facey claimed gold with the women’s team and Tyrone Edgar earned bronze on the men’s side.
Volunteer assistant coaches were represented by Wallace Spearmon and Muna Lee. Spearmon completed the 200-meter dash in third place, nabbing his third career medal in the event at a World Championship. In the women’s 200-meter dash, Lee finished fourth while Facey followed in sixth.
Aggie ex Fabrice Lapierre and incoming junior Tabarie Henry garnered fourth-place spots in the long jump and 400-meter dash, respectively.
Former athletes from Baylor, Missouri and Nebraska also produced medal winners.
Jeremy Wariner, a former BU Bear and Olympic gold medalist, captured a gold medal in the 4x400 relay and an individual silver medal in the 400-meter dash.
Meanwhile, former Tiger Christian Cantwell secured his title in the shot put, setting a mark for best in the world this season.
Former Husker and five-time Big 12 champion Priscilla Lopes-Schliep rounded out the medal winnings, taking silver in the 100-meter hurdles.
Colorado also placed in the top eight in three events. CU garnered fifth-place finishes from recent graduate Jenny Barringer in the 3,000-metter steeplechase and assistant coach Casey Malone in the discus throw. Former Buff Dathan Ritzenhein notched a sixth-place spot in the 10,000-meter run.
2009 IAAF World Championship
(Top 8 Finishers)
Men’s
Jeremy Wariner, Baylor, 2nd (400)
Baylor, 1st (4x400)
Casey Malone, Colorado – Assistant Coach, 5th (discuss throw)
Dathan Ritzenhein, Colorado, 6th (10,000)
Christian Cantwell, Missouri, 1st (shot put)
Trey Hardee, Texas, 1st (decathlon)
Tyrone Edgar, Texas A&M, 3rd (4x100/Great Britain)
Wallace Spearmon, Texas A&M – Volunteer Assistant Coach, 3rd (200)
*Tabarie Henry, Texas A&M, 4th (400/U.S. Virgin Islands)
Fabrice Lapierre, Texas A&M, 4th (long jump/Australia)
Women’s
Jenny Barringer, Colorado, 5th (3,000 steeplechase)
Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, Nebraska, 2nd (100 hurdles)
Sanya Richards, Texas, 1st (400)
Texas, 1st (4X400)
Melaine Walker, Texas, 1st (400 hurdles/Jamaica)
Michelle Carter, Texas, 6th (shot put)
*Jessica Beard, Texas A&M, 1st (4x400/ran in prelims)
Simone Facey, Texas A&M, 1st (4x100/Jamaica)
Texas A&M, 6th (200/Jamaica)
Muna Lee, Texas A&M – Volunteer Assistant Coach, 4th (200)
*- Indicates current or incoming Big 12 student-athletes