Multis, Distance Carnival Highlight Day Two of 88th Kansas Relays
THURSDAY RESULTS | UPDATED SCHEDULE
LAWRENCE, Kan. – A meet record to start the day and a host of competitive distance races in the evening resulted in another exciting day at the 88th Kansas Relays Thursday. Kansas senior Lindsay Vollmer broke the meet record en route to a victory in the heptathlon, while the men’s pole vault witnessed a battle between two former NCAA Champions.
Vollmer sets a precedent for the Jayhawks as she broke the meet record in the women’s heptathlon with 5,767 points, becoming the first KU female to claim the Kansas Relays heptathlon title in 17 years. The Hamilton, Missouri native broke the previous record set by Liz Roehrig of Minnesota in 2008 (5,740).
Jack Whitt won the Kansas Relays pole vault
for the second time in three years.After pulling ahead by 466 points after the first day of competition, Vollmer carried her momentum into day two of the Jayhawks’ first home meet of 2015. The senior tallied her fifth event win of the heptathlon when she posted the top long jump mark at 6.07 meters (19’11”). She continued her success in the javelin, also taking first in that event with a best throw of 42.58 meters (139’8″) just shortly after dominating the long jump. In the final event, the 800 meters, Vollmer completed her half mile in 2:26.34 to put her into the record-breaking category.
Senior Sarah Kolmer of Kansas State was Vollmer’s closest competitor, finishing with 5,004 points.
The other multi-event, the decathlon, also concluded Thursday with a Colorado State Rams earning the top finish. After a close day one of competition, sophomore Hunter Price of Colorado State was in the lead with 3,691 points. The spread continued to remain close throughout the second day, but Price’s sophomore teammate, Josh Cogdill, took home the win with a total of 6,883 points. Going into the final event Cogdill was in second place, but a time of 4:48.20 in the 1,500-meter race edged him into first. He won by a slim 88 points with Adam Deterding of Kansas State finishing close behind with 6,795 points.
The college open men’s pole vault provided to be one of the more exciting events of the day as two all-stars went head-to-head. Former Kansas vaulter Jordan Scott was the 2010 NCAA Outdoor Champion in the event and found himself against a familiar foe in former Oral Roberts star, Jack Whitt. Whitt, who was the 2012 NCAA Outdoor pole vault champion, and Scott each cleared a top height of 5.50 meters (18’0½”), however Whitt claimed the tie-breaker as he had fewer misses at the lower heights. The win was Whitt’s second Kansas Relays title in the last three years.
The distance carnival took center stage Thursday night with some of the Midwest’s top distance specialists taking to the Rock Chalk Park track. A pair of freshmen picked event victories as Butler Community College’s Albert Meier won the men’s 5,000 meters in 14:40.32. Wichita State’s first-year runner Lycia Hollon turned in the top time in the women’s 10,000 meters after she clocked in at 37:23.80.
To close out the evening, Evan Landes ran away from the field in the men’s 10,000 meters. The Kansas junior, who was running unattached Thursday, crossed the finish in 30:21.46, more than 37 seconds faster than the runner-up.
Action will kick off on what will be the final day of the 88th Kansas Relays at 8 a.m., Friday with the high school girls’ javelin and shot put. Track events will get underway at 9 a.m., and run throughout the day. The final events on the track will be the collegiate men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relays at 11:30 p.m.
