Two KU Track Contingents in Action this Weekend
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The University of Kansas track & field teams will send groups to two different meets this weekend. The KU throwers will journey to La Jolla, California to take part in the Triton Invitational April 24-25, while the sprinters will trek to Joplin, Missouri for the Bill Williams/Bob Laptad Invitational on April 24.
The Jayhawk throwers will head to the San Diego area for the Triton Invitational for the third time in the last four years. The meet draws many of the top throwers in the nation with several KU athletes included. Junior Daina Levy is slated to compete in the hammer throw. Last week at the Kansas Relays, Levy posted a personal-best mark of 65.81 meters (215’11”), which ranks fifth in the NCAA this year and broke her own Jamaican national record. Levy will hit the hammer throw cage at on Friday at 12 p.m. (CT).
Juniors Anastasiya Muchkayev and Dasha Tsema will also make the trip to southern California. Each are scheduled to compete in the discus Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. (CT). Both are ranked among the top-40 discus throwers in the NCAA this season, with Tsema checking in at No. 16 following her career-best mark of 53.82 meters (176’7″) at the Kansas Relays. Muchkayev is also slated to take part in the shot put at the Triton Invite. Her season’s best mark of 15.61 meters (51’2¾”) also has her ranked inside the nation’s top-40 in the shot put. The event in La Jolla will kick off at 1 p.m. (CT) Saturday.
On the men’s side, five Jayhawks are scheduled to compete. Freshman Cole Ceban will head up the group with his name entered in the discus and shot put fields. Ceban is coming off an impressive shot put outing at the Kansas Relays, where he surpassed the 60-foot mark for the first time as a Jayhawk. He also holds the NCAA’s No. 23 mark in the discus with his heave of 57.33 meters (188’1″) at the ESU Spring Open four weeks ago.
Joining Ceban in the discus will be senior Jonathan Miller, junior Paul Golen, and sophomores Mitch Cooper and Kenny Boyer. Cooper is also among the nation’s top-25 discus throwers, while Miller finds himself ranked 57th. Two divisions of the men’s discus will be held on Saturday, with the Invitational division set to begin at 3 p.m. (CT), followed by the Open division at 5 p.m. (CT). To follow the Jayhawks’ results from La Jolla, log on to UCSDTritons.com or watch for updates on Twitter at @KUTrack.
A small group of sprinters and hurdlers will also be in action this week as they head to the campus of Missouri Southern State for the Bill Williams/Bob Laptad Invitational. Both the men and women will send 4×100-meter relay squads looking to improve their standing on the NCAA and Big 12 yearly charts. The gun for the event is scheduled for 4:25 p.m., Friday. Other athletes to watch will be senior Michael Stigler, who will run in the 200 meters for the first time this year and junior Jaime Wilson competing in the 400 meters. Updates from Joplin can be found by going to MSSULions.com and following on Twitter at @KUTrack.
Next week the full Kansas squads will return to Rock Chalk Park for the Rock Chalk Classic on Saturday, May 2. The meet will feature the Jayhawks going up against teams from Wichita State, UMKC, Oral Roberts and Air Force in the final home meet of the 2015 campaign. For more information on the meet, log on to KUAthletics.com and go to the Track & Field page.
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