Jayhawks prepped for Mark Colligan Memorial

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas track & field will travel to Lincoln, Nebraska to compete in the Mark Colligan Memorial, hosted by Nebraska, on Saturday, January 20. The meet is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m. at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
 
The Jayhawks will see 64 athletes (31 men, 33 women) compete in Lincoln. Nebraska, Houston and Illinois will also be competing, with the meet scored in a quadrangular format.
 
HEADLINERS IN ACTION
Kansas will have nine All-America honorees competing in Lincoln on Saturday, including four men and five women. 
 
Barden Adams will be competing in the triple jump on Saturday, in which he earned First Team All-America honors in the indoor and outdoor seasons in 2017. Tre Daniels, Jaron Hartley and Ivan Henry, who were all members of the 4×400-meter relay team last year that earned Second Team All-America honors at both the indoor and outdoor NCAA Championships will also be competing for the Kansas men.
 
Sharon Lokedi, who notched a First Team All-America honor in the indoor 5,000 meters in 2016 and another First Team All-America honor in the 10,000-meter run at the 2017 NCAA Outdoor Championships last season, is slated to compete in the mile run and the 3,000 meters in Lincoln. Senior Zainab Sanni earned All-America Honorable Mention in the 200-meter dash at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships is scheduled to run the 60-meter dash and the 200 meters on Saturday for the Jayhawks. First Team All-American at the 2017 Outdoor Championships in the pole vault, Laura Taylor, will look to climb up the KU record book in the event as she competes for Kansas on Saturday as well. Nicole Montgomery and Riley Cooney, who were members of the First Team All-American distance medley relay team last season will also compete for the Jayhawks at the Mark Colligan Memorial.
 
MONTGOMERY NAMED BIG 12 ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Junior Nicole Montgomery was named Big 12 Women’s Track & Field Athlete of the Week on Wednesday, January 17 for her performance at the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular in Manhattan, Kansas on January 13.
 
Montgomery recorded a personal best time in the 600-yard run on her way to a meet record and her third win in as many years in the event at the Sunflower Triangular.
 
Her time of 1:20.62 marked the fastest in the NCAA this season, and ranks as the fifth-fastest time in Kansas women’s history, while moving her No. 4 on the KU women’s all-time top performers list.
 
Montgomery was also a member of the mixed 4×400-meter relay team that won the event by a wide margin. The Kansas team finished in 3:27.42, with the next-closest team, Kansas State, finishing in 3:31.44.

KANSAS NOTCHES THREE MEET RECORDS, 14 VICTORIES AT SUNFLOWER TRIANGULAR
The Jayhawks set three meet records on their way to 14 victories and a second-place finish at the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular on January 13. Freshman Honour Finley clocked a meet record-tying time of 55.49 in the 400-meter dash, while junior Nicole Montgomery broke her own meet record from 2016 in the 600-yard run with a time of 1:20.62. Senior Barden Adams tied his indoor career best in the triple jump with a mark of 16.01 meters (52-6.25 ft.) to also break a meet record.
 
Adams also won the men’s long jump, and was joined by Bryce Hoppel as the only Jayhawks that were able to earn two individual victories, as Hoppel won the mile and the 800-meter run. His 800-meter time currently ranks first in the Big 12 and 15th in the nation.
 
JAYHAWK MEN RANK NO. 11 IN PRESEASON POLL
The Kansas men found themselves ranked No. 11 in the USTFCCCA NCAA Division I preseason poll, released January 10.
 
No. 11 marks the highest indoor preseason ranking for the men’s team since it was also ranked No. 11 heading into the 2008 season. The men went on to finish 22nd that year at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
 
The last time either of the Kansas programs were ranked in the top-10 of the indoor preseason rankings was 2014 when the Jayhawk women ranked No. 10. The year prior, 2013, the Kansas women clocked in at No. 2 in the indoor preseason rankings, and would go on to place second at the NCAA Indoor Championships before winning the outdoor title later that year.
 
GIUSTI LOOKS TO MOVE UP KU RECORD BOOK
Senior Nick Giusti recorded a career-best performance in the 60-meter hurdles at the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular (Jan. 13), clocking in at 8.16 seconds and trimming two-hundredths of a second off his time. Already Kansas’ No. 8 performer in the event, Giusti didn’t move up the charts, but set the tone for the remainder of his final season. To become the No. 7 performer all-time at Kansas, Giusti will have to run faster than Keyen Porter’s time of 8.06 in 2009.
 
WILLIS MOVES UP TOP-10 PERFORMERS CHART
Sophomore Andrea Willis won the women’s pole vault at the Bob Timmons Challenge (Dec. 2) by clearing a career-best 4.17 meters (13-8.25 ft.) to move from No. 7 to No. 5 on the Kansas all-time performers list, passing current teammates Laura Taylor and Alexis Romero. Taylor and Romero were tied for the No. 5 spot at 4.15 meters (13-7.25 ft.). The pair each cleared 4.15 meters last season at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
 
DANIELS DISPLAYS TALENT
Senior Tre Daniels showed how big of an impact he could play in this season’s success for the Kansas men at the Bob Timmons Challenge (Dec. 2). Running in the 60-meter dash for just the third time in his career, Daniels posted a personal-best time of 6.63 seconds to move into a tie for ninth on the Kansas all-time performers list in the event.
 
Later in the day, Daniels helped the men’s 4×400-meter relay team to a first-place finish, with the team clocking in at 3:13.90. The team’s converted time (3:10.86) currently ranks seventh in NCAA Division I.
 
LOKEDI CRUSHES HER OWN SCHOOL RECORD
Junior Sharon Lokedi utilized her redshirt season during the 2017 indoor campaign, but the Eldoret, Kenya native didn’t miss a beat in her first race of the 2017-18 indoor season. Lokedi traveled to Boston, Massachusetts for the Boston University Season Opener on December 2, where she toed the line against some of the nation’s best in the 5,000-meter run. Lokedi scorched her way to a time of 15:39.05 in the event, demolishing her previous school record of 15:57.95 set at the Iowa State Classic in 2016.
 
VAULTING VIRTUOSOS
Once again, the Kansas track & field team boasts one of the most talented and deepest pole vault crews in the entire country. The Tom Hays coached group currently five athletes (two men, three women) ranked in the top-16 in the nation. Nick Meyer and Hussain Al Hizam are tied for 10th in the NCAA at 5.35 meters (17-6.5 ft.) on the men’s side, while Andrea Willis, Laura Taylor and Alexis Romero currently rank Nos. 10, 11 and 16, respectively, on the women’s front.
 
MULTIPLE JAYHAWKS RANK IN NATION’S TOP-25
While the indoor season is still in its infancy, Kansas has 14 top-25 marks in the NCAA Division I championship events.
 
Of those 14 top-25 marks, 11 rank in the top-16. Any athletes or relay teams that rank in the top-16 following February 25, 2018 will automatically qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships that take place March 9-10 in College Station, Texas.
 
Junior Sharon Lokedi is the highest-ranked Kansas women’s athlete in NCAA championships event, ranking No. 4 in the 5,000-meter run. For the Jayhawk men, senior Barden Adams ranks No. 2 in the NCAA in the triple jump, making him the highest-ranked male athlete for KU.
 
In non-NCAA Championship events, junior Nicole Montgomery holds the fastest women’s time in the nation in the 600-yard run, and senior Matt Anyiwo ranks No. 11 and Isaiah Cole ranks No. 12 in the event on the men’s side.
 
UP NEXT
Kansas will return to Lawrence for the final home meet of the 2018 indoor season, the Jayhawk Classic, scheduled for January 25-26 at Anschutz Pavilion. Thursday’s action is slated to begin at 2 p.m., and action will kick off at 9 a.m. on Friday morning.
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