The Jayhawks Wrap Up the Weekend in Impressive Fashion
Feb. 11, 2006
AMES, Iowa –
The <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>University of Kansas men’s and women’s track and field teams wrapped up their performances at the ISU Classic in Ames, Iowa, and the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., today. The meets were not team scored.<?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
At the ISU Classic, senior Benson Chesang improved upon his provisionally qualifying performance in the 3000-meter run from last week’s Husker Invitational, finishing second overall with a time of 7 minutes, 58.05 seconds. The only competitor to finish ahead of him was former Jayhawk great Charlie Gruber. Sophomore Colby Wissel also provisionally qualified in the same race, doing so with a time of 8:04.19. Another Jayhawk, sophomore Paul Hefferon, came extremely close to becoming the third Kansan to provisionally qualify in the same event, but his time of 8:05.01 was only .01 away from the qualifying time.
Senior Angela Pichardo had a great showing in the 800-meter run, finishing 12th overall in a time of 2:09.42. Her time was nearly a provisionally qualifying performance, with the cutoff being 2:09.00.
Senior Sheldon Battle continued his streak of impressive performances in the shot put. The Jamestown, N.Y., native, who owns the longest throw in the nation this year, finished third at the Classic with a toss of 63 feet, 2 ¾ inches. He was the highest collegiate finisher, with only two throwers competing for Nike finishing ahead of him.
At the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark., sophomore Crystal Manning had a great showing, placing fifth in the triple jump. Her leap of 41-3 ¾ was good to place her second on KU’s all-time performance list. Senior Brett Terp also placed very high on the day, finishing second in the high jump (6-7 ½).
The Jayhawks will take next weekend off as they prepare for the Big 12 Indoor Championships on Feb. 24 and 25 from the Bob Devaney Sports Complex in Lincoln, Neb.
