Dixon, Geubelle and 4x400-Meter Relay Take Conference Crowns as KU Concludes Big 12 Championships
Feb. 25, 2012
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Final Results 
COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Junior Andrea Geubelle, sophomore Diamond Dixon and the women’s 4×400-meter relay team earned conference titles at the final day of the Big 12 Indoor Championships Saturday. Geubelle took home the triple jump crown, Dixon won the 400 meters and the women’s relay ran the fastest time in the country this year as they led the women to a third-place team finish with 101.33 points. The KU men collected 44.5 points to finish 10th.
“On the women’s side, I’m really excited,” explained 12th-year head coach Stanley Redwine. “We had four automatic qualifiers, two of our athletes are No. 1 in the nation and one is No. 2 in the nation. That’s what we’re looking for. For the men, it was a hard fought meet. I’m definitely not excited about their placement, but we did have some individuals that did well.”
Geubelle, who hails from University Place, Wash., entered the day boasting the No. 2 triple jump mark in the nation and the best in the Big 12. The junior quickly put away doubts of her victory almost immediately, jumping over 43 feet on her first attempt of the competition. The mark would have been good enough to win, however, Geubelle was looking for some bigger leaps. She got just that on her next attempt, as she hit a distance of 43-08 ft., earning her the NCAA Championships automatic qualification and the second best jump in school history. She wasn’t done however, jumping to a distance of 13.59 meters (44-07 ft.) on her third attempt to seal the conference championship. The mark is not only a school record, but it is the best in the NCAA this year, and ranks third among all athletes in the U.S. Geubelle would see no need to attempt any further jumps in the finals, having already led the field by almost three feet. The mark would be more than enough to earn her the first conference title of her career.
“On that third jump I really put it all out there with no fear and just hoped for the best,” explained Geubelle following her victory. “It really didn’t look that far but when I looked at (horizontal jumps coach Wayne) Pate, he seemed pretty happy with it so I knew it had to be a good one.”
With her triple jump win Saturday and the runner-up finish in the long jump Friday, Geubelle collected a total of 18 points toward the women’s team total, the most on the team and the third-most by any athlete at the Big 12 meet. The 18 points also ranks as the third-most earned by a KU woman at a Big 12 Indoor meet.
Diamond Dixon continues to write some incredible chapters in her already outstanding college career. The reigning outdoor 400-meter conference champion accomplished the same feat at the indoor meet Saturday afternoon. The Houston, Texas native entered the finals of the event boasting the fastest qualifying time of 52.81, which, up until Saturday, was a school record.
In the finals, Dixon got out to an early lead, moving ahead of the other runners by nearly two strides for much of the race, however, Texas A&M’s Kamaria Brown wouldn’t go down without a fight. Brown nearly caught Dixon with only 50 meters to go, but the sophomore held off the Aggie, claiming her second-career conference championship and KU’s first sprint title since 2008.
Only a few hours after earning the Big 12 crown in the 400 meters, Dixon would join up with juniors Denesha Morris, Paris Daniels and Taylor Washington in the finals of the women’s 4×400-meter relay. Competing in the last heat of the three section final, the four ran one of the best relays in NCAA history. When the anchor, Dixon, crossed the finish line, the clock read 3:31.36, giving the quartet the eighth-fastest 4×400-meter relay time in NCAA history. The school-record mark is the best in the country this year and gives Kansas its first-ever Big 12 title in a relay event.
Many other Jayhawks had fantastic days on the track and in the field, as they earned points toward their respective team totals. Senior Rebeka Stowe claimed fourth in the women’s mile with a time of 4:48.10, while fellow senior Cori Christensen took third in the 1,000 meters with a personal-record time of 2:49.46. Stowe would also claim seventh in the 3,000 meters later in the day, clocking in at 9:38.12.
Paris Daniels not only helped the women’s 4×400 relay team to a conference championship, but she also earned some team points in the 200 meters and 400 meters. The St. Louis, Mo., native placed sixth in the 400 meters with a personal-best time of 53.99 and took seventh in the 200 meters, running the one lap in 23.61, also a personal-record.
In the field, Jessica Maroszek notched her best-career throw in the shot put, hitting a mark of 14.89 meters (48-10.25 ft.). The throw earned the sophomore an eighth-place finish in the event and one point for the women’s team. Senior Allison Mayfield also contributed with .33 points of her own, clearing a height of 1.70 meters (5-07 ft.) in the women’s high jump, putting her in a tie for eighth-place.
The women’s team’s third-place finish ties the 2008 squad for the highest-ever placement at the Big 12 indoor meet under Stanley Redwine. Their 101.33 points are the most-ever earned by a Redwine group and the four conference champions also tie the 2008 team for the most-ever at a conference meet.
On the men’s side, senior Joel Krause picked up a personal best in the finals of the shot put. Krause hit a mark of 16.64 meters (54-07.25 ft.) on the final throw of the preliminary round to advance to the finals, where he would conclude his day with an eighth-place finish. Also scoring in the field were Nick Canton and Nick Giancana, who tied for fifth in the high jump with clearances of 2.07 meters (6-09.50 ft.). Placing eighth in the high jump was Jonathan Fuller, who also leaped 2.07 meters, but fell in the standings due to misses.
Sophomore Josh Munsch battled hard in the finals of the men’s mile run. The Hays, Kan., native stuck with the leaders for much of the race before finishing seventh and clocking in with a time of 4:07.34. Another underclassman, Kenneth McCuin, continues to turn some heads week after week. The freshman out of Baltimore earned five points for the men with his fourth-place finish in the 600 yard run and a time of 1:11.15.
Donny Wasinger ran the fastest 1,000 meters of his heralded career in the event finals. The senior led for a good portion of the race before finishing fifth with a time of 2:26.21. Brendan Soucie also concluded his outstanding weekend Saturday in the finals of the 800 meters, placing eighth and crossing the finish line in 1:52.50.
The Jayhawks will now divide for several meets across the country next weekend as the men and women have only one more opportunity to punch their ticket to the NCAA Indoor Championships to be held March 9-10. Some athletes will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., for the Arkansas Last Chance, some will head to Ames, Iowa for the ISU NCAA Qualifier and others will compete at the Alex Wilson Last Chance in South Bend, Ind. For updates and results of all the Jayhawks in competition next weekend log on to kuathletics.com or follow on twitter at KU_Track
