Jayhawks Have Strong Outings on Day One of Last Chance Meets
March 2, 2012
Alex Wilson Results | Arkansas Results
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South Bend, Ind. – JuniorAndrea Geubelle took home the long jump title Friday evening at the Alex Wilson Invitational, Geubelle’s winning mark ranks her at No. 6 in the nation and puts herself in excellent position to earn a spot in her second event at the NCAA Indoor Championships next weekend.
Geubelle, who hails from University Place, Wash., hit a mark of 6.37 meters (20-10.75 ft.) on her sixth and final attempt of the evening to earn her the second long jump win of the season. The personal-best leap ranks the junior sixth in the nation and almost assures her a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships held March 9-10 in Boise, Idaho.
Already holding an NCAA automatic spot in the triple jump, Geubelle ranks No. 1 in the nation in the event and, after moving up in the NCAA rankings Friday in the long jump, will be the first KU female to compete in two field events at the NCAA indoors under head coach Stanley Redwine.
Taking to the track inside the Loftus Sports Center were members of the men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams. The women’s team, composed of seniors Cori Christensen, Rebeka Stowe and Shayla Wilson and junior Taylor Washington, was coming off an outstanding performance at the Big 12 Indoor Championships a week ago, running to the third-fastest time in school history (11:24.39). The team ran a solid race Friday night, but was unable to improve upon their time, claiming fifth, with the anchor, Stowe, crossing the finish line in 11:35.25.
For the men, senior Donny Wasinger, junior Kyle Clemons and sophomores Josh Munsch and Dalen Fink ran their way into the KU record books. The quartet passed the baton around in 9:41.02, the fourth-fastest time in school history. The time places the KU men in the top-20 in the NCAA this season, and puts them on the bubble with the NCAA meet looming.
Junior Chris Toombs was also in action at the Alex Wilson Friday, taking his turns in the men’s long jump. The Junction City, Kan., native was coming off a great scoring effort at the conference meet last week and was hoping to earn a spot at his first indoor nationals. Toombs hit a mark of 7.07 meters (23-02.50 ft.) on his second attempt, a distance that would eventually earn him a fourth-place finish in the event and gives him some momentum as he heads into the outdoor portion of the 2012 season.
Fayetteville, Ark. – A small but strong contingent made the journey to the Arkansas Qualifier held Friday afternoon and evening, with each KU athlete vying for one of the final spots at the NCAA Championships next weekend.
Pole vaulter Demi Payne entered the day with a top-20 mark, and only needed to improve upon her season best height of 13-10 ft. by less than an inch, which would move her into the all-important top-16 and would likely punch her ticket to Boise. The sophomore started out strong, needing only three attempts to advance through her first two heights. She would be unable, however, to clear the most important bar of the night; a height of 13-11 ft. Payne came close on all three attempts, but fouled on each, ending her indoor season with her fifth victory and having improved upon her personal-best clearance in six of the eight meets this year.
On the men’s side, the Jayhawks had two underclassmen taking to the vaulting pits; sophomore Alex Bishop and freshman Greg Lupton. Only Lupton who would make it to the final round of jumps, as Bishop was unable to record a clearance. Lupton, out of Kingwood, Texas put forth a valiant effort, tying a personal-best clearance and having an opportunity to move into the NCAA top 16. The freshman couldn’t quite make it over the 17-08.50 ft. bar, but collected a third-place finish, his fourth top-five finish of the indoor season.
On the always-fast surface on the Randal Tyson Indoor track, KU had three running in the men’s and women’s 800-meter race. For the men, Brendan Soucie once again recorded a new indoor personal best, making the four laps around the track in 1:51.80. The time would be good enough to earn the sophomore a fourth-place finish. Teammate Nick Seckfort also ran in the race and wasn’t far behind, taking sixth with a time of 1:55.48.
Maddy Rich competed in the women’s 800-meter race. The sophomore out of Prairie Village, Kan., placed third, crossing the finish line in 2:17.44.
The men’s and women’s teams will have athletes in action tomorrow taking to the track at the Alex Wilson Invitational Saturday morning and afternoon. Zach Zarda will kick things off at 10:30 a.m. (CT) in the 3,000 meters, while the men’s 4×400-meter relay team will close out the day at 1:10 p.m. (CT) Log on to kuathletics.com for updates and a complete recap of all the Jayhawks performances in the final day of Last Chance weekend.
