Geubelle Shines on Day Three of Texas Relays
March 30, 2012
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AUSTIN, TEXAS – Junior Andrea Geubelle finished as the runner-up in the women’s triple jump Friday as the Jayhawks competed in the third day of the 85th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays.
Geubelle, who was the NCAA’s indoor national champion in the triple jump, only used three of her six attempts on the day, but made the most of them with each mark topping the 43-foot mark. The University Place, Wash. native quickly leaped to the top of the leaderboard after her first trip down the runway, hitting a mark of 13.23 meters (43-05.00ft.). After improving on that jump by just over an inch on her second attempt, Geubelle took one final leap into the sand pit, hitting a distance that measured 13.38 meters (43-10.75 ft.). The attempt was less than an inch from her outdoor personal best and positioned her in a firm second place as the group moved into finals.
With a big jump already under her belt, the junior chose to shut it down for the day, finishing as the runner-up in the event with one of the best marks in the country this year. Friday’s performance ranks her at No. 2 in the NCAA for the 2012 outdoor season and also meets the provisional requirement for the Olympic Trials this summer, placing her name on the list of those who could make the trip to Eugene in June.
It was a young 4×400-meter relay team that took the track for the Jayhawks in preliminary action Friday afternoon. With junior Kyle Clemons leading off in the event, he would hand off to three freshmen to close out the race. First-year sprinters Mike Hester, Kenneth McCuin and Michael Stigler ended the race in fine form, with Stigler crossing the finish line in 3:09.41 to win their heat. The group enters Saturday’s finals with the second-fastest qualifying time. The finish is also the fastest by a KU men’s squad in nearly two years.
New Braunfels, Texas native Demi Payne returned to her home state as she took part in the B section of the women’s pole vault. The sophomore, coming off a victory last week at the Baker Relays, topped out with a clearance of 4.00 meters (13-01.50 ft.). Payne, who nearly met her personal best in the event, couldn’t quite get herself over the next bar however, ending her day placing in a tie for sixth.
In the B section of the men’s high jump Nick Giancana earned the best clearance of his KU career. The sophomore out of Topeka topped the 2.10 meter (6-10.75 ft.) bar on just his third jump of the day. The mark would earn him a fifth-place finish.
On the women’s side, Colleen O’Brien and Allison Mayfield, also competing in the B-section, compiled some solid marks of their own in their first outing of the outdoor season. Both Jayhawks were able to clear the 1.70 meter (5-07 ft.) bar, however the freshman, O’Brien, placed higher due to fewer fouls. O’Brien finished in a tie for fifth, while Mayfield placed in a tie for seventh.
In other relays action, the men’s and women’s sprint medley relay teams took to the track to finish out the day. The women’s team, comprised of Paris Daniels, Denesha Morris, Taylor Washington and Cori Christensen, won their heat, passing the baton around in 3:51.95. The time would give the quartet a fifth-place finish overall.
For the men’s sprint medley relay team Austin Bussing, Brendan Soucie, Josh Munsch and Donny Wasinger combined to run a time of 3:26.22 to finish fourth in their heat and 10th overall.
There’s a lot more action in store from Austin on the final day of the 85th Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays Saturday. Freshman Michael Stigler will lead things off for the Jayhawks in the finals of the men’s 110-meter hurdles. He will head to the starting blocks at around 12:15 p.m. The men’s 4×400-meter relay team will close things out in the finals of their event at 5:50 p.m. A host of Jayhawks will also take to the track Saturday in the Arkansas Spring Invitational. Jessica Maroszek will get things started from Fayetteville at 9 a.m. in the women’s discus. Stay updated on all the KU performances Saturday through twitter at KU_Track and log on to kuathletics.com for a complete recap of the day’s action.
