Krechyk Records Nation-Leading Mark at Texas Relays

April 1, 2010

AUSTIN, Texas –

With a mammoth throw of 64.57m (211-10 ft.) Thursday at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, Kansas sophomore Alena Krechyk now owns the top collegiate mark in the nation in the women’s hammer throw. With that mark, Krechyk also broke the Kansas school record in the event, besting the previous record of 62.94m (206-06 ft.), held by Zlata Tarasova since 2007.

Although still early in the 2010 outdoor season, Krechyk’s throw at the Texas Relays leads all Division I marks by a margin of ten inches.

A native of Grodno, Belarus, Krechyk came to Kansas in December 2009, after having competed one year for Yanka Kupala State University in her native country. There, she earned the title of U-23 Belarus National Champion in the hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 68.61m (225-01 ft.).

Krechyk wasted little time establishing herself in the states, as she recently won the 2010 Big 12 indoor title in the women’s weight throw, while also breaking the KU school record in the event twice throughout the season.

In addition to Krechyk, Kansas track and field had five individuals and two relay teams compete on Thursday. Freshman Taissa Makhmayeva qualified for the finals of the women’s 400-meter hurdles after running the fifth-fastest time of 1:00.42 in the preliminary round. Sophomore Sasha Cunningham also competed in the prelims of the 400-meter hurdles, recording a time of 1:03.74. Although Cunningham was not able to advance to the event finals, she did have an impressive race, finishing 22nd in a field of 52 total hurdlers.

On his first attempt, Ryan Hays cleared 4.91m (16-01.25 ft.) in Section B of the men’s pole vault, which marked a new personal record for the senior. Hays finished in ninth place overall. Freshman Corey Shank also competed in the pole vault on Thursday, but was unable to record a mark after clipping the bar on each of his three attempts at 4.91m (16-01.25 ft.).

Freshman Rebecca Neville completed her final three events in the women’s heptathlon, which included the long jump, javelin and 800-meter run. Neville’s best performance of the day came in the long jump, where she finished fifth in the field of 20 multi-event athletes, earning 780 points. Her mark of 5.77m (18-11.25 ft.) in the long jump was the best thus far in her collegiate career. In the javelin, Neville tallied 296 points after recording a mark of 20.40m (66-11 ft.), while her time of 2:25.95 in the 800 meters earned her 769 points. The Merrillville, Ind., native accumulated 4,885 total points over the seven events, which was good for a 12th place overall finish.

The women’s 4×800-meter relay team of Taylor Washington, Cori Christensen, Rebeka Stowe and Lauren Bonds finished third in a time of 9:02.15, beating several strong schools from across the nation, including conference-foe Baylor. The men’s quartet of Derrick Perry, Donny Wasinger, Sam Jones and Ryan Peterson took ninth in the event with a time of 8:01.61.

Competition at the 83rd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays continues Friday with 13 events slated for the Jayhawks. Freshman Kathryn Lupton will run in the prelims of the women’s 100-meter hurdles at 9:30 a.m., while sophomores Keith Hayes, Keyen Porter and Lawson Montgomery will run the men’s 110-meter hurdles at the same time. The men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay squads will also compete at 9:30 a.m. on Friday.

Other individual competitors for the Jayhawk women include freshman Andrea Geubelle (long jump), senior Kelsey Erb (high jump), sophomore Julia Cummings (pole vault) and juniors Jaci Perryman and Tara Turnbull (pole vault), all of whom will take the stage at 10 a.m.

On the men’s side, sophomore Corey Fuller will participate in the men’s triple jump at 2 p.m., while freshman Mason Finley and senior Brian Bishop will throw the discus at 5:30 p.m.

Kansas will have a men’s and women’s sprint medley relay team compete at 8:10 p.m., followed by a men’s 4×1,500-meter relay at 9:45 p.m.

Live results of Friday’s action at the Texas Relays can be viewed at http://www.texassports.com/livestats/tex-relays/