Scott, Geubelle Highlight Final Day of Texas Relays
April 3, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas –
Kansas pole vaulter Jordan Scott turned in the best performance of his career Saturday at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays, as the senior from Watkinsville, Ga., cleared 5.71m (18-08.75 ft.) to finish second behind long-time rival and defending NCAA outdoor champion Jason Colwick of Rice. Scott and Colwick actually recorded identical marks of 5.71m, but Colwick was able to clear the bar on his first attempt, while Scott accomplished the task on his second. The athletes now share the top mark in the nation in Division I outdoor track and field.
“Everything I had been working on throughout indoor season finally came together today,” said Scott. “It felt great to hit a new PR twice during the competition. This was the exact performance I had been working toward, and now I can just keep building as the outdoor season continues.”
Scott bested his previous PR by more than four inches and was only two inches shy of the KU school record, which stands at 18-10.75 feet, set by Jeff Buckingham in 1983.
Freshman Andrea Geubelle also had an impressive outing in Austin, Texas, as the University Place, Wash., native leaped 13.02m (42-08.75 ft.) in the women’s triple jump. That mark is the best of Geubelle’s KU career and just two inches off her lifetime record. She finished fifth overall in a field of 12 jumpers, which included five from the Big 12 Conference. Geubelle is only the third athlete in KU history to jump further than 42 feet and her mark of 42-08.75 ft. is now among the nation’s top five for Division I athletes.
Sophomore Nick Canton set a career-record in the high jump, clearing 2.06m (6-9 ft.). Canton tied for third in a competitive 12-man field. His mark is currently among the top 15 in the West region.
Also competing in the field events on Saturday was freshman Heather Bergmann, who threw a season-best 45.43m (153-02 ft.) in Section A of the women’s javelin.
On the track, sophomore Keith Hayes and freshman Taissa Makhmayeva competed in the finals of the men’s 110 and women’s 400-meter hurdles. Hayes captured sixth place in the 110-meter hurdles after recording the exact same time from the preliminary round of 13.92. Makhmayeva came in ninth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.12.
The Indoor All-American distance medley relay team of Rebeka Stowe, Taylor Washington, Cori Christensen and Lauren Bonds competed in their first outdoor competition, finishing second overall with a time of 11:20.37. The KU squad beat 10 other schools, including the team from Baylor.
The men’s distance medley relay team finished 13th, as Bret Imgrund, Derrick Perry, Ryan Peterson and Donny Wasinger combined for a time of 10:11.50.
After posting the fastest time in the preliminary round of the men’s 4×400-meter relay, the quartet of Reggie Carter, Keith Hayes, Kyle Clemons and Keron Toussaint took fourth in the event finals with a time of 3:09.02, which was nearly a half-second faster than their prelim time.
In the finals of the women’s 4×400-meter relay, Washington, Makhmayeva, Shayla Wilson and Kendra Bradley posted a time of 3:40.19 to take seventh overall.
The Jayhawks will be back in action April 9-10 when they travel to familiar Fayetteville, Ark., for the John McDonnell Invitational.
