KU Track Marks Another Successful Weekend with Emporia State Relays
April 8, 2012
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EMPORIA, Kan. – Jayhawks claimed victories in 11 events Saturday as KU track and field competed at the Emporia State Relays Saturday. Paris Daniels entered the top-five of the KU performance lists in two events while a host of Jayhawks moved up in both the national and conference rankings.
Daniels took event crowns in two events, winning both the 100 meters and 200 meters. The St. Louis native started the day with a career-best time in the 100-meter dash finals. Daniels sprinted to the finish in a blazing 11.29 to take the gold by nearly .3 seconds. The time moves the junior to second on the all-time school performance list and ranks in the top 10 in NCAA this year. It also puts her at No. 4 in the Big 12 conference.
Daniels again hit the starting blocks later in the day in the 200 meters alongside five of her KU teammates. She was never challenged in the event that featured nearly 40 competitors. She clocked in with a time of 23.53, beating out KU freshman Alisha Keys, who recorded a time of 24.14. For the second time in the afternoon Daniels climbed into the top-15 of the national rankings as well as into the top-10 in the conference.
Fellow junior Denesha Morris also had a career outing as she collected a new personal record of her own. Morris, who has been a member of three All-American 4×400-meter relay teams, was the lone KU competitor in the 400 meters Saturday afternoon. The Manchester, Jamaica native made the lap around the track in a career-best time of 55.01 to claim the event victory by over a second.
A pair of Jayhawks swept the winner’s stand in the men’s and women’s 5,000 meters. Tessa Turcotte reigned in the first collegiate victory of her career, crossing the finish line in 17:31.89, while junior Josh Baden ran to a personal-best time of 14:39.78 to seal the win on the men’s side.
Another KU duo had a solid outing in the 3,000-meter Steeplechase as Eric Dyson and Kaman Schneider finished first and second, respectively. Dyson clocked in with a time of 9:27.58, while Schneider was close behind at 9:31.00. The marks were personal bests for both Jayhawk competitors
Diamond Dixon took part in the 800-meter race Saturday evening. The sophomore All-American, who is among the nation’s best in the 400 meters, didn’t waiver from her undefeated season in the first half-mile race of her collegiate-career. Dixon made the two laps in 2:13.97 and joined three of her KU teammates who each finished within the top six places.
In the field, junior Chris Toombs was the Jayhawks’ top competitor as he was in action in the long jump. The junior college transfer hit a wind-aided mark of 7.24 meters (23-09 ft.) on his third attempt to move up to the No. 3 spot on the leaderboard. Third is where Toombs ended his day, however the mark is a career-best and ranks among the top 10 in the Big 12
The Jayhawks will get one final tune-up before the Kansas Relays when they head to the UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas on April 17. Log on to kuathletics.com for a complete recap of the day’s action and follow updates on twitter at KU_Track.