78th Kansas Relays to Host 75 Champions at GOLD ZONE
April 13, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
On Wednesday, Kansas Relays Meet Director revealed a list of 75 champions set to compete at the 2005 Kansas Relays GOLD ZONE. The list includes seven Olympic champions, three Olympic Silver Medallists, 22 additional Olympians, seven World champions, seven US champions, 17 NCAA champions, and 12 other major championship winners.
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“I thought that we had set some high standards last fall for the first year of the GOLD ZONE; I brought to Lew Perkins the goal of three Olympic Champions and 15 total Olympians. We’ve now doubled both of those numbers,” Weaver said. “Each event is filled with champions that are known to all fans, plus some others who will certainly be recognized after they put on a show for the crowd in Memorial Stadium. I can’t imagine what the Kansas Relays record list will look like after this. I can tell you that there will be `2005′ after a lot of events in next year’s record book.”
The GOLD ZONE will run from 2-5 pm on Saturday, April 23. It is a new, fast-paced, three-hour format for the most popular events at the Kansas Relays. Featured athletes include Olympic Champions and World Record Setters Maurice Greene, Marion Jones, and Stacy Dragila. Also highlighting the GOLD ZONE will be Olympic Champions Allen Johnson, Nick Hysong, Inger Miller, and Savatheda Fynes. Local Olympians include Muna Lee from Kansas City, Mo; Charlie Gruber of Lawrence, Kan; Derrick Peterson of Columbia, Mo; and Melvin Lister from Leavenworth, Kan.
“There will be two groups of people on April 24: those who were there to witness the first GOLD ZONE and those who will lie about having been there,” added Weaver.
The list of champions set to appear at the 2005 Kansas Relays includes:
Maurice Greene Olympic Champion
Marion Jones Olympic Champion
Stacy Dragila Olympic Champion
Allen Johnson Olympic Champion
Nick Hysong Olympic Champion
Savatheda Fynes Olympic Champion
Inger Miller Olympic Champion
Matt Hemingway Olympic Silver Medallist
John Steffensen Olympic Silver Medallist
Austra Skujyte Olympic Silver Medallist
Christian Cantwell World Champion
JJ Johnson World Champion
John Capel World Champion
Adam Steele World Champion
Leonard Byrd World Champion
Joey Woody World Champion
James Davis World Champion
Tye Harvey World Championships Silver
Jenny Adams World Championship Finalist
Jason Smoots World Cup Champion
Charlie Gruber Olympian
Muna Lee Olympian
Derrick Peterson Olympian
LaShinda Demus Olympian
Duane Ross Olympian
Shelia Burrell Olympian
Angela Williams Olympian
Dwight Thomas Olympian
Amy Acuff Olympian
Dinsdale Morgan Olympian
Ian Weakly Olympian
Kurvin Wallace Olympian
Kirt Thompson Olympian
Melvin Lister Olympian
Diane Nukuri Olympian
Egle Uljas Olympian
Priscilla Lopes Olympian
Dace Ruskule Olympian
Jamie Nieto Olympian
Dmitrjis Milkevics Olympian
Shandria Brown Olympian
Nenad Loncar Olympian
Pat Manson US Champion
Joel Brown US Champion
Bershawn Jackson US Champion
Jason Lunn US Champion
Vanitta Kinard US Champion
Suziann Reid US Champion
Gwen Wentland US Champion
Gatis Spunde National Champion
Marisa Uzoaru National Champion
Leo Bookman NCAA Champion
Amy Linnen NCAA Champion
Jacob Pauli NCAA Champion
Leonard Scott NCAA Champion
Nichole Denby NCAA Champion
Dan Taylor NCAA Champion
Dominique Arnold NCAA Champion
Eric Eshbach NCAA Champion
Stephanie Durst NCAA Champion
Scott Russell NCAA Champion
Jordan Vadan NCAA D2 Champion
Anwar Moore NCAA D2 Champion
Kia Davis NCAA D2 Champion
Jason Smoots NCAA D2 Champion
Nikkisha Maynard NCAA D2 Champion
Moya Thompson NCAA D2 Champion
Merlene Smith NCAA D2 Champion
Dexter Faulk NJCAA Champion
Sheldon Battle NJCAA Champion
Bobby Reyes NJCAA Champion
Kaaron Conwright World Univ Games Champion
Ashton Collins Pan Am Jr Champion
Gavin Ball Jr Olympic Champion
Ivory Williams World Junior Champion
The 78th Kansas Relays will run from April 21 – 23; the GOLD ZONE is Saturday, April 23 from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. For more information on the Kansas Relays, a complete GOLD ZONE schedule, and ticket information, visit http://kuathletics.collegesports.com/sports/c-relay/.
