Hannon, Distance Carnival Highlight Day Two of Kansas Relays

April 15, 2010

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

LIVE RESULTS | QUOTES |

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Day two of the 83^rd Annual Kansas Relays featured a momentous victory in the men’s decathlon and an exciting evening of events in the distance carnival.

With his victory in the men’s decathlon, Aaron Hannon became the first athlete from Baker University (Kan.) to ever win a Kansas Relays title. Hannon accumulated 6,948 points over the 10 events to capture the prestigious trophy. Hannon’s best event of the day came in the 110-meter hurdles, as he clocked in at 15.63 to earn 775 points.

Megan Wheatley of Nebraska captured the women’s heptathlon title after tallying 5,323 total points. It was a close battle between Wheatley and Anna Kay Campbell of Lincoln University (Mo.), but Wheatley managed to pull out the win after a strong performance in the final event of the day. She garnered 847 points in the 800 meters to secure the victory.

Campbell finished with 5,245 total points, which included a commanding win the long jump, where she recorded a mark of 5.83m (19-01.50 ft.). Campbell was the NCAA Division II champion in the long jump a year ago.

In the men’s hammer throw competition, Steffen Nerdal of Memphis dominated the field, as he won with a mark of 69.87m (229-3 ft.), which was 25 feet further than any of his opponents.

Loren Groves, who was competing as an unattached athlete, won the women’s hammer throw with a mark of 60.77m (199-4 ft.). Kansas’ Alena Krechyk, who is currently ranked third in the nation in the event, came in third after recording a mark of 59.99m (196-10 ft.).

The Kansas Relays distance carnival was highlighted by Emily Sisson (unattached), who smashed the competition in the women’s 5,000 meters, clocking in at 16:20.44. KU’s Lauren Bonds was the runner-up in the event, finishing with a time of 16:56.49.

Behind a strong performance from junior Amanda Miller, KU enjoyed a 1-2-3 sweep of the women’s 3,000 meters. Miller won the race in a career-best time of 9:47.91, while freshman Tessa Turcotte took second in 10:16.43. Freshman Kyra Kilwein, who was racing in front of her hometown crowd, clocked in at 10:28.30.

Former Jayhawk Paul Hefferon, now racing for Kansas City Smoke, won the men’s 5,000 meter run with a time of 14:17.36. Jaime Villa Zapatero of Drury took second in 14:28.55, while KU’s Nick Caprario finished third in a career-best time of 14:40.13.

In the 10,000 meter race, Neil Grundman of Graceland captured the men’s title with a time of 30:28.46, while Sydney Massick of Kansas State took home the women’s trophy after recording the top time of 25:46.02.

K-State had two other victories in Thursday evening’s distance carnival, as Danny Schneider won the men’s unseeded 800 meters with a time of 1:53.85, and Laura Lee Baird was the top finisher in the women’s unseeded 1,500 meters with her time of 4:43.77.

Competition from the 2010 Kansas Relays continues Friday with numerous high school and collegiate events, starting with the boy’s javelin and the girl’s four-mile relay at 8 a.m. To follow the meet via live results, visit www.kansasathletics.com or www.deltatiming.com.