Kansas Relays Day Two Quotes

April 15, 2010

2010 Kansas Relays

Day Two Quotes

April 15, 2010

Men’s Hammer Throw Winner

Steffen Nerdal (Memphis)

On factors that helped get the win today:

“Between the prelims and finals I made a couple changes technically. I was able to stay more connected and work the ground a little bit more. I was able to make some adjustments and I came up pretty good on the couple last throws so that’s really what carried me through.”

On being at the Kansas Relays:

“I’ve been to other relays, but this is my first time at Kansas Relays. I’ve really enjoyed this meet. It’s good competition and it’s been fun so far.”

Men’s Decathlon

Aaron Hannon (Baker)

On his performance:

“I thought it went really well. Today I started off a little shaky because I was tired and sore, but I think it went pretty well in the end. The pole vault and the javelin kind of brought me into the lead and I tried to finish it out in the 1,500 meters.”

On the competition:

“I thought it was really good. Everyone was really competing and working hard. I thought overall, it was very good competition.”

On competing at the Kansas Relays:

“This is my first time doing the decathlon at the (Kansas) Relays, but I’ve done open events here before. It was a little bit different from the Friday and Saturday Kansas Relays, but I liked the environment – it’s usually what a multi-day event is like.”

Women’s Heptathlon

Megan Wheatley (Nebraska)

On she felt the competition went the past two days, as it was a close battle with Anna Kay Campbell:

“She’s a great athlete. I was not very happy with my scores. This is our first multi for the year, so I didn’t feel very prepared, but this was just to see where we were at and I’ve learned a lot about what I need to work on and things I need to focus on. I’m really happy with my performance in the 800 meters. My time (2:18.25) was only a second off my PR and I was really feeling it. Mentally, I was very tired at the end, before the 800, so I’m very happy with how I finished and I can feel good walking away because I gave everything at the end.”

On her experience competing at the Kansas Relays:

“Well, I’ve never been to the Kansas Relays before. I’m a junior and I’ve always been injured at this time of year. I love the stadium. Tt’s a beautiful stadium – maybe the most beautiful I’ve ever competed in. I would be excited to see the stands completely full. I love the track, it’s not too hard and I like warming up here on the grass.”

On other factors contributing to the competition:

“In terms of the winds, I’m from Perth, Australia, and we have very similar winds. On our backstraight, we have this huge tow wind and big headwind off the frontstraight, so I sort of felt like I was running at home.”

Women’s Unseeded 800m Run

Suzanne Higgins (Nebraska)

On how she felt she raced today:

“It was hard I was supposed to run in the seeded 800 meters, but I had to run in the unseeded because of conflicts. But it felt good, I felt strong the whole time.”

On the competition faced:

“It was tough. It was nice to have a girl right behind me for the last 100 meters, as that really pushed me.”

Men’s Unseeded 800m Run

Danny Schneider (Kansas State)

On his performance:

“This isn’t typically my event, so I just went out there to see what I could do. I’ve been dealing with some injuries this year; more than anything it was just getting out there in competition again. It ended up working out pretty well. It was tough having such a big race. I lucked out and didn’t get boxed in and had a good finish at the end.”

On how he felt about the competition level:

“This is a good race. There were a lot of really good guys. I wish we would have had maybe 12 guys as opposed to 20-something, but there wasn’t a single guy in the race that didn’t belong in there. It was exactly what I was looking forward to. It was a tough race, but I got out there and turned in a good time.”

Men’s 5000 Meter Run

Paul Hefferon (Kansas City Smoke)

On his performance:

“I was going for 14:20 and I ran 14:17. It was kind of warm and a little windy. I got a little ahead of myself early, but once I found a rhythm, I was able to maintain it well.”

On competing in the Kansas Relays:

“This is my ninth year in a row from high school through college. I went to Kansas, so I love this meet. It is a great meet. I love the stadium atmosphere and the people here. It’s good to hear someone that knows my name even though I am not on the team anymore.”

Women’s 10,000 Meter Run

Sydney Messick (Kansas State)

On her performance:

“I was not feeling very well towards the end of indoor (season). I haven’t been able to train as well as I wanted. So I was kind of nervous coming in because I was not sure what I could (do), but it went well.”

On competing in the Kansas Relays:

“It was awesome. I had to watch it the past two years because I was injured, so to actually compete was cool.”