Third Leg of 2010 Kansas Relays in the Books

April 16, 2010

LIVE RESULTS | QUOTES |

LAWRENCE, Kan. –

The third day of competition at the 83rd Annual Kansas Relays opened with an exciting race, as a new meet record was set in the Girl’s 4×1 Mile Relay. The team from Lee’s Summit West High School (Mo.) ran a blistering 21:37.70 to win the event and best its own Kansas Relays record by nearly 26 seconds. Wausau East and Lee’s Summit North also beat the previous record, recording times of 21:54.01 and 21:56.11, respectively.

Kansas’ women’s distance medley relay squad of Cori Christensen, Kathryn Lupton, Lauren Bonds and Rebeka Stowe won the event by a commanding 17-second margin over in-state rival Kansas State. The quartet recorded a time of 12:00.70 to earn the school’s fifth Relays’ gold in the event.

The men’s DMR title went to Oklahoma Christian as Brayden Barrientez, Scotty Brasher, Frezer Legesse and Silas Kisorio combined for a winning-time of 10:12.49.

The Jayhawks swept the 4×1 Mile Relay, with the women recording a first-place time of 21:24.87 and the men clocking in at 17:25.16. The men’s race was a battle to the end, but redshirt freshman Zach Zarda was able to kick it in and create enough space in the final 200 meters to secure the KU victory.

Meagan Hudson (unattached) claimed the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase title in 10:54.44, while Tomas Cotter of Iowa Central Community College was the victor in the men’s competition, clocking in at 9:18.83.

There were several field event finals on Friday, including the men’s and women’s shot put, triple jump and javelin, as well as the men’s pole vault and women’s high jump.

Kansas freshman Mason Finley, an indoor All-American in the shot put, captured the Relays’ title with a mark of 18.40m (60-04.50 ft.), which topped four other opponents from the Big 12 Conference.

Nebraska captured three of the top four spots in the womens’ shot put. Junior Amanda Latsch was the champion with a mark of 14.88m (48-10 ft.), while Missouri’s Katie Evans came in second at 14.74m (48-04.50 ft.). The Huskers’ Samantha Musil and Veronica Grizzle finished in third and fourth place, respectively.

In the women’s javelin, Kayla Wilkinson-Colgrove (unattached) earned the top mark in the field, throwing 51.59m (169-03 ft.), while Martins Pildvas of Cloud County Community College took home the men’s javelin title with his toss of 70.69m (231-11 ft.). Pildvas won by a slim one-foot margin over Adam Wolkins of Nebraska, who threw 70.35m (230-10 ft.) to take second.

Izehi Ileso of Iowa Central Community College leapt 12.90m (42-4 ft.) to win the women’s triple jump, while Wilbert Walker of SPT Track Club won the men’s event by more than two feet, recording a mark of 16.38 (53-9 ft.).

On her third and final attempt in the women’s high jump, Jennifer Robinson of Emporia State cleared the bar at 1.70m (5-7 ft.), earning the victory at the 2010 Kansas Relays.

In the men’s pole vault, three-time Relays champion Jacob Pauli won his fourth title in Memorial Stadium, recording a mark of 7.32m (17-05.50 ft.). Pauli won the event in 2000 as a collegiate athlete for Northern Iowa, and later as a professional vaulter for Nike in the Invitational event 2005 and 2006.

The Big 12 Conference dominated in the prelims of the men’s 110-meter hurdles, as six of the eight athletes who advanced hail from league schools. K-State’s Jeffrey Julmis recorded the fastest time in the preliminary round of 14.17, followed by Keith Hayes of Kansas, who clocked in at 14.21. Lehann Fourie of Nebraska, who is currently fourth overall on the NCAA descending order list, was third in the prelims with a time of 14.43.

Nebraska claimed the two fastest times and the only sub-14 second times in the prelims of the women’s 110-hurdles, as Karyn LaCour clocked in at 13.81 and Arna Erega won her heat in 13.91.

Lincoln University (Mo.) had three athletes advance to the women’s 100-meter dash finals, including 2008 Jamaican Olympian Semoy Hackett, who recorded a time of 11.81 to win her heat. Lashawn Wright of Iowa State also advanced after recording the fastest time in the prelims of 11.77.

In addition to her strong performance in the 100-meter dash, Hackett was the top sprinter in the prelims of the 200, as she crossed the finish line in 23.98. Her teammate Sudian Davis also qualified for the finals with a time of 24.82.

In the prelims of men’s 200-meter dash, Terrel Cotton (Speedway Track Club), Ramon Miller (unattached) and Scott Wims (Nebraska) all advanced to Saturday’s finals after recording the top times in each of their individual heats.

Tiandra Ponteen of St. Kitts and Nevis turned in the best prelim time in the women’s 400-meter dash, crossing the finish line in 53.81. Four Big 12 athletes also advanced to the finals, including two from Kansas in Shayla Wilson and Taylor Washington.

In the prelims of the men’s 400-meter dash, Huntley Thomas of SPT Track Club had the leading mark of 47.67, while Steve Banton of Lincoln (Mo.) and Kyle Clemons of Kansas followed with identical times of 48.05.

Kansas freshman Taissa Makhmayeva was the top finisher in the prelims of the women’s 400-meter hurdles, advancing with a time of 1:00.12. Other heat winners included Michelle Cumberbatch of Lincoln, Leslie Farmer of Missouri, Sanchia Lee of Iowa Central CC and Alexandra Hehn of Seton Hall.

Steve Manton of Lincoln (Mo.) ran a 52.77 in the prelims of the men’s 400-meter hurdles, which was the fastest time of the round. Antony Boyer of UMKC, Chris Davis of Missouri, and Nebraska’s Eric Lund and Cylend Simmons also earned spots in the finals after winning their individual heats.

The final day of the 83rd Annual Kansas Relays will commence at 8 a.m. with the boy’s discus and girl’s sprint medley relay. Saturday’s lineup also includes a variety of Invitational events, including the women’s 200-meter dash and 4×400-meter relay which will showcase two-time Olympic gold medalist Veronica Campbell-Brown. The Glenn Cunningham Invitational Mile will also take place on Saturday, as well as the men’s and women’s Invitational 4×100-meter relays. Two-time Olympian Churandy Martina will take the stage in the men’s Invitational 100-meter dash at 2:45 p.m., while three-time Relays champion Nichole Denby will compete in the Invitational 100-meter hurdles at 1:25 p.m. To follow the Relays via live results, visit www.kuathletics.com or www.deltatiming.com.