Jayhawks Shine on Final Day of Relays, Earn Five Individual Victories
April 18, 2010
For a general recap of the final day of the 2010 Kansas Relays, including the exciting meet records and Invitational race results, click the following link: http://www.kuathletics.com/sports/c-relay/recaps/041710aab.html
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Racing in front of a home-town crowd for the first and only time of the 2010 outdoor season, the Jayhawks of the University of Kansas turned in several stellar performances on the final day of the 83rd Annual Kansas Relays.
Five Jayhawks claimed individual titles at the meet, while many others set personal records and season bests Saturday at Memorial Stadium and McCook-Olympic Field.
Lauren Bonds, a senior from Hutchinson, Kan., and three-time elected team captain, was crowned champion in the women’s 800-meter run, after she surged past conference-foe Shannon Leinert of Missouri in the final 50 meters of the race. Bonds’ posted a personal-best time of 2:10.02
Kansas swept the 1,500-meter events, winning both the men’s and women’s title. Rebeka Stowe recorded a career-best time of 4:28.69 en route to claiming her first individual Relays’ gold. Sophomore Cori Christensen was the runner up in the event with another solid time of 4:31.26.
It was a fight to the finish, but sophomore Donny Wasinger managed to edge out Mujahid Hassaballa of Pittsburg State by four tenths of a second to win men’s 1,500. Wasinger’s first-place time of 3:51.55 was also a season-best for the sophomore.
Freshman Klye Clemons sprinted to victory in the men’s 400-meter dash, recording a time of 46.94.
“I felt that was a really intense race,” said Clemons. “It went the way I had planned though; just run off of lane four and kick it in at the end. It really means a lot to win at home. The fans are amazing here and I love running on my home track.”
Clemon’s season-best time of 46.53, which he set last weekend in Arkansas, is currently 23rd in the nation.
Just outside Memorial Stadium, at McCook-Olympic Field, freshman Mason Finley captured his second Relays’ trophy of the weekend in the men’s discus. He threw 57.15m (187-06 ft.) to nab the win over Micheal Torie (unattached), who threw 56.97m (186-11 ft.) to finish second. Finley’s winning mark came on his sixth and final throw of the day. The Salida, Colo., native also won the men’s shot put on Friday.
“I kept telling myself to focus on my form,” said Finley of his final throw. “Form was the only thing that was going to allow me to make the throw I needed and I was able to deliver in the end, which is what really matters.”
Senior Brian Bishop also competed in the event for KU, finishing third with his toss of 55.21m (181-02 ft.).
In a race that featured six standout sprinters from the Big 12 Conference, sophomore Keith Hayes took third in a season-best time of 13.83. Lehann Fourie of Nebraska won the event in 13.68, while the photo finish of K-State’s Jeffrey Julmis and Hayes found the Wildcat to be two hundredths of a second ahead of the Hayes.
Junior Jareb Stallbaumer had a career-best performance in the long jump, as he flew 7.26m (23-10 ft.) to finish fifth behind teammate Eric Fattig, who recorded a mark of 7.36m (24-01.75 ft.).
Freshman Taissa Makhmayeva turned in a season-best time in the 400-meter hurdles, as she crossed the finish line in 59.24 to claim runner-up honors. Makhmayeva’s time is currently ninth in the West region and fifth in the Big 12 Conference.
The Jayhawks will return to action next weekend for two more major Relays events. Part of the team will head to Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Relays, while the remaining members travel to Philadelphia, Penn., for the Penn Relays. Both scheduled for Thursday, April 22 – Saturday, April 24.
