Kansas Enjoys Successful Day at Kansas Relays
April 19, 2007
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LAWRENCE, Kan. –
In a dominating performance, sophomore Zlata Tarasova and junior Egor Agafonov swept the hammer events at day two of the 80th Anniversary of the Kansas Relays for the <?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>University of Kansas track and field team. In other action from the day, junior Josh Kirk registered a provisional mark in the decathlon, scoring 7,152 points. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
Agafonov, the 2007 national champion in the indoor weight throw, won the men’s hammer throw with a season-best toss of 227-10 (69.33m). Agafonov cruised past the competition, besting the second-place finisher by over 20 feet. The mark represents an improvement on his regional qualifying mark in the event.
“It’s a big meet for me and my school,” Agafonov said. “Coming in second last year is definitely a big motivator for me to finish at the top this year.”
Tarasova set a new Kansas Relays record in the women’s hammer throw with a throw of 203-02 (61.93m). The mark is a season best for the sophomore and increases her standing in the Big 12 conference in the event.
“It felt really good. I enjoyed throwing today,” Tarasova said. “I did pretty well. We took this as a practice round today. I competed like it was practice. The weather was really, really good and that helped. I could throw it farther but this was a good start today.”
Kirk, competing in his first decathlon of the outdoor season, won the event by posting personal bests in several of the 10-event program. The mark will catapult the junior into Big 12 rankings and Midwest region.
“It’s fun to win, especially here at home,” Kirk added. “I had never won the Relays in any event, so I’m excited.”
Kansas also registered a victory in the men’s steeplechase, as sophomore Victor Chesang won in a time of 9:53.16.
“It was a nice win and I think it was my best time ever in the event,” Chesang said. “It’s good to win here at home, especially since it has been a while since I have won. It was a good atmosphere.”
Kansas assistant coach Andy Kokhanovsky was especially pleased with the performance of his two throwers.
“Last year we had a meet the week before and so both (Egor and Zlata) were tired and did not have enough time to recuperate,” Kokhanovsky said. “This year we made it a priority to compete at the Kansas Relays. We wanted to well here and it worked out really well for us.”
The 80th Anniversary of the Kansas Relays continues Friday morning as the high school athletes begin their competition. Stay tuned to kuathletics.com for all the latest results.
80thKansas Relays
April 19 – Lawrence, Kan.
Nebraska Senior Casie Witte (Women’s Heptathlon, 1st Place)
On her experience at the Relays:
“Overall it’s been a good experience. I had a first day overall PR total of points, and overall I had PR’ed by about 100 points.”
On her performance:
“I did really well. A couple of weeks ago at the Texas Relays, I barely provisionaled, but I knew it wouldn’t get me into nationals. It’s definitely better to have a higher mark, to be higher on the list.
On her first two events:
“Well, high-jump and javelin are my two best events that I really excel at, and I PR’ed the high-jump by a half inch, and I also PR’ed in javelin.”
Kansas Freshman Chelsea Helm (Women’s Heptathlon, 7th Place)
On Day 2 of the Relays:
“It went really well. There are a couple things I need to work on but overall I was pleased. The corrections I know that I need to make are ones that I’m capable of, so it went ok. “
On what event she excelled at on Thursday:
“Definitely the 800-meter dash — running is something I did in high school so I’m very confident. I didn’t have a great high-jump, but javelin went well, and the 800-meter dash is something I excelled in”
Kansas Junior Egor Agafonov (Hammer Throw, 1st Place)
On the scoring snafu:
“I don’t know how it affected the other competitors, but I usually just try to focus on my own results.”
On finishing in the event second last year:
“It’s a big meet for me and my school. Coming in second last year is definitely a big motivator for me to finish at the top this year.”
Kansas Senior Josh Kirk (Decathlon, 1st Place)
On his performance:
“I did better in all of my weaknesses, and worse on all of my strengths, so I guess that’s good news. Whenever all of those are up to par, it will be a pretty good score.”
On the final event of the decathlon:
“I knew I had the victory wrapped up after the pole-vault. I was just going strictly for points. High (7100’s) got into National’s last year, so we will see where it lands.”
On winning the decathlon:
“It’s fun, especially here at home. I had never won the Relays in any event, so I’m excited.
Kansas Freshman Jacob Breth (Decathlon, 6th Place)
On his performance on Thursday:
“The first event (hurdles) went really bad for me. I definitely need to practice on that. In the second event second event (discus), I threw really well in warm ups. I got out to the competition and tensed up, got nervous and just didn’t throw as well. At pole-vault, I wasn’t expecting any height. I ended up getting 10-6, which for me is phenomenal. I was so happy. In the fourth event (javelin), I had a personal record by 30 feet, so of course, I was happy with that. The last event was the 1500 meter run. Those guys are fast so I just tried to keep up with them and they pushed me.”
On her experience at the Kansas Relays:
“I love it, especially with the decathlon. We’ve been hanging out with each other for two days. We talked with, cheered and motivated each other. I just had a great time. I can’t wait to do it again.”
Kansas Sophomore Zlata Tarasova (Hammer Throw, 1st Place)
“It felt really good. I enjoyed throwing today. I did pretty well. We took this as a practice round today. I competed like it was practice. The weather was really, really good and that helped. I could throw it farther but this was a good start today. I was close to my PR.”
Kansas Throws Coach Andy Kokhanovsky
“I think we did pretty well. Both Egor and Zlata did really well. They are working on their assignments and they are trying to be consistent.
On the history of the Kansas Relays:
“Last year we had a meet the week before and so both (Egor and Zlata) were tired and did not have enough time to recuperate and this year we made it a priority to compete at the Kansas Relays. We wanted to well here and it worked out really well for us.”
Becca MansheimSeniorSouth DakotaState (women’s 1500m unseeded, 1st place)
On her performance:
“I was okay with it. I was hoping for a faster time but with the conditions and that some of the top girls dropped out. I was hoping to have them help me along. I was really hoping for the Nebraska girls to help me. Overall, I felt comfortable. It was a nice day besides the wind. It’s always fun running on this track and having this atmosphere to run in.”
Jared Richardson Freshmen Illinois (men’s 1500m unseeded, 1st place)
On winning the race:
“It feels great. This is my first collegiate win. I’m just a freshman. It feels to good to win the first one, especially at a meet like this. To come from behind like this, it’s fun.”
On coming from behind:
“I was about ten meters down with a lap to go. I was saying to myself, `Maybe if I just keep inching and inching, I can win this.’ My race is all about the kick. I feel better if it comes out slow and we come back hard. The race worked out in my favor. It was exactly how I wanted to run it.”
On running at the Kansas Relays:
“It’s great, I love stadiums like this, the big stadiums. There’s’ not that many people here yet, but I get to run on Saturday and there will be a lot of people here for that.”
Kansas Sophomore Victor Chesang (men’s 3000 steeple unseeded, 1st place)
On his performance:
“It was a nice win. I think it was my PR. It’s good to win here at home, especially since it has been a while since I have won. It was a good atmosphere.”
On closing out the race:
“I calculated when some people took off early. I was waiting for them until the last and then I did my thing.”
On his confidence level:
“We still have two or three races remaining and this is a good boost for me. We still have some big races to come.”
Emporia State‘s Jonel Rossbach (women’s 3,000m, 1st place)
On her performance:
“It was a good performance. It was my first 3K outdoors. I was shooting to break 10 (minutes) and just missed it by four seconds. It was good race to have for my first time running outdoors. I’m proud of it.”
On the Kansas Relays:
“KU has always been a great meet. I have been coming here since my sophomore year in high school and it’s always been a good meet and I have always performed well here. It’s a great facility and a great program.”
Michael Smith, KansasState assistant track coach (master’s mile, 1st place)
On his performance:
“I was hoping I could run faster but I haven’t ran a race in six years so I really had no idea. I train with the girls. I like to race and I am happy that I was able to get here without hurting myself training with those girls.”
Steven Schoon, Kansas senior (men’s open 5K)
On his performance:
“I was really proud of myself. The runner in front of me did all the work. It was awesome. I shocked myself. I ran a PR by 14 seconds. I started off behind the pack and I then I thought I better stay with the leader. He wasn’t going at that fast of pace to begin with but I figured I could stay with him and eventually out sprint him.”
On winning on his birthday:
“It’s awesome. It’s just what wanted. I got my birthday wish today.”
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, sophomore Holly Nearman (5,000m, 1st place)
On her performance:
“It went really well. Being able to work with three of my teammates in the same race really helped, especially in the middle.
On the conditions:
“They were really nice. I’m from Wisconsin and we just got over 40 degree weather, so the weather has been a nice change.”
On the Kansas Relays:
“I think it’s a really fun meet. I know it’s the first day and not too many people are here but I know the next three days are going to be very exciting.”
Betty RotichColbyCommunity College (Women’s 10,000-meter run- 1st Place)
On her performance:
“I expected to run like that. I did my best and I set a new personal record. This is my second-straight victory in this event at the Kansas Relays.”
On the competition:
“It was nice. I wanted someone to run with and I thought I was going to be able to run with these girls. At the beginning, though, I decided to take off and run my race.”
Noah Too, Sophomore MidAmerica Nazarene (Men’s 5000m- 1st Place)
On his performance:
“It was below what I was expecting because the pace was very slow. And I tried to keep up. But I’m excited for what I did. I was struggling but I thought it went good.”
Julian BoggsSophomoreColoradoCollege (Men’s 10,000m – 1st Place)
On his performance:
“I felt okay about it. I was hoping for a better time. It was pretty tough mentally to go out there on my own and lead the whole way. I’ve never ran a 10 K before, this was my first one. I was excited to just finish the race. On one hand I felt okay about my time, but on the other, I was really delighted to get the first 10 K under my belt. I look forward to improving on that time in the future.”
On running in the Kansas Relays:
“It was great. It’s weird now because it’s empty and I guess Saturday it will get pretty full. The lights are great. The stadium is huge and the scoreboard is nice. I wish the people of Lawrence would realize the beauty of the 10 K and come out here at 10:10 PM but it was nice for everyone who comes out.”
