Three Meets on Tap for Kansas This Weekend
April 22, 2009
LAWRENCE, Kan. — After a successful four days at home at the Kansas Relays April 15-18, the Kansas track & field team now heads to the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., and the Nebraska Open in Lincoln, Neb., looking to have more athletes regionally qualify this weekend. The three meets range from April 23-26.
As of the Kansas Relays, 11 KU athletes have recorded a total of 13 regional marks, most recently Lauren Bonds in the 1,500 meters at the Relays.
Among the Jayhawks heading to the Drake Relays are distance runners Bonds, Amanda Miller, Kara Windisch, Donny Wasinger and Bret Imgrund, along with pole vaulter Kirk Cooper, triple jumper Corey Fuller and throwers Stephanie Horton, Emily Reimer, Zlata Tarasova and Brian Bishop.
Kellie Schneider (800 meters, 1,500 meters) and Patrick McGowan (800 meters, 1,500 meters, steeplechase) headline the group heading to Lincoln. The squad heading to Penn is a deep array of sprinters and hurdlers, featuring Nickesha Anderson, Keith Hayes, Reggie Carter, Keron Toussaint, Keyen Porter, Jarrell Rollins, Sha’Ray Butler, Charity Stowers and Shayla Wilson.
The outdoor postseason continues to near, as this is the second-to-last weekend of competition for KU before a weekend off and then the Big 12 Championships May 15-17 in Lubbock, Texas. Next weekend the Jayhawks will be in Fayetteville, Ark., for the Arkansas Twilight on May 1 in hopes of getting last-minute qualifiers for the NCAA Regional Championships.
Full results of all three meets this weekend can be found at www.kuathletics.com upon completion of each day’s events.
JAYHAWKS STORMIN’ NORMAN
The 2009 NCAA® Outdoor Track & Field Midwest Regional will take place May 29-30 at John Jacobs Field in Norman, Okla. Eleven Kansas athletes have qualified thus far with a total of 13 regional marks.
– Nickesha Anderson, a 2008 Beijing Olympian for Jamaica, has qualified in three different events. The Kansas school record holder in the 100 meters and 200 meters, Anderson has posted regional times in both of those events as well as the 400 meters. The Hanover, Jamaica, native is also a member of the Jayhawks’ 4×100-meter relay team, as well as the 4×400-meter relay team, so she could potentially qualify in five different events.
– Brian Bishop has twice posted a regional mark in the discus, with his best throw coming at the Jim Click Shootout in Tucson, Ariz. (52.11 meters [170-11.75 feet).
– Lauren Bonds blew away the field to qualify in the 1,500 meters at the Kansas Relays, sprinting down the stretch to finish in a time of 4:27.36, just under the regional standard.
– Kirk Cooper regionally qualified in the pole vault at the John Jaconds Invitational in Norman, Okla., recording a jump of 5.05 meters (16-06.75 feet). The junior from Centennial, Colo., went on to match that mark at the Kansas Relays.
– Corey Fuller posted a regional mark in the triple jump at the Jim Click Shootout, leaping 15.34 meters (50-04 feet).
– Keith Hayes qualified in the 110-meter hurdles at the John Jacobs Invitational, and proceeded to lower his regional time to 14.05 at the Kansas Relays
– Stephanie Horton had her best performance thus far this year, improving her already-regional qualifying mark in the shot put to 15.47 meters (50-09.25 feet).
– Victoria Howard is a regional qualifier in the 200 meters. The senior from Overland Park, Kan., ran a time of 23.76 at the John Jacobs Invitational to earn a return trip to Norman.
– Keyen Porter ran a time of 14.21 at the John Jacobs Invitational to regionally qualify in the 110-meter hurdles.
– Emily Reimer regionally qualified in the shot put at the Jim Click Shootout, recording a throw of 15.23 meters (49-11.75 feet).
– Zlata Tarasova earned a trip to Norman for the regional championships with a hammer throw of 55.50 meters (182-01 feet) in Tucson.
