Several Jayhawks Win Gold in Day 3 of 84th Annual Kansas Relays
April 22, 2011
LAWRENCE, Kan. –
Kansas track and field got winning performances from Mason Finley, Jordan Scott and the men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams in a successful day at the 84th Kansas Relays Friday. Several other Jayhawks earned top finishes in preliminary rounds to advance to finals that will take place on Saturday.
Finley took home gold in the shot put in a fantastic outing. On his final throw of the competition the sophomore launched a throw of 19.84 meters (65-01.25 ft.) to take the crown in his first meet of the outdoor season in the event. Finley successfully defended his shot put title, which he took home at this meet last year; this year however, Finley notched a mark that was more than four feet further than his mark in 2010.
“It’s really nice,” said Finley of his Kansas Relays win. “It’s always great to win the Relays for sure. It’s the first time I’ve thrown outdoor this year, so that’s not a bad mark to open up with.”
Finley will be in action again on Saturday in the men’s discus throw, taking place at 4 p.m. He will again be looking to repeat as champion in the event.
Senior Jordan Scott also gave a top-notch performance on Friday in the men’s pole vault. The Watkinsville, Ga., native cleared a height of 5.35 meters (17-06.50 ft.) to bring home his first Kansas Relays title since 2009. Scott is currently ranked third in the nation in the event.
“I got a lot of confidence today,” Scott said after his performance. “I was a little upset at myself; I kind of just gave up on that last jump. It felt so good that I thought I had enough height. I just kind of sailed over it instead of pushing to get that extra inch. It was a solid meet for me though.”
In track action, the men’s and women’s distance medley relay teams both brought home first-place finishes on Friday afternoon. For the women, Kyra Kilwein, Denesha Morris, Cori Christensen and Rebeka Stowe passed the baton around in 3:38.44 to win the race by over 20 seconds.
“The game plan was just to hang with them and compete,” said Christensen of the team’s plan entering the race. “That’s our big thing this year. Instead of trying to just run fast times, we need to compete and (then) the fast times will come.”
On the men’s side, Josh Munsch, Derrick Perry, Brendan Soucie and Austin Bussing marked a time of 10:12.51 in the medley relay to bring the Jayhawks their fourth win of the day.
“It was really awesome,” Munsch said of the win. “Derrick (Perry) ran extremely well and so did Brendan (Soucie) and then Austin (Bussing) with a solid mile. It was really cool to win it here at our home track.”
In the men’s javelin throw, freshman Johann Swanepoel had a career day en route to a second-place finish in the event. His throw of 73.60 meters (241-06 ft.) was a personal record and moved him to fourth in the all-time KU record books.
“It’s pretty exciting,” said Swanepoel of his finish. “There are a lot of people that came out today to watch me. My coach is pretty relaxed, he doesn’t want to put a lot of pressure on me. So there hasn’t been a ton of pressure and I’ve been doing pretty well. I am always relaxed too.”
Swanepoel came in a close second to former Kansas great Scott Russell who posted a winning throw of 81.96 meters (268-11 ft.). Russell was an NCAA champion for Kansas in 2002 and finished 10th in the 2008 Beijing Olympic games.
In the women’s javelin throw, sophomore Heather Bergmann broke the school record in the event with a mark of 51.38 meters (168-07 ft.). Bergmann recorded the mark on her third attempt and would go on to finish second in the event.
“It is always nice to throw at home, because you are comfortable,” Bergmann said of the first home meet of the season. “My first two (throws) were really good, I just had to change a little bit, and on the third one I just connected with the sword, it is one of those things you can’t explain.”
Andrea Geubelle had another solid outing in the women’s triple jump on Friday afternoon. The sophomore’s best jump was her last attempt, a jump of 12.88 meters (42-02.25ft.) which gave her a runner-up finish in the event.
“I kind of wish that I would have jumped further, because it is a good atmosphere and there are a lot of people,” said Geubelle of her performance. “My last jump was pretty good, but I twisted at the end of it and it threw me off. I have a lot of work to do, it is pretty early in the year, we have three weeks until Big 12 (Conference meet).”
In preliminary track action, eight Jayhawks on the men’s and women’s sides qualified for finals events on Saturday. For the women, Diamond Dixon ran a personal best mark of 53.62 in the 400 meters to mark the fastest time in the preliminary round. The freshman took second in the prelims of the 100 meters, running a time of 11.91. Kendra Bradley and Taylor Washington will also be competing in the 400 meters on Saturday after each ran sub-56.00 races to finish second and third, respectively, in the round.
Dixon, Bradley and Washington also advanced to the 4X400-meter relay finals in an outstanding effort along with Kendra Bradley. The four athletes finished first in the qualifying round with a time of 3:38.34, which was the second-fastest time for the team this season. The 400-meter final will be held at 2:30 p.m., while the 4X400-meter relay take place at 4:35 p.m., Saturday.
On the men’s side, Kyle Clemons and Keron Toussaint also qualified for the 400-meter final, finishing one-two in the preliminary round. Clemons recorded a time of 48.45 to finish first and Toussaint took second, rounding the track in 48.56. Both will be in action in the 400-meter final at 2:40 p.m. Saturday. Clemons and Toussaint joined forces with Dominique Manley and Brendan Soucie in the 4X400-meter relay qualifying round to advance to the finals on Saturday. They passed the baton in 3:13.44, just .01 second behind their season’s best mark. The four will be in action Saturday afternoon in the 4X400-meter relay final at 4:45 p.m.
The Jayhawk track and field teams will return to action Saturday for the fourth and final day of the 84th Kansas Relays. It will be a busy day for KU as 26 Jayhawk athletes will be competing in 16 events. Featured athletes will be Francine Simpson in the women’s long jump, Mason Finley in the men’s discus and Jaci Perryman in the women’s pole vault. Saturday’s action begins with the Boy’s Discus and Girl’s Sprint Medley Relay at 8 a.m.
Kansas Agate
Kansas Relays 4/22
WOMEN’S RESULTS
100 Meter Dash (Prelims)
2. Diamond Dixon, 11.91 – advanced to finals
400 Meter Dash (Prelims)
1. Diamond Dixon, 53.62 ***Personal Record*** – advanced to finals
2. Kendra Bradley, 55.15 ***Personal Record*** – advanced to finals
3. Taylor Washington, 55.54 – advanced to finals
100 Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
9. Kathryn Lupton, 14.71
400 Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
11. Kathryn Lupton, 1:02.72
18. Timmie Morris, 1:05:30 ***Personal Record***
4X400 Meter Relay (Prelims)
1. Kansas (Wilson, Washington, Dixon, Bradley), 3:38.44 – advanced to finals
Distance Medley Relay
1. Kansas – (Kilwein, Morris, Christensen, Stowe), 11:50.34
Triple Jump
2. Andrea Geubelle, 12.88m (42-02.25ft.)
22. Jamaica Collins, 11.00m (26-01.25ft.)
Shot Put
6. Jessica Maroszek, 14.30m (46-11.00ft.)
18. Elise Umbarger, 11.40m (37-05.00ft.)
Javelin Throw
2. Heather Bergmann, 51.38 (168-07 ft.) ***Personal Record/KU record***
MEN’S RESULTS
100 Meter Dash (Prelims)
34. Kyle Clemons, 11.19
39. Alex Hernes, 11.40
40. Bruce Tyner, 11.77
400 Meter Dash (Prelims)
1. Kyle Clemons, 48.45 – advanced to finals
2. Keron Toussaint, 48.56 – advanced to finals
400 Meter Hurdles (Prelims)
23. Isaac Bradshaw, 55.97
4X400 Meter Relay (Prelims)
1. Kansas (Clemons, Manley, Toussaint, Pieter Marx), 3:13.44 – advanced to finals
Distance Medley Relay
1. Kansas (Munsch, Perry, Soucie ,Bussing), 10:12.51
Pole Vault
1. Jordan Scott, 5.35m (17-06.50ft.)
4. Alex Bishop, 5.15m (16-10.75ft.) ***Personal Record***
6. Cooper Merrill, 5.05m (16-06.75ft.) ***Personal Record***
Triple Jump
3. Darryl Trotter, 15.29m (50-02.00ft.) ***Personal Record***
10. Jareb Stallbaumer, 14.52m (47-07.75ft.)
Shot Put
1. Mason Finley, 19.84m (65-01.25ft.)
5. Brian Bishop, 16.35m (53-07.75ft.)
7. Joel Krause, 16.29m (53-05.50ft.) ***Personal Record***
Javelin Throw
2. Johann Swanepoel, 73.60m (241-06ft.)
13. Jesse Vaughn, 57.27m (187-11ft.)
19. Daniel Hitman, 52.44m (172-00ft.)
