Kansas Relays Quotes, Day Three

April 23, 2005

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Leo Bookman, 20.52

Men’s 200 Meter Dash Invitational

Nike

“I was disappointed with my time. The wind got to me especially at the start around the curve. But overall I’m happy with the victory and I’ll just have to build on that. I love the crowd. This by far has been the best crowd at the Kansas Relays.”

Danielle Gilchrist, 14.34

Girls’ 100 Meter Hurdles College

Union High School (Tulsa, OK)

“It feels good to win in the Gold Zone. It was an exciting race. This was the best competition I’ve faced all year. It’s exciting to be around such great runners.”

Frances Keating, 13.51

Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles College

University of Nebraska

“It was a fairly good race. A lot of girls in there pushed me but it was something that helped me quite a bit. I felt the girl in lane three really close to me, and her next to me is what helped run a PR. Every girl came out and gave their best shot. I found it’s really rare to have people come out and watch track and field and I love such a crowd.”

LaShinda Demus, 12.93

Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles Invite

Nike

“I’m very happy. I didn’t expect to run this fast today because I was sore. I got out of the blocks well which I’m not good at.”

Jared Huske, 13.92 (Relays record)

Boys’ 110 Meter Hurdles

Highland Park High School (Topeka)

“I came in yesterday with zero Kansas Relays titles. I have two now, so I guess the monkey is off my back. It’s amazing to run a race here in front of this type of crowd. I think the 100 and the 400 should be good races. I’ll just have to do what I did. Two down and two to go.”

Jared Macleod, 13.74

Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles College

Unattached

“It was amazing running at the Relays. The weather somewhat affected my race. The weather this morning at prelims was really cold, but for this race it warmed up. The competition here is solid. That is the fastest time I ran this year and I think I can credit that to them (the competition).”

Dominique Arnold, 13.33 (Relays record, fastest time in the world this year)

Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles Invitational

Nike

” I felt the wind start up at the beginning of the race but I thought it died down near the end. I wasn’t too worried about it because my racing never changes regardless of the wind. Last week I ran a 13.35 and to follow it with a .33 says something about my conditioning. I haven’t done much speed work whatsoever so it feels good to come out here and run so consistently. I’m very pleased with my time today.”

Gwen Wentland, 6-00.75

Women’s Invitational High Jump

Nike

“The wind wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I was out here yesterday so I had a pretty good feel of what it was going to be like. The most challenging part of competing here is the change in the surface and then a real small apron to run on. It was good to get out here and get a competition under my belt. As long as I keep winning I have a chance to make it on the team. I’ve got to start jumping higher to win meets though. I think Tim (Weaver) has done a great job recruiting athletes and getting quality people here. The level of elite athletes you have here is phenomenal. The crowd is great too and it’s that combination that makes this unbelievable.”

Rachelle Bonne-Smith, 23.02

Women’s 200 Meter Dash Invitational

Nike

“I thought I ran great today. I like Kansas. Everybody says that it’s windy and cold, but it’s been great this year. It’s very competitive here this year. With 39 Olympians it’s just been great. I thought my time was great for this early in the season. I hope it’s like this next year and even more people come.”

Genna Williams, 11.63

Women’s 100 Meter Dash College

Southwest Missouri State

“It feels great to run in the Kansas Relays. It was good competition. I had to pull through at the end. They really made me run. I was hoping for a legal wind, but I didn’t get it. Overall I’m satisfied.”

Muna Lee, 11.10 (6th fastest time in the world this year)

Women’s 100 Meter Dash Invitational

Nike

“I didn’t know what to expect because this is my first 100m of the year. I was mainly focusing on my start. That is my weak point but I was happy to get out first today. I don’t have any plans for the summer; I just know where I’m going for my next meets. That’s Penn and Jamaica. I was real excited to run close to home. My family was able to come and support me.”

Jacob Pauli, 18:08.25

Men’s Pole Vault Invitational

Nike

“It was an honor to compete against such great competition. Pat Manson and Nick Hysong are two of my idols and they are both very nice guys. Pat was able to go over 18 feet for 20 years and that is a feat that will never be repeated. It was gusty on the runway and the conditions weren’t ideal, but I was happy with the turnout.”

Sarah Becker, 10:58.25

Women’s 3000 Meter Steeplechase

Wichita State

“This is awesome. It was my first time winning a steeplechase. It is nice with all these people and my teammates here. It was awesome knowing my teammates were right up there on the podium with me.”

Jeremy Mims, 1:50.00 (Regional qualifier)

Men’s 800 Meter Run

University of Kansas

“This is only one of our two home meets on the season, so it’s really excited to get so many athletes out here. Hopefully we can bring the Relays back to the level it used to be ad. It’s a lot of fun and the coaches and Tim Weaver do a good job of getting people here. This year is the best Relays I’ve been to. With the conditions today, my time doesn’t really matter, but I was pleased with the race. When you win, you have to be pleased. We didn’t have the conditions for a fast race. I have faced a lot of the competitors before, and I will see them again as the season goes on.”

Victoria Howard, 12.14

Girls’ 100 Meter Dash

Blue Valley West High School

“I believe everybody has a time. I’ve been running for quite a while and today was my time. I just tried as hard as I could to pull it off. I gained a lot of competition here because the girls are great. They all push me.”

Egle Uljas, 2:08.87 (Regional qualifier)

Women’s 800 Meter Run College

University of Nebraska

“I raced pretty good for this weather, but I am capable of running much faster. It’s fun to race in front of so many people. This is not the race I am most comfortable running, but I will feel more comfortable and it was nice to get the win.”

Jamie Beyer, 68-06.00

Men’s Shot Put Invitational

Unattached

“This turned out to be a really good day. They were able to get a lot of great athletes to come here. It was also great competition with some world champions here. This was my second best throw ever and being this early in the season, it is very promising.”

Lincoln (MO), 45.82

Women’s 4×100 Meter Relay College

Simmy George, Carla Thomas, Karen Robinson, Shandria “Speedy” Brown

Karen Robinson — “It feels good to win. We came out to defend our title here at the Kansas Relays. We’ve worked hard all season so we deserved to win. We could have done better though. Overall, we’re pleased with how we did.”

Matt Hemingway, 7-02.50

Men’s High Jump Invitational

Adidas

“I had a pretty good performance considering the change of surface and the wind. Sometimes those things are tricky, but you have to adjust. It’s great here. Just look at the stands. It’s great to have this kind of turnout at our sport. This gives me a good idea of where I’m at and where I’ll be later in the season.”

Lindenwood University, 40.60

Men’s 4×100 Meter Relay College

Bill John, Kendrick Triggs, Stephon Johnson, Michael Rodgers

Michael Rodgers –“It was a pretty decent performance. We’re not too satisfied, but with the wind, it’s kind of hard to get a good time. We have things that we can improve on, but the wind is out of our control. It’s a good environment here. You can tell that in a few years it’s going to be just as big as other meets like the Penn Relays. I look forward to seeing a bigger crowd here in the future. This is our first time running this group of guys, so we can only get better from here.”

Charlie Gruber, 4:08.66 (third place)

Men’s Mile Invitational

Nike

“I’m glad Benson (Chesang, Kansas) was able to come out with a victory. I take the KU mile tradition very seriously. It’s nice to see some of the younger guys stepping up and making some noise. We were on pace there for a while, but between the 800-1200 mark, I lost focus. I felt like today I was just going through the motions. I know I’m not in the best of shape yet and that affects my confidence.”

Benson Chesang, 4:05.63

Men’s Mile Invitational

University of Kansas

“I didn’t expect to win today. I expected to go out and compete very hard, but to win was a true surprise. This year I’m planning on racing at Nationals. I’m more of a 5000m runner. I usually see the mile more as a workout. Today it wasn’t too bad of a workout.”

Nikki Pauli, 1:02.26

Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles

Unattached

“It was a very competitive race. The wind was just terrible and we all ran slowly. This is my second time here and I love racing at the Kansas Relays. The 400 meter hurdles is all about rhythm and we had none of that today.”

Bershawn Jackson, 48.67

Men’s 400m Hurdles Invitational

Nike

“This event was great. I just wanted to come this year and be ready with a good game plan. It was very windy and hard to catch my rhythm. I thank the Lord that I got through the race safely and I am happy since it was my first race of the year. This is my second year and I love the Kansas Relays. I will come back many more years after this.”

Carlington Marsh, 52.86

Men’s 400m Hurdles College

Lincoln (MO)

“This was my second race of the season and it felt pretty good. I really like racing at the Kansas Relays, but I need to continue to get better as the season goes.”

Gerron Herring, 48.47

Boys’ 400 Meter Dash

Park Hill High School

“I just have to run as hard as I can every time. That is what I do. The backstretch was tough with the wind, but you have to stay strong. I’m happy I’ve been able to place high in my events this weekend. I’m very proud of myself.”

Gerron Herring, 10.87

Boys’ 100 Meter Dash

Park Hill High School

“I usually don’t run the 100m, but today I did. It turned out pretty well, so I’m glad I did. This is my first Kansas Relays championship and I’m really happy about it.”

Marion Jones (DQ out of zone)

Women’s 4×200 Meter Relay Invitational

Vector Sports Management

“Before the race started today, everyone told me it was just a relay. But regardless of whether it’s a relay or not, you’re on the track and you want to have a good performance. Even though it’s a relay, I still have that pre-race excitement which is totally necessary. We ran really well. The other girls had already run in individual events, so they had to wait around and sit out in the cold. For them to come out and race like they did says a lot about them.”

“It was cold right when you went outside, but once you step on the track everybody has to run in the cold. Once you get the blood flowing and the baton starts coming your way, you forget about all of that.”

“This is the first time we had ever ran the relay together. Yesterday was the first time we had worked on handoffs in a KU facility, so we’re not going to get the type of handoffs we wanted by just practicing once. We just wanted to go out and run a good race and get the baton to each other. Everything after that is just up to each one of us.”

“In this race, all the other teams were college girls and this is what we do for a living. To compare our team to the other teams is a little unfair. Looking at the entire event, the competition here was pretty good. The college teams were very competitive today, which I have seen at other relay meets around the nation. It’s nice to see the college teams here because we all started at that point in our careers.”

“I’m at the point in my career where I’m taking it one race at time. In the overall picture, Helsinki is my top goal. I’ve never been shy about it. I want to be the best in the world. I might have to compete against some of these ladies on my team, but I want to get back on top. I want to take it once race at time and if I do that I will be right where I need to be come Helsinki.”

Haddow Weatherborne, 48.16

Men’s 400 Meter Dash College

Lindenwood

“It was windy during the race today. I’ve been working on running the first half of my race better. I just gave everything I had left to finish the race. It’s great to see all the stars here at the Relays. I hope to get Maurice Greene’s autograph. He’s my favorite. Hopefully I can be a pro athlete like them someday.”

Leonard Byrd, 46.60

Men’s 400 Meter Dash

Nike

“The conditions were very windy so it was my plan just to jog the first 200. Then I picked it up at the end and brought it home. I love it here at the Kansas Relays. I’ve been coming since 2001. It’s bigger this year than the previous years and just way better than it’s ever been. This meet really helps with my confidence. Coming here and getting a win is exactly what I wanted to do.”

Daniel Strackeljahn, 3:58.47

Men’s 1500 Meter Run

Eastern Illinois

“I thought it was a pretty good performance. I just tucked in on the back straight and let my people take me into the finish line. Today it’s just been packed. It’s hard to prepare for your race because there is so much going on. This is a morale booster. We have our conference meet coming up in two weeks so this is a good step towards that.”

Maurice Greene, 10.15

Men’s 100 Meter Dash Invitational College

Adidas

“This is just the start of my season and I have a lot of work to do. I think the 100 went as I expected. Our coach has been working us really hard but I really didn’t feel as well as I wanted to. I thought I was going to feel a little bit better. Plus, it was a little cold out there. You can’t take anything for granted. You have to go out there and compete. John (Capel) competed today. I think we put on a very good race and I think that shows what kind of a year we are going to have. I felt the support of the hometown fans and they really helped me do as well as I did today. There is always motivation to do better and I am a competitor. I never like to lose, but we will be running against each other next week. It’s going to be another close race. I have a few things I have to work on and I am sure John has some things he needs to work on. We will just have to see what happens next time. It means a lot to come back and run at home. I don’t make it out here enough, but every time I have come back to run I have always had tremendous fan support. I was just glad I was able to bring my friends along.”

John Capel, 10.10

Men’s 100 Meter Dash Invitational College

Adidas

“It scared me that I was actually ahead of Maurice (Greene) at the beginning. I hit the first step and I saw that Maurice was still right next to me, and that never happens. This is a great start for my season. We have had a lot of competitive races but today was a milestone today.”

More Quotes

Mark Moore, Mid-America Nazarene, 6-08.75

Men’s High Jump

“I didn’t jump as good as I could have. It was a little cold and windy. With the overall conditions I think I did pretty well. I’m from an NAIA school and competing in a D1 school is a lot of competition and makes me work harder than the rest.”

Brooke Wehri, MSU-Moorhead, 12-09.50

Women’s Pole Vault

“I thought there was going to be more competition. It feels good. I almost had 13-01. I get a better outlook on the competition by coming here. I get to see different people than what I am use to seeing. I have another meet in the conference and then it’s off to nationals so this feels really good.”

Abby Emsick, University of Kansas, 168-08, D1 regional qualifier

Women’s Discus

“It feels good. I haven’t had a good history here so it is nice to finally do well at this meet. This is a nice meet to prepare for other meets coming up. It’s really nice to be able to win here at home.”

Stelios Kapasalis, Kansas State, 52-04.75, D1 regional qualifier

Men’s Triple Jump

“This is a really great track meet. Many, many people are here. I’m really excited. This is a really nice place. It’s great to win at some place where it is so popular.”

Lincoln University (MO), 4:01.53

Nikkisha Maynard, Marlene Smith, Mellisha Spencer, Kelly Marshall

Women’s 1600 Sprint Medley Relay

Nikkisha Maynard — “We expected to win and run a good time, but our time wasn’t that good. It is very cold and the back stretch was very windy. We have a good team with a lot of good girls. I enjoyed the Kansas Relays, but sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate. Other than that the meet is pretty good.”

Eastern Illinois University, 3:31.91

Greg Lyons, Brenton Emanuel, Brenton Pegues, Chris Wesson

Men’s Sprint Medley Relay

Chris Wesson — “We are really excited. Our girls won the DMR and so we wanted to win something to show the guys were doing well too. We’re happy that we made a name for ourselves. This is a really big meet for us and we’re happy to be here and actually come away with the win. The wind was crazy but we had to fight through it.”

lWKC flyers, 49.83

James Hilliard, Bob Liad, Will Sellars, Kurt Burgess

Men’s Masters 4×100 Relay

James Hilliard — “Being that we’re all old guys, I think we ran pretty good. Once we’re done training we’ll bring our time down, hopefully under 44 seconds. The weather wasn’t really kind to us today. When you’re old it takes a long time to warm up. We like the support of the Relays because track and field doesn’t normally get a lot of press. We’ve been doing this for years and we’re hoping to help the Relays revive itself.”

University of Mary, 9:34.55

Hannah Moen, Ashley Colbrese, Brittany Messer, Kristal Wolf

Women’s 4×880 Relay

Ashley Colbrese – “We thought there was going to be a little more competition. We see a lot of competition but we never get to see big schools. It’s nice to be able to come here and compete against Division I schools. We usually don’t get to face schools like this.”

Butler County Community College, 7:49.94

Kyle Norris, Dakota, Bryce Forward, Chad Monrreal

Mens’ 4×880 Relay

Chad Monrreal — “I’m very satisfied. We all ran very well. This is good for preparation for nationals because we will have to run against competition like this there. We went out, did our job and got the win.”

Steve Dixon, unattached, 11.27

Men’s Master 100m Dash

“It meant a lot for me to be able to come here and compete. I’m still learning technique and this is a great way to learn.”

Kansas State University, 3:45.37

Women 4×400 Meter Relay

Lisi Maurer — “It was very cold running out there and we had to wait a long time to race. I do think we did well though. It’s always nice to win. It’s awesome to compete at the Relays because we don’t have to travel very much and it’s such a big event.”

University of Nebraska, 3:12.12

Men’s 4×400 Meter Relay

Andy Nelson – “I think we did a good job. It’s cold and pretty windy outside so we had to battle the elements. But considering that we ran a pretty good time and I think everyone did great.”