Bonds Takes Bronze on Final Day of Big 12s
May 18, 2009
Complete Results 
LUBBOCK, Texas — Lauren Bonds placed third in the finals of the women’s 1,500 meters, and Nickesha Anderson totaled nine points for the Kansas track & field team Sunday to highlight the third and final day of the 2009 Big 12 Outdoor Championships for the Jayhawks at the Terry & Linda Fuller Track.
With a hard charge in the last 100 meters, Lauren Bonds earned the bronze medal in the women’s 1,500 meters. The junior from Hutchinson, Kan., ran a time of 4:27.92 to finish in third place in the finals, .68 seconds ahead of the fourth-place finisher, Emily Baker of Missouri. Bonds netted six points for the Kansas women with her effort.
“Lauren did an excellent job today,” Kansas head coach Stanley Redwine said. “She went out and competed against some very good competition. She dug in and kicked people down at the end in order to get third. The true competitor that she is, she wasn’t going to give up, and she did a great job today. With 100 meters to go, she was in fifth and she was not to be denied. She was probably in fifth by 20 meters to third, so she really did a great job at the end.”
In the very deep women’s 100 meters, Nickesha Anderson took fourth place with a time of 11.50. The senior from Hanover, Jamaica, scored five points for the Kansas women. Anderson also went on to place fifth in the 200 meters with a time of 23.53, good for four more points.
“Nickesha did an excellent job,” Redwine said. “I know that she was slightly injured, and she’s going to be better. She should be better at the regional meet, so she’s going to pay those people back. Most people probably would have pulled aside, but she gave it all she had. She wanted to do well for Kansas and she did an exceptional job today given that she was slightly injured.”
Sasha Cunningham placed sixth in her first 400-meter hurdles final with a time of 1:02.61. The freshman from Clarendon, Jamaica, earned three points for the Jayhawks.
The Kansas men’s 4×400-meter relay team placed sixth overall among the two heats, earning three points for the Jayhawks.
The KU women’s 4×100-meter relay team earned two points for the Jayhawks with their seventh-place finish. The team of Aubree Dorsey, Nickesha Anderson, Kendra Bradley and Victoria Howard posted
The Jayhawk women’s 4×400-meter relay team of Shayla Wilson, Kendra Bradley, Charity Stowers and Victoria Howard took first place in heat one of the finals, but ended up seventh overall among the two heats with a time of 3:44.33.
Mackenzie Wills, Kelsey Erb and Donny Wasinger each score one point for Kansas with eighth-place finishes in their respective events. Wills recorded a pole vault of 3.70 meters (12-01.50 feet), Erb posted a high jump of 1.69 meters (5-06.50 feet) and Wasinger ran a time of 4:01.87 in the 1,500 meters.
The Kansas women finished in 10th place with 29 points, while the men placed 12th with 12.5 points.
Kansas is back in action May 29-30 at the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Norman, Okla.
“The thing is, we have to heal up and make sure our injuries are taken care of,” Redwine explained. “Other than that, we need to advance to Nationals. We have some people that are capable of advancing, and that’s what we’re striving for.”
