PREVIEW: NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships

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NCAA Outdoor Championships
Dates

June 5-8, 2013

Location Eugene, Ore.
Venue Hayward Field
Start/End Times

Wed – 3:30pm – 9:10pm (CT)
Thur – 3:30pm – 9:15pm (CT)
Fri – 5:15pm – 8:15pm (CT)
Sat – 2:30pm – 5:50pm (CT)

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas’ nationally-ranked men’s and women’s track & field teams will be traveling Eugene, Ore., this week for the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Championships. The top-ranked Jayhawk women and the 15th-ranked KU men will compete against the nation’s best at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon, June 5-8.

KUTRACK QUICK HITS

  • This weekend, the Jayhawks will travel to Oregon’s Hayward Field, a venue Kansas will be competing at for the fourth time in as many years.
  • The Kansas women find themselves ranked No. 1 by the USTFCCCA for the fourth-straight week and eighth time this season after sitting at No. 1 for the first four weeks of the outdoor season.
  • The Jayhawk women’s 13 entries at the NCAA Championships is the fourth-most of all the teams, however all but one of their competitors are ranked in the top-10 of their respective events.
  • Senior Andrea Geubelle will have the chance to earn her sixth and seventh first team outdoor All-America nods this week in Eugene. She is already the most decorated women in KU history, but the seven would make her the second-most decorated Jayhawk ever, behind Cliff Wiley’s eight outdoor All-America performances from 1975-78 .
  • Last week the Kansas men moved up to No. 15 in the national rankings, their highest since checking in at 12th in 2011. The Jayhawks went on to place 18th in the NCAA team standing that year.
  • Of the 20 athletes set to compete in Eugene this week, 12 will be competing in at least their second NCAA Outdoor Championship meet, six of which will be seeing action in their third or fourth national meet.
  • Kansas’ women enter the NCAA Championship meet ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history. Last season, the Jayhawks came into the final meet as the nation’s No. 2 team and in 2011 they were slotted at 16th heading into championship week.
  • The KU women lead the nation with five entries in the jumping events scheduled to compete at nationals.
  • The Jayhawk men have six athletes competing in individual events this week. A victory by anyone of those competitors would give KU its 36th NCAA Outdoor Champion and the fourth under head coach Stanley Redwine.

LAST TIME OUT
Kansas track & field had a strong outing at the 2013 NCAA West Preliminary as a total of 20 athletes, 13 women and seven men advanced to the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships inside Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.

Andrea Geubelle, Paris Daniels, Diamond Dixon and Denesha Morris each advanced to multiple event finals on the women’s side, while Kyle Clemons and Michael Stigler moved on to the national semifinals on two events each as well.

The women’s 4×100-meter relay team broke the school record as it notched the fastest qualifying time out of the west region while a pair of men’s pole vaulters, Alex Bishop and Casey Bowen, moved on to Eugene by way of their career performances.

REGULARS ATOP THE RANKINGS
The Kansas women’s track & field team earned the No. 1 ranking in the latest U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) rankings, marking the eighth week this season the Jayhawks have been slotted as the nation’s top team. KU’s eight-week stay atop the national list ties Texas A&M’s 2008 squad for the most weeks at No. 1 in the ranking’s history.

This week’s No. 1-ranking also marks the 23rd-consecutive top-25 list in which the women’s team has been slotted in the top-five of the NCAA, which includes both indoor and outdoor seasons. KU’s streak is the longest active in the nation.

KU WOMEN AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
While the Kansas women’s program doesn’t own any team championships or boast any individual title winners, the Jayhawks have had a successful track record at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. The program has tallied seven top-25 finishes at the national meet in its 39-year history, including three in the last five years. KU’s highest finish came last season when it tied for fourth in the team standings.

The KU women have seen 55 of its athletes achieve All-America status at the NCAA meet, including 21 first team AAs in the last two seasons. The Jayhawks have had several close to individual outdoor titles, boasting four who have notched runner-up finishes in their respective events at the National Championships.

KU MEN AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
Not many collegiate programs have seen more success at the national championships than Kansas has over its 112 years in existence. The Jayhawk men have captured three NCAA Outdoor titles (1959, 1960 and 1970) and have finished in the top 10 in the team standings on 18 occasions, including a seventh-place finish in 2010.

Kansas men have walked away with individual NCAA outdoor titles 35 times with the most recent Jordan Scott in the 2010 pole vault. A total of 138 outdoor All-Americans have donned the Crimson and Blue, with 25 of those coming under head coach Stanley Redwine.

NATIONAL LEADERS
Individually, both the KU men and women have several members who are among the nation’s best in their respective events. The Jayhawk women has fewer entries in at the NCAA Championships than do its closest competitor, but still holds the advantage, boasting 12 top-10 nationally ranked performers.

The Jayhawks feature several who enter the season’s final meet in the top-five of their respective events. Diamond Dixon (No. 5, 400m), Natalia Bartnovskaya (No. 2, pole vault), Andrea Geubelle (No. 2 triple jump and No. 4 long jump), Alena Krechyk (No. 3 hammer throw), Jessica Maroszek (No. 5, discus) and the 4x100m relay team — three of whom have won NCAA titles in the past in Dixon, Bartnovskaya and Geubelle.

On the men’s side, two individuals and a relay are sitting comfortably in the top-10 of their events, including senior Kyle Clemons (No. 3, 400m) and sophomore Michael Stigler (No. 2, 400mH), who each boast times that rank them both among the top-three in the nation.

Jumpin’ Jayhawks
The Kansas men and women have been impressive all season in the horizontal and vertical jump events and it has no doubt carried over into national championship meets. The KU women feature five jumpers who have successfully earned spots in Eugene, the most of any team in the nation. Andrea Geubelle (long jump, triple jump) and Sydney Conley (long jump) make up three of the Jayhawks’ entries and pole vaulters Natalia Bartnovskaya and Christen Guenther round out the group.

For the men, pole vaulters Alex Bishop and Casey Bowen each punched their first-career tickets to the national meet, making Kansas one of just four schools to get multiple vaulters through to Eugene.

AT HOME AT HAYWARD FIELD
Eugene, Ore. may be nearly 2,000 miles from Lawrence but the members of KU’s track & field team are very familiar with historic Hayward Field. A Kansas contingent has made the trip to Oregon for at least one meet each of the last four years. The venue, known by many as “Track Town USAâ€, has played host to a NCAA Championship meet, NCAA West Preliminary meet and the U.S. Olympic Trials all within the last four years.

Several current Jayhawks have fond memories of Hayward Field. Junior Diamond Dixon ran her fastest-career 400 meters en route to a fifth-place finish at the U.S. Olympic Trials last summer, earning her a spot on the Olympic Team. Andrea Geubelle has taken dozens of successful trips down the Hayward Field long jump and triple jump runways with the most recent a third-place triple jump finish at the Trials last June.

U.S. CHAMPIONSHIP PREDICTIONS
Even with a three weeks still to go before the U.S. Championship meet begins in Des Moines, it’s never too early to see how the qualifying picture is beginning to come together. Currently, seven KU student-athletes have already punched their tickets to the American Championships after already earning marks that meet the A-standard. An additional seven have reached B-Standards, giving them a good chance to compete at Drake Stadium in late June.

As of May 28, the KU women have two athletes currently in the top 10 of their events among Americans. Andrea Geubelle has the top American triple jump mark in 2013 and is ninth in the long jump. Sophomore Lindsay Vollmer is also breaking into the national scene as she sits at 10th in the U.S. rankings in the heptathlon. For the men, Kyle Clemons is the eighth fastest American at 400 meters thus far in 2013, while Michael Stigler holds the No. 9 400-meter hurdle time in the U.S.

OUTDOOR RECORD HOLDERS
Eleven school records are currently held by active Jayhawks, each of which have been broken within the last two seasons. The women’s squad has seen seven of its records broken this year, while the men’s team has had a 30-year-old record (400m) also broken this season. Below is a list of KU’s current school record holders:

SCHOOL RECORDS

Athlete

Event

Mark

Meet

Kyle Clemons

400 Meters

45.10

2013 Big 12 Championships

Diamond Dixon

400 Meters

50.88

2012 U.S. Olympic Trials

Michael Stigler

400m Hurdles

49.42

2013 Kansas Relays

Daniels, Valentine,
Morris, Dixon

4x100m Relay

43.56

2013 NCAA West Prelim

Morris, Daniels,
Washington, Dixon

4x400m Relay

3:28.10

2012 Big 12 Championships

Natalia Bartnovskaya

Pole Vault

4.45m (14-7.25 ft.)

2013 Ward Haylett Invite

Francine Simpson

Long Jump

6.67m (21-10.75 ft.)

2013 Big 12 Championships

Andrea Geubelle

Triple Jump

13.85m (45-5.25 ft.)

2013 Georgia Tech Invite

Jessica Maroszek

Discus

56.81m (186-6 ft.)

2013 Big 12 Championships

Alena Krechyk

Hammer Throw

69.02m (226-5 ft.)

2012 Big 12 Championships

Heather Bergmann

Javelin

52.65m (172-8 ft.)

2012 Ark. Spring Invitational

RECAPPING THE JAYHAWKS’ CONFERENCE CROWN
The KU women claimed the program’s first outdoor league championship three weeks ago in Waco, Texas. The group amassed 158 points to top runner-up Texas by 13 in the team standings on the shoulders of eight event champions and 18 scorers overall. Senior>Paris Daniels was the meet’s high scorer after she collected 23 points, all on the final day, as part of both relays and in the 200 meters and 100 meters.

KU’s eight champions was the second most in the Big 12’s history and Daniels’ 23 individual points was the seventh most by a woman ever at the league meet.

GEUBELLE GOING FOR GOLD
Senior Andrea Geubelle is making sure her career in Lawrence ends on a high note. The University Place, Wash., product has collected a litany of accolades during the indoor and outdoor seasons that have her among top-collegiate athletes this year. Here are some of her accomplishments thus far:

  • Qualified for the NCAA Championships in both the long jump and triple jump for the fourth-straight year.
  • Repeated as Big 12 champion in the outdoor triple jump.
  • Currently holds NCAA’s No. 2 outdoor triple jump mark, 13.85m (45’5.25â€).
  • USTFCCCA Indoor National Field Athlete of the Year.
  • First female since 2003 to win both indoor long jump and triple jump NCAA titles.
  • Winning NCAA triple jump mark (46’6â€) was second-best indoor mark ever by an American.
  • National Indoor Champion in both long jump and triple jump.
  • Jayhawks’ top scorer (18 pts.) at the Big 12 Indoor Championships with her victory in the triple jump and runner-up finish in the long jump.
  • Has won 14 of the last 16 triple jump competitions versus collegians, including all four this season.
  • Moved into top-10 of NCAA all-time triple jump list after breaking her own school record with a leap of 13.91 meters (45’7.75â€).
  • Broke long jump school record in her win at the Armory Collegiate Invitational with her nation-leading leap of 6.69 meters (21’11.5â€).
  • Named the National Female Athlete of the Week by the USTFCCCA Feb. 4.

AN INDOOR CAMPAIGN TO REMEMBER
The women’s team’s 2013 indoor season was the best in program history. The team was ranked in the top-five of the NCAA rankings for the entire season and moved to No. 1 for the first time since the current rankings system began in 2008. The team went on to claim its first-ever conference title in late February behind a program best six individual Big 12 champions.

The team saw a program-best 11 student-athletes qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships and went on to earn its second-consecutive runner-up team finish. Three national titles were won by Jayhawks with Andrea Geubelle winning both the long and triple jumps and Natalia Bartnovskaya claiming the pole vault championships. In all, eight First Team All-America honors were earned by Jayhawks, also a program best.

UP NEXT
With the NCAA season complete a few select Jayhawks will turn their attention to the USA Championship meet to be held in Des Moines, Iowa June 19-22. Nearly a dozen KU track athletes have already achieved the standards needed to compete in the event. Keep track of all the Kansas performances as the Jayhawks go against the nation’s best from historic Drake Stadium by logging on to KUAthletics.com and following on Twitter at KUTrack.

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