KU Track and Field Set to Host Bob Timmons Challenge Friday
Nov. 30, 2011
Meet Notes 
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| Bob Timmons Challenge | |
| Date | Friday, Dec. 2, 2011 |
| Location | Lawrence, Kan. |
| Venue | Anschutz Pavilion |
| Start Time | 3:00 p.m. |
| Coverage | Meet Central |
| Results | Live Results |
| Meet Schedule | |
| Heat Sheets | |
LAWRENCE, Kan. – University of Kansas track and field will kick off the 2011-12 indoor season by hosting the Bob Timmons Challenge at Anschutz Pavilion on Friday, Dec 2. The meet marks the third-straight season the Jayhawks will begin the season at home, after opening the previous 20 seasons on the road.
“This meet is going to give our newcomers as well as our upperclassmen a great opportunity to compete,” said track and field head coach Stanley Redwine. “The team has been practicing all fall so hopefully they’ll be in pretty good shape and we’ll get to see how they compete. It should be a fun and very beneficial meet for us.”
The Jayhawks are anxious to show off the newly-renovated Anschutz Pavilion, their indoor track facility that will host three home meets this season and also serves as the season-long practice facility for both teams. The building has been completely refurbished, with the installment of a state-of-the-art, six-lane, 200-meter track surface, the addition of an 18X16 feet Daktronics results board and sound system and a fresh coat of paint to complete the face lift.
“The renovations are great,” explained Redwine. “We’re excited about the new surface and hopefully the times will show. That’s another thing; we don’t know if the athletes are running better or if it’s the surface that’s better. Those are things that we’ll find out with time. We’re looking forward to see how our athletes perform with the upgrades.”
In addition to a brand-new indoor track facility, the Jayhawks will also have to adjust to many new faces on both the men’s and women’s rosters. Thirty-one newcomers will suit up for the Jayhawks in 2011-12, many of whom have already seen huge successes on the track and in the field. Of the 16 freshmen that will don the Crimson and Blue singlets Friday, six athletes won a combined 10 high school state championships 2011.
Among the top incoming freshmen who will be in action this week will be Junction City, Kan., native Alisha Keys, who was the 2011 6A state champion in both the 100 meters and 200 meters. She will kick off her collegiate career boasting the fastest 100 meter time ever recorded by a high school female in the state of Kansas, a scorching 11.52 that ranked eighth in the U.S. among high schoolers last year.
Joining Keys as other top newcomers to compete Friday are Gardner-Edgerton’s Casey Bowen, who ranked fifth in the nation in the pole vault last year, Michael Hester of Flourissant, Mo. who won the Missouri state championship in the 400 meters in 2011 and Penney High School (Mo.) product, Lindsay Vollmer, who tacked on three state titles in the long jump, the 100 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles last year. Those three will join a stellar freshman class that will look to start their collegiate careers off on the right foot later this week.
Along with a top freshman class, the list of returning Jayhawks is sure to impress this season. The men’s and women’s rosters feature a combined 11 returning All-Americans as well as 23 who competed in the NCAA Midwest regional a year ago.
Junior horizontal jumper Andrea Geubelle enters her third campaign after having a strong sophomore year with the Crimson and Blue. The University Place, Wash., native has now earned All-American honors in both the long and triple jumps during her two years at KU. She will see action Friday in the long jump as well as the 60-meter dash.
Joining Geubelle as returning stars to the field Friday are sophomore Jessica Maroszek, who, as a freshman, garnered All-American honors in the discus a year ago, senior Shayla Wilson and junior Denesha Morris who were two members of the Jayhawk’s All-American 4X400 meter relay team in 2010-11 and junior Heather Bergmann, who was KU’s top female javelin thrower last season, placing seventh at the NCAA Championships in 2011.
On the men’s side senior Donny Wasinger will see his first competition of the year this week after recovering from a torn Achilles tendon early this year during cross country season. The Winona, Minn., native is coming off his best collegiate track season, one that saw him earn second-team All-American honors in the 1,500. Wasinger will compete in the 3,000 meters as well as the distance medley relay on Friday.
Other notable upperclassmen that will be in action this week are junior sprinter Kyle Clemons, who was another Jayhawk to become an All-American last season, finishing 20th in the 400 meters at the NCAA Championships, sophomores Dominique Manley and Dalen Fink who were both members of the men’s 4X400-meter relay team that competed in the NCAA Midwest Regionals last season and sophomore Alex Bishop, who is the top men’s pole vaulter to return for the Jayhawks in 2011-12.
“Our goal for this meet is to see how we compete,” concluded Redwine. “That’s so critical for correcting things in the future. We have to learn and improve with every meet throughout the season and Friday will be a great start to that.”
Thirty-two male and 27 female student-athletes will be competing for the Jayhawks this weekend, while they look for a great beginning at the start a highly anticipated season.
The Bob Timmons Classic will begin at 3 p.m. with the women’s 3,000 meters as well as the men’s weight throw. Log on to kuathletics.com and click on the Bob Timmons Challenge Meet Central page for complete coverage of the day’s events.
Up Next
The Jayhawks will be back in action on Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, when they host the Bill Easton Classic in Anschutz Pavilion. KU will then travel to Columbia, Mo. on January 13th for the next edition of the Border Showdown when they take on the Tigers in the Kansas-Missouri Dual meet.
Timmons to be Honored
KU’s legendary track and field coach Bob Timmons, for which the meet is named after, will be on hand Friday to be recognized for his impending induction to the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame. The short ceremony will be held to congratulate Timmons on this outstanding accomplishment. The recognition will occur between races at 4 p.m. at the finish line inside Anschutz Pavilion.
Kansas Track is Now on Twitter!
Follow the official twitter page of KU track and field at KU_Track. Stay connected through live meet results, updates and team news from the 2011-12 season. Use hash tag #kutrack.
