Men's Track and Field Ranked No. 11 in Preseason Poll
Dec. 21, 2007
<?xml:namespace prefix=”st1″ ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags”?>Lawrence, Kan. – With the return of a national champion, two All-Americans and three conference champions, the University of Kansas men’s track and field team is ranked 11th in the country according to the preseason poll released by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) on Thursday. <?xml:namespace prefix=”o” ns=”urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office”?>
The men’s team returns the 2007 National Champion in the weight throw, Egor Agafonov, who also won the Big 12 championship in the event. Senior Colby Wissel returns to defend his Big 12 title in the 3,000-meter run and sophomore Jordan Scott, the Big 12 Indoor Freshman Performer of the Year, will look for his second-straight conference championship in the pole vault.
The women’s team, ranked 27th in the preseason poll, returns All-American and Big 12 champion senior Kate Sultanova, as well as five school-record holders.
The Jayhawks have already seen competition this year. At the KSU All Comers meet on Dec. 8, Scott set a meet record en route to winning the pole vault, senior Julius Jiles won the 60-meter dash and sophomore Lauren Bonds won the 3,000-meter run.
Florida State tops the men’s preseason rankings, looking to add a NCAA Indoor title to the back-to-back outdoor championships from 2006 and 2007. Washington, Tennessee, Florida, LSU, Louisville, Stanford, Northern Iowa, Arkansas and Baylor round out the top 10 teams.
The Big 12 leads all conferences with seven teams in the men’s national poll, ahead of six teams from the Southeastern Conference. Joining the Jayhawks and 10th-ranked Baylor are No. 12 Nebraska, No. 17 Oklahoma, No. 18 Texas, No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 23 Missouri.
The Jayhawks travel to Fayetteville, Ark., on January 11 for the Arkansas Invitational.
