👟 Kansas Track and Field Competes at the NCAA Indoor Championships
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Kansas men’s and women’s track and field teams closed out their indoor season with the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships March 10-11 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Six Jayhawks competed across five events, including high jump on both the women’s and men’s side, as well as men’s pole vault, shot put, triple jump and the 400 meters.
Rylee Anderson was the highest placing Jayhawk of the weekend, claiming the runner up in the women’s high jump. The senior came into the event ranked third, coming off a first place victory at the Big 12 Championships. Anderson earned First Team All-American honors and her highest finish at the NCAA Championships by clearing 1.88M (6’2).
Devin Loudermilk also had an impressive day in the high jump, tying for third place on the men’s side to earn First Team All-America honors. The sophomore standout cleared his PR bar of 2.21M (7’3), making him the only competitor in the event to reach his personal best. This was also Loudermilk’s first time earning All-American accolades in his career as a Jayhawk.
Clayton Simms earned First Team All-American honors for the second time in his indoor career, placing fifth overall after clearing 18 feet, ¾ inches on the pole vault. The Louisiana native looked comfortable and confident on all his attempts, which earned him a fifth place finish.
Michael Joseph did his job by clinching a place in the 400 meters finals after running a 45.81 in the prelims on Friday night. In the 400 meter finals, Joseph ran in heat one and had to leap over his competitor from Baylor, who tripped and fell early on in the race. Joseph would end the meet with a 7th place finish (47.18), claiming his space on the podium.
Patrick Larrison finished right on the cusp of First-Team All-American honors in the shot put, placing ninth overall in a strong field. The senior reached his PR early on in the evening and then surpassed it shortly after, ending the day with a personal best 19.90m mark.
Sophomore Jaden Patterson rounded out the meet by placing 13th overall in the men’s triple jump, with his best mark of the day coming on his first jump of 16.10 meters (52 feet, 10 inches). Patterson garnered Second-Team All-American honors with his performance, surpassing his initial ranking of 14th coming into the meet.
The Jayhawks will next get into their outdoor season, which will kick off when the team heads to the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas on March 29-April 1.
