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| Talia Marquez led the KU heptathlon trio with a fourth-place finish Thursday.
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RESULTS | NOTES | GALLERY
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas saw five Jayhawks post top-three finishes as the KU track & field teams competed on day two of the 90th Kansas Relays. Senior Dylan Poirier was the top collegiate finisher by way of a career best in the decathlon, while sophomore Jack McDonald highlighted the evening’s festivities with a victory in the 5,000 meters.
Poirier posted personal bests in three of the final four events and added the top time en route to a win in the 110-meter hurdles with his time of 15.06. He also claimed first place in the pole vault with a mark of 5.00 meters (16-4¾). Poirier ended the competition with a career-best 6,633 points and a third-place finish, behind post-collegiates Reinis Kregers and Derrick Schluter.
Junior Talia Marquez was the top Jayhawk in the women’s heptathlon. She moved up three spots from Wednesday, taking fourth place. Marquez leaped to a tie for fourth in the long jump and took fifth in the javelin after a personal-best throw of 31.86 meters (104-6). She ended the day with a runner-up finish in the 800 meters in a time of 2:24.72, contributing to her final score of 4,699 points.
The next Kansas woman to place in the heptathlon was junior Morgan Griffiths, who finished seventh. She kicked off her day by claiming second in the long jump with a mark of 5.38 meters (17-8). Griffiths went on to place 12th in the javelin and seventh in the 800 meters. She earned a total of 4,538 points in her first heptathlon.
Rounding out the Jayhawk heptathlon competitors was junior Teri Huslig. She posted a 10th-place finish with 3,939 points.
In addition to concluding the multi-events, day two of the Relays consisted of the distance carnival Thursday evening. KU saw athletes compete in races at distances of 800 meters, 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters.
Kansas junior Jack McDonald headlined the open races for the Jayhawks after winning the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:47.41. His victory marked the second straight year, and the third time in five years, that a Jayhawk has won the men’s 5K. Freshman Avery Hale placed third after crossing the finish line with a personal-best time of 14:49.59.
Freshman Lauren Harrell was the lone KU runner competing in the 1,500 meters, finishing in sixth place after recording a personal-best time of 4:44.63.
The unseeded 800-meter race also saw strong Jayhawk performances, with junior Hannah Dimmick winning on the women’s side (2:11.95) and senior Daniel Koech taking second with a time of 1:51.80 in the men’s race.
The 10,000-meter run closed out the second day of the Relays. Junior Carson Vickroy clocked in at 30:45.11, good for sixth place in his first-career 10,000-meter race.
The Kansas Relays hit full-gear on Friday with action all-day on the track and the field. Preliminary action begins at 10:15 a.m. and will conclude with the prelims of the 4×400-meter relays at 6:30 p.m. For updates and results throughout the day, visit KansasRelays.com and follow on Twitter @KUTrack.
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