🏆 Jayhawks Claim Kansas Classic Title and a New School Record

TOPEKA, Kan. – The Kansas Jayhawks had another dominant performance on Sunday en route to their first-place finish in the Kansas Classic. KU finished the weekend with a total of 1,203.5 points. In second place was Iowa State with 642 and Miami (Florida) closed out the top-three with 537 points.

Not only did the Jayhawks finish in first place on the day, but they also had another record-setting performance at the hands of Kate Steward. The sophomore continued her strong weekend by breaking the Kansas record in the 200-yard breaststroke with a final time of 2:11.88. This was the second KU record she broke this weekend after being a member of the 400-yard medley relay that broke the 10-year-old record on Friday night. Her record in the breaststroke was also the second time Steward has broken the same record after breaking it originally at the 2018 Big 12 Championships.

Another Jayhawk who had a strong weekend was Manon Manning who was selected as the 2019 Kansas Classic Swimmer of the Meet after collecting a meet-best 72 points for the Jayhawks. Manning was a key performer in the Jayhawks 400-yard medley relay that set the KU record in the event on Friday (Nov. 22). She also claimed gold in the 100-yard backstroke on Saturday (Nov. 23) where she set a new Kansas Classic Record with a final time of 52.75. The junior then completed her dominant weekend by winning the 200-yard backstroke with a final time of 1:56.90.

"I am really pleased with how we finished the Kansas Classic. It was an excellent meet. I thought from start to finish we raced at a really high level. I couldn't be more proud of the team. Now we are going to take 11 athletes to the U.S. Open in Atlanta and see how we do there. With putting a meet on like this there are so many thank yous. For us hosting an event like this and then really having each of teams having tremendous student-athlete experiences and seeing how well everyone enjoyed the competition. I want to thank everyone for a tremendous weekend and we look forward to being back next year."

Head Coach Clark Campbell

KEY RACE RESULTS

• Crissie Blomquist claimed second place in the 1,650-yard freestyle event with a time of 16:50.46.
• Manon Manning won the 200-yard backstroke with a final time of 1:56.90.
• Jenny Nusbaum finished in third place in the 100-yard freestyle with a time of 50.41.
• Kate Steward set the Kansas record and won the 200-yard breaststroke with a final time of 2:11.88.
• Amelie Lessing touched the wall first in the 200-yard butterfly with a final time of 2:01.77.
• The Kansas A relay (Nusbaum, Elizabeth Amato-Hanner, Lauryn Parrish and Carly Straight) set the Kansas Classic record and won the 400-yard freestyle relay with a time of 3:21.72.

UP NEXT

• Eleven members of the Kansas team will travel to Atlanta, Georgia to compete in the Toyota U.S. Open from Dec. 4-7.