👟 Kansas Men Place Fourth, Three Jayhawks Win Big 12 Titles on Final Day of Big 12 Indoors

LUBBOCK, Texas – Kansas track and field concluded its weekend at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, as three Jayhawks won Big 12 individual titles, while the Kansas men placed fourth on Saturday.

Kansas’ fourth place finish came behind 96 points scored, which were the most by a Kansas men’s team since 2017. The Kansas women’s team finished seventh as a team, scoring 54.5 points. Texas Tech won the men’s Big 12 Championship with 159 points, while Oklahoma State won the women’s competition with 146 points.

In addition to the team success, three Jayhawks won individual Big 12 titles, along with 19 podium finishes on day two of the Big 12 Championship.

Senior Rylee Anderson claimed her third-straight Big 12 indoor high jump title on Saturday, jumping 1.88m (6-2 ft.). Anderson becomes just the second individual in Big 12 history to win three-straight indoor titles in the event, joining Erin Aldrich of Texas from 1998-2000.

“I just really wanted to go out and get the third title,” Anderson said. “I wanted to get a personal best, I am sad that I didn’t get that, but I’m happy with how I did.”

In the men’s shot put final, senior Patrick Larrison continued his strong indoor season by winning his first-career Big 12 title, throwing 19.65m (64-5.75 ft.) on his fifth attempt. Larrison becomes the first Jayhawk since 2017 to win the Big 12 shot put title.

On the track, junior Aaliyah Moore went out strong in the women’s 800 meters and was able to hold off Texas’ Brooke Jaworski in 2:05.11. Moore became Kansas’ first Champion in the event since 2019 in her first-career Big 12 meet.

“It’s an amazing feeling. I’ve dreamt of this and worked tirelessly,” Moore said. “I just want to say thank you to my Coach, Stanley Redwine, for believing in me and for giving me advice every day. And shoutout to my teammates and everyone at KU.”

In the women’s 60-meter hurdles finals, senior Gabrielle Gibson continued her record-breaking season by bettering her school record, placing second in 8.11. Gibson now holds the four-fastest times in school history after running a school record 8.20 in the prelims on Friday.

Junior Michael Joseph also improved upon his 400 meters school record, which was set in prelims on Friday, running to a fourth-place finish in 45.79. Joseph’s time makes him the first Jayhawk in school history to run sub 46 seconds, while he betters the school record of 46.44 set by Kyle Clemons in 2013.

After a strong seven events in the men’s heptathlon competition, junior Alexander Jung improved his school record by scoring 5,721 points on Saturday, which placed him third in the competition. Jung’s previous best of 5,637 points came earlier this year at the Husker Invitational.

Kansas will now prepare for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. on March 10-11, which will conclude the 2022-23 indoor season. The Jayhawks will then move to outdoor season with the Texas Relays taking place on March 29-April 1 in Austin, Texas.