Kansas ready for Battle on the Bayou
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas track & field is set to compete at the Battle on the Bayou hosted by LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Saturday, April 6. Joining KU in Baton Rouge are the No. 4 women and No. 6 men LSU, the No. 5 men and No. 8 women Alabama, Ohio State and Penn State. Live results from the meet will be available at Results.DeltaTiming.com/LSU.
NCAA LEADER DUDAREV EARNS BIG 12 HONORS
Junior Gleb Dudarev’s 74.39-meter (244-1 ft.) hammer throw at the Florida Relays ranks No. 1 in the NCAA and No. 12 in the world this season, and earned him Big 12 Co-Men’s Athlete of the Week, announced April 3. The weekly honor marks the sixth of Dudarev’s career. Dudarev’s NCAA-leading mark is the No. 5 performance in KU history all-time, and he also recorded the No. 6 and No. 10 marks at the Florida Relays.
HOPPEL’S WIN STREAK CONTINUES
NCAA indoor 800-meter champion Bryce Hoppel improved his winning streak to eight races at the Texas Relays, clocking in at 1:48.94 in his first outdoor race of the season. Hoppel was named NCAA Midwest Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year and has won every individual race he has competed in since the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships 800-meter final (June 8). He currently ranks No. 3 in the West region and No. 12 in the NCAA this season in the 800-meter run with his time from the Texas Relays.
EMILIANOV SITS IN NCAA TOP-FIVE IN DISCUS
Sophomore Alexandra Emilianov jumped into the top-five in the nation in the discus during her first outdoor meet of the season. Emilianov’s mark of 57.47 meters (188-6 ft.) at the ESU Spring Invitational earned her second place at the meet, while posting the No. 9 mark in KU history. She currently ranks No. 5 in the NCAA and No. 4 in the West region.
EVANS EYES RETURN TO NCAA OUTDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sophomore George Evans currently sits at No. 9 in the NCAA for the men’s discus. Evans has participated in two meets during outdoor season, and posted his best throw on his way to finishing second at the ESU Spring Invitational with a mark of 57.23 meters (187-9 ft.). Additionally, Evans posted a personal-best mark in the shot put at the Florida Relays, throwing 16.01 meters (52-6.5 ft.).
PR PERFORMANCE LIFTS ROGERS INTO NCAA TOP-20
With a personal-best performance at the Texas Relays, sophomore Kyle Rogers jumped into the NCAA top-20 in the pole vault, currently ranking No. 17. The sophomore out of Liberty, Missouri cleared 5.40 meters (17-8.5 ft.).
ANDERSON BECOMES NO. 9 PERFORMER IN KU HISTORY
A seventh-place finish in Section A of the high jump at the Texas Relays made freshman Rylee Anderson the No. 9 performer in KU history in the event, clearing 1.77 meters (5-9.75 ft.) to enter KU’s top-10 and move into No. 7 in the West region and No. 16 in the NCAA this season.
EUBANKS LOOKS TO BUILD ON INDOOR SUCCESS
After garnering Midwest Region Indoor Track Athlete of the Year honors for breaking the 800-meter school record at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, Marleena Eubanks looks to continue her indoor success into the outdoor season. Eubanks is currently ranked No. 25 in the NCAA and No. 12 in the West region in the 800-meter run, finishing fourth at the Texas Relays with a time of 2:06.79.
ROMERO FINDING HER GROOVE
Reaching a personal-best mark for the first time since 2017, Alexis Romero cleared 4.21 meters (13-9.75 ft.) at the Texas Relays for the No. 31 mark in the women’s pole vault this season. She is currently the No. 7 performer in Kansas history in the event, and a two-centimeter improvement to her personal best would move her into sole possession of sixth on the KU all-time list.
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Kansas sits in the top-50 in both the men’s and women’s rankings with the men coming in at No. 26 in week one, while the women are No. 48 in the nation in the latest USTFCCCA ratings.
LOKEDI NAMED BIG 12 WOMEN’S PERFORMER OF THE YEAR
Kansas senior Sharon Lokedi was named the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Women’s Performer of the Year, which marks the second-consecutive year the Eldoret, Kenya native took home the honor. Lokedi’s win was largely in part to her earning the women’s high point award at the Big 12 Championship and being a part of two school records (5,000m and DMR) during the course of the indoor season. Lokedi followed up her Big 12 Performer of the Year award with a Second Team All-America honor at the NCAA Indoor Championships to conclude her collegiate career.
KANSAS WOMEN POST RECORD-SETTING SEMESTER IN THE CLASSROOM
The Kansas women’s track & field team were one of four KU teams to record a team-best semester in the classroom, leading to a department-record 3.11 all-sports combined GPA in the Fall 2018 semester. The KU women’s track & field team recorded a program-best 3.42 GPA for the Fall semester. The Kansas men’s team was able to notch a 2.91 GPA.
REDWINE SIGNS NO. 3 MEN’S CLASS
According to Track & Field News, 19th-year head coach Stanley Redwine’s 2018 KU men’s recruiting class is the No. 3 signing class is the nation. Coming in behind Georgia and Texas A&M, the Jayhawks made the top-5 for the first time ever.
Highlighting the recruiting class is Zach Bradford, a pole vaulter out of Bloomington, Illinois, who represented the USA at the 2018 IAAF World U20 Championships in Tampere, Finland, where he earned a silver medal. Bradford posted the No. 8 all-time high school pole vault mark, clearing 18-2.5 ft. his senior season.
Also highlighting the signing class are Treyvon Ferguson, a triple jumper hailing from Hershey, Pennsylvania and Patrick Larrison, a thrower from Moore, Oklahoma.
UP NEXT
Kansas will take a weekend off before competing at the 92nd Kansas Relays presented by RCB Bank, April 17-20, at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas.
