πŸ‘Ÿ Multiple Jayhawks Claim Podium Spots on Day 2 of Big 12's

NORMAN, Okla.– The Kansas track and field team saw various athletes make it onto the podium on the second day of the 2023 Outdoor Big 12 Championships.

All three of the Jayhawks’ multis athletes found their way into the top eight, with Alexander Jung placing third and Tayton Klein placing fourth in the men’s decathlon, while Lauren Heck placed eighth in the women’s heptathlon.

Jung set a new personal best with his performance, recording 7671 total points that were highlighted by two first place finishes on the day (pole vault and 110m hurdles).

Klein sent quite the message with his 7620 points in his first ever collegiate decathlon, tallying first place finishes in the long jump, 100m hurdles and the 400m dash.

Heck recorded multiple PR’s throughout her heptathlon, including a four-second one in the 800m today with her 2:18.04 that earned her third place in the event. She finished with a personal best of 4783 points this weekend.

Michael Joseph had quite the remarkable day as well, becoming the first Jayhawk to ever break the 45 second barrier in the 400m dash. The junior ran 44.77 in the 400m prelims to set a new personal best as well as a national qualifying mark and a new St. Lucian national record.

Joseph will now take on the finals tomorrow in both the 400m and the 200m, where he also set a new PR. He clocked a 20.41, hitting a national-qualifying mark in the process.

Along with Heck, other Kansas women who scored today include Gabby Hoke (4th) and Samantha Van Hoecke (5th) in the women’s pole vault. They each cleared 4.05 to claim their medals.

Lona Latema ran an outstanding 3k steeplechase, coming in second place overall by a longshot. The junior ran a 10:17.30 to claim her silver medal, beating her opponent from Iowa State by more than five seconds.

Devin Loudermilk earned Big 12 runner up status in the men’s high jump by clearing a new personal best of 2.19m.

Patrick Larrison took a second trip up to the podium today after taking third in the men’s shot put. The senior standout threw 18.90m in the event.

Cale Littrell came in sixth overall in the men’s 3k steeplechase, running a new PR of 9:07.62.

On top of an already strong presence in the decathlon, Klein placed seventh in the men’s long jump, while Tyler Pride secured eighth place in the same event. Jaden Patterson was right on the cusp in ninth, jumping a new personal best of 7.40m.

Ashley Wallace, Kaycee McCoy and Cameron Wilmington will all be running hurdle finals tomorrow, with Wallace and McCoy qualifying in the 100m hurdles and Wilmington the 110m hurdles.

Wilmington also ran a new PR in the 400m hurdles, qualifying with his 51.40 performance.

The men’s 800m squad was strong as well, with A.J. Green qualifying for the finals after running a 1:47.81 personal best. Although Justice Dick and T.J. Robinson did not qualify, they also both hit PR’s in the event, with Dick running 1:48.45 and Robinson 1:48.68.

At the conclusion of day two, the men are in second place overall as a group with their 51 total points. Oklahoma currently leads with 55, while Texas comes in third with 47 points. The women are in seventh overall with 18 total points.

Kansas will take on another day of competition starting tomorrow at noon. The meet times have changed due to inclement weather, so make sure to follow both KU Track and the Big 12 on Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.