Hoppel extends unbeaten streak at Texas Relays on first day of Kansas split squad action
Kansas junior Bryce Hoppel extended his unbeaten streak to eight races at the 92nd Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, winning the invitational section of the men’s 800-meter run. The win highlighted the KU track & field split squad action on Thursday with Jayhawks competing at both the Texas Relays and the Mike Fanelli Track Classic in Hayward, California.
Hoppel clocked in at 1:48.94, which is No. 3 in the NCAA this season, for the win in his outdoor season debut. The Midland, Texas native felt right at home and coasted to the victory in his first time competing since winning the 2019 NCAA Indoor National Championships in the 800-meter run in Birmingham, Alabama on March 9. The last time Hoppel didn’t win an individual race he competed in was in the final of the 800 meters at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on June 8, where he finished fourth to earn First Team All-America honors.
In the Kansas West Coast action, senior distance runner Hannah Driscoll made her collegiate debut in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Fanelli Classic. A former Kansas swimmer, Driscoll got back to her natural habitat in the steeple pits and made a splash on the Kansas all-time list, clocking in at 10:50.32 to become the No. 7 performer in program history in the event. She placed 18th out of 50 competitors.
Two other Jayhawks were the top finishers in their sections at the Texas Relays. Sophomore Kyle Rogers took the top spot on pit one of the men’s collegiate pole vault, clearing a career-best 5.40 meters (17-8.5 ft.), and sophomore Ethan Donley finished first in Section B of the men’s collegiate 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:59.23. Rogers’ clearance ranks No. 4 in the West region.
NOTABLES
- Marleena Eubanks finished fourth in the women’s 800-meter run invitational section at the Texas Relays with a time of 2:06.79. Nicole Montgomery finished eighth in the race (2:09.89).
UP NEXT
Kansas track & field split squad action continues on Friday, March 29, with athletes competing at the Texas Relays, the Mike Fanelli Track Classic, the Florida Relays and the Oral Roberts Invitational.
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