LAWRENCE, Kan. – A pair of meet records, a high-flying pole vault competition and some of the nation's top marks of the year sent the 92nd Kansas Relays out with a bang as the meet came to a close Saturday inside Rock Chalk Park. Just over 5,000 fans filled the stadium on a picture-perfect day and witnessed some of the best performances in the country in 2019 at both the high school and collegiate levels.
Following the day's events, meet officials selected Kansas freshman Zach Bradford as the Most Outstanding Male Performer after his KU school record in pole vault. The Jayhawk's winning vault was the best at the Kansas Relays since 1987 and ranks as the fourth-best in the world this year. Superior High School's Kalynn Meyer was dubbed the meet's Most Outstanding Female Performer after her victory in the girls' discus, an event in which she broke the meet record and posted the top throw in the U.S. this year.
In the first KU Relays of his collegiate career, Bradford made it a memorable one by tallying, not only the best pole vault mark ever by a Jayhawk, but the best performance at the KU Relays in 32 years. The Kansas freshman needed only two tries to get over 5.77 meters (18-11 ft.) to claim the win. The leap, which was the highest at the KU Relays since Joe Dial cleared 19-4.75 ft. in 1987, and it also moved Bradford up to No. 4 on this year's world pole vault lists.