Kansas Track and Field Breaks Men’s Distance Medley Relay School Record in Weekend Full of Personal Bests

Friday, February 20

Manhattan, KS

University of Kansas

Steve Miller Invitational

Photo by: Bailey Thompson/Kansas Athletics

Kansas Track and Field Breaks Men’s Distance Medley Relay School Record in Weekend Full of Personal Bests

2/22/2026 9:15:00 PM | Track & Field

Kansas Results Combined Steve Miller Invitational Kansas Results ONLY Battle for Boston Kansas Results ONLY Steve Miller Invitational Full Results Battle for Boston Full Results

MANHATTAN, Kan. - The Kansas Track & Field team traveled to Manhattan, Kan. for the Steve Miller Invitational on Friday, and to Boston for Saucony's Battle for Boston at BU on Sunday. The Jayhawks broke the men's DMR record and set 17 personal bests on their way to six event wins and 16 collegiate podium finishes.

"I think it was great to see a lot of athletes put up some personal bests, because this is the time of year that they need to be doing that as we get into the Big 12 Championships and beyond," Kansas head coach Stanley Redwine said about his team's performance this weekend. "We are excited to see if we can obtain even more bests as we compete at the conference level, and we are hoping this builds up some more confidence."

The Steve Miller Invitational kicked off Friday with the women's pole vault. Mason Meinershagen was the top collegiate finisher with a clearance of 4.22 meters (13-10 ft.), placing third overall behind two unattached competitors. Madison Snody followed her as the third highest collegiate placer, vaulting 4.07 meters (13-4.25 ft.). The event was the fifth time this season that Meinershagen has finished top amongst collegiate athletes.

Continuing in the field, Brenna Shwada set a personal best of 5.87 meters (19-3.25 ft.) in the long jump to finish fifth overall and third amongst college athletes. Katie Wink also set a personal best with a 5.57 meters (18-3.25 ft.) jump.

Kaleigh Frazier got the Jayhawks underway on the track, running a personal best 8.65 seconds in the 60 meter hurdles preliminary round, finishing third and qualifying for the finals. Alice Lindgren Engelblom also qualified with her 8.80 seconds time, while Wink set another personal best, finishing in 8.81 seconds.

On the men's side all four runners set personal bests in the 60 meter hurdles with Aaron Merritt and Tayton Klein finishing fifth and seventh to qualify for the finals. Dean McCune and Oliver Duffy set their personal bests with times of 8.19 and 8.53 seconds, respectively, while Merritt finished in 7.89 seconds and Klein crossed the finish line in 8.13 seconds.

In the finals, Frazier ran an 8.72 seconds time to place fourth and Lindgren Engelblom finished seventh. Merritt was the only Jayhawk to run in the finals for the men, finishing in 7.94 seconds as the third fastest collegiate athlete and fourth overall.

Sidney Smith, Yasmine Johnson, Ethel Amissah and Abree Winfrey were the fifth through eighth fastest college runners in the women's 400 meter dash. Aleksandra Wolczak and Winfrey set personal bests, while Smith led the group with a time of 56.06 seconds.

Jackson Belding finished eighth in the men's 200 meter dash before Kansas closed out its track performances with two first place finishes. Deshana Skeete won her first individual event of the season by finishing the women's 200 meter dash in 24.06 seconds, before Parker Walion and Nate Thengvall finished first and second in the men's 1,000 meter run with Thengvall setting a personal best.

The Jayhawks saw some more success in the field events when Addie Cline set a personal best in the women's weight throw to bring home the silver. Cline's 17.11 meters (56-1.75 ft.) throw beat out teammate Kat Meacham, who placed third. Dimitrios Antonatos also won his first event of his college career in the men's shot put, achieving a top mark of 17.27 meters (56-8 ft.).

In the men's pole vault, Bryce Barkdull set a personal best with a clearance of 5.55 meters (18-2.5 ft.) to finish as the top collegiate athlete and second overall. Barkdull was followed by Anthony Meacham who had a 5.30 meters (17-4.5 ft.) clearance, while Klein also tied a personal best.

Alexia Washington set her Jayhawk personal best in the women's triple jump with a distance of 12.27 meters (40-3.25 ft.) to finish as the second best college athlete, and Reese Hulcher set a personal best in the women's high jump to place fifth with a clearance of 1.65 meters (5-5 ft.).

The Jayhawks closed out Friday strong when Maddie Fey finished as the top collegiate shot putter, throwing a season best 15.66 meters (51-4.5 ft.) to beat out her teammate Cline, who also set a season best.

On Sunday, Tanner Talley, Tristan Williams, Ryo Higuchi and Quenton Walion started Kansas off with a fourth place finish in the men's DMR, finishing in a new school record 9:23.44. The time was good for the 15th fastest time by any squad in the country this season. On their way to the record setting performance Talley finished the 1,200 meters in 2:52.78, Williams completed the 400 meters in 46.3 seconds, Higuchi ran a 1:47.69 in the 800 meters and Walion closed with a 3:56.69 1,600 meter run.

Emmah Jemutai followed up the men's performance by competing in the women's mile where she was the fifth collegiate finisher. Jemutai nearly broke her own mile record again, finishing a couple of tenths of a second slower, in 4:34.79.

The two meets wrapped up the Jayhawks' indoor regular season, as they will now turn their attention to the upcoming Big 12 Championships.

"This weekend was really good to see how everything shook out as we plan for the Big 12 meet," Redwine said. "I think we are going to have a great plan about what events to compete people in, and really maximize the amount of points we can earn next weekend."

UP NEXT:
Kansas will prepare to head to Lubbock, Texas for the Big 12 Championship on Friday, Feb. 27-28. Live results will be posted on pttiming.com or can be found by clicking here. The meet will be streamed live on ESPN+. Fans can stay current with the team and events by following the official Kansas Track & Field and Cross Country X or Instagram account @kansastfxc.