Records fall on day 3 of 92nd Kansas Relays presented by RCB Bank
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Five meet records fell on an action-packed Friday as the 92nd Kansas Relays presented by RCB Bank hit full stride at Rock Chalk Park. Twenty-sixteen Olympian and former Kansas All-American Mason Finley returned to defend his discus title in style by topping the meet record in the event for the third time in four years, all while a host of high schoolers posted some of the top marks in meet history.
In what has become somewhat of a routine for him at the KU Relays, Finley managed to top his meet-record performance from two years ago with another world-class effort Friday afternoon at the Rock Chalk Park throws field. The 2016 American champion rewrote his own record twice on his first two attempts, but it was his sixth and final attempt that once again made meet history. The KU alumnus heaved the saucer out to a mark of 67.13 meters (220-3 ft.) to better his previous meet record toss by over eight feet. Finley’s performance also marked one of the best in the world thus far in 2017, ranking him fifth on the international charts and first among Americans.
Finley’s discus mark wasn’t the only one to edit the KU Relays record book Friday as a pair of times were rewritten on the track. In the first running event of the day, the Bentonville girls’ 4×1,600-meter relay team took down the five-year-old meet record with its time of 20:59.34.
Just hours later, another relay mark went down when the Lee’s Summit West girls’ distance medley relay squad broke the record time the Titans rewrote just one year prior. The quartet passed the baton around in 12:11.40 to top their mark from 2018 by over eight seconds.
Friday night saw two more meet records fall in the span of 10 minutes with both the men’s and women’s 2,000-meter Steeplechase. Glenwood’s Janette Schraft smashed the previous mark set in 2011 via her time of 6:58.44. That time ranks as the No. 2 mark among U.S. high schoolers.
In the following event, Denver West’s Yasin Sado followed Schraft’s lead by editing the men’s steeplechase mark. Sado crossed the finish in 6:03.64, a time that topped the previous meet record by nearly a second.
One final day of competition awaits at the 92nd Kansas Relays presented RCB Bank. High school events get underway at 9 a.m., Saturday with the first collegiate events on the track at 10:10 p.m. Log on to KansasRelays.com for updates and follow on Twitter at @KU_Relays.
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