RCW: Inside Track & Field 3.15

Get a quick look inside your favorite Kansas Jayhawk programs each week with Rock Chalk Weekly’s Inside Sports pages. Notable statistics, quick hits and the top social media posts get every Jayhawk fan up-to-speed and ready for another week of thrilling competition.

Number BY THE NUMBERS
Jayhawk underclassmen claimed 15 victories on Friday at the Bob Timmons Challenge, either individually or as a member of a relay. That number includes seven true freshmen that left their first collegiate track meet with hardware.

UPCOMING HOME MEETS
Bill Easton Classic (Jan. 6)
Jayhawk Classic (Jan. 26)
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Notes QUICK HITS

• Jayhawks claimed victories in 18 events as the Kansas track & field teams enjoyed a successful season-opening meet at the Bob Timmons Challenge last Friday inside Anschutz Pavilion. 
• Senior Sydney Conley returned to the track after an injury-plagued 2016 season and once again showed her mettle as one of the top track athletes in the nation. The Fayetteville, Arkansas product cruised to victory in the 60-meter dash in a new personal-record time of 7.42, saving .03 seconds off her previous best. The time ranks Conley fifth in the NCAA after the first weekend of the 2016-17 indoor campaign.
• The women’s 4×400-meter team of Adriana Newell, Mariah Kuykendoll, Whitney Adams and Nicole Montgomery posted the fastest time in the 30-year history of Anschutz Pavilion en route to a win in the event. The team, comprised of two seniors, a sophomore and a freshman, passed the baton around in 3:42.89, surpassing the Jayhawk squad that clocked in at 3:43.61 at the 2011 Jayhawk Classic.
• Senior Mitch Cooper kicked off the day with a win in the weight throw. His third-career win in the event came with the help of his final attempt, a personal-record toss of 17.53 meters (57-5¾). That mark moved Cooper to No. 8 on KU’s all-time weight throw list.
• Junior Brandon Lombardino was the runner-up to Cooper in the weight throw with a fourth-attempt sling of 17.25 meters (56-7¼). His best mark, just 10 inches behind Cooper’s winning toss, was a personal record. Lombardino also earned the victory in the shot put, using a throw of 15.90 meters (52-5) to outduel teammate Kenny Boyer by an inch-and-a-half.
• Senior Strymar Livingston made his way onto the winner’s podium after a strong outing in the 400 meters. The Brooklyn, New York native completed the quarter-mile loop in 48.64, coming from behind in the final 50 meters to overtake Oral Roberts’ Reihard Ndlovu for the victory.
• Junior Adel Yoonis won the men’s 3,000 meters in a time of 8:45.52. He was the first of six Jayhawks in the event that swept the top-six spots.
• Senior Jake Albright held off teammate Nick Meyer to win the men’s pole vault and continue the KU men’s dominance in the season-opening event. Both Albright and Meyer managed to clear 5.21 meters (17-1); however, Albright secured the win by way of fewer misses at lower heights. The win marked the fourth-straight year a Jayhawk has won the men’s pole vault at the Bob Timmons Challenge.
• In her first meet as a Jayhawk, freshman Andrea Willis was the top collegiate finisher in the women’s pole vault, clearing a bar of 3.96 meters (12-11¾). The vault was topped only by former Kansas All-American Natalia Price, who won the event with a clearance of 4.06 meters (13-3¾).
• Freshman Quentin Dancer began his collegiate sprinting career strong, moving onto the school’s all-time 60-meter dash chart after just one race. The West, Texas product claimed seventh in the event in a time of 6.95. The time ranks Dancer eighth on KU’s all-time list.
• Junior Kai Shean claimed the Bob Timmons Challenge high jump title for the second-straight year. He got over a personal-record height of 2.13 meters (6-11¾).
• LaTyria Jefferson outdueled senior teammate Grace Pickell to claim her second-career win in the high jump. Both Jefferson and Pickell got over 1.70 meters (5-7), but Jefferson brought home the event crown by way of fewer misses in the earlier heights.
• The Jayhawks will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 6, 2017, when they host the Bill Easton Classic in Anschutz Pavilion. KU will then journey to Wichita on Jan. 12 for the Kansas State-Kansas-Wichita State Triangular.