RCW: Inside Track & Field 3.31

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

The Kansas track & field team saw victories in four events over the weekend at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Arizona. That includes freshman Gleb Dudarev, who claimed the event title in the hammer throw with a school record and NCAA-leading mark.

Schedule UPCOMING HOME MEETS
Tickets Kansas Relays (April 19-22)
Tickets Rock Chalk Classic (April 29)

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  Notes QUICK HITS

• The Jayhawks saw a school record, a second pole vaulter move into the NCAA top-five and 17 top-three finishes at the Sun Angel Classic last weekend in Tempe, Arizona.
• In the first collegiate hammer throw competition of his career, freshman Gleb Dudarev rewrote the school record as he claimed victory in the event Friday afternoon. Dudarev’s performance moved him to the top of the NCAA’s yearly leaderboard and among the top-25 in the world rankings for 2017.
• Dudarev got the hammer out to a distance of 72.69 meters (238-6 ft.) on his second attempt to etch his name atop the school charts.
• For the second time in a span of seven days, the KU men saw a Jayhawk pole vaulter clear 5.60 meters (18-4¼) and move into the top-five of the NCAA rankings. Hussain Al Hizam needed just two attempts to get over the bar at 5.60 meters (18-4½) after he slid over with room to spare on his second trip down the runway. The vault earned the sophomore a runner-up finish and moved his name to No. 6 on the all-time Kansas pole vault chart. It also has him up to No. 4 on the most recent NCAA yearly rankings.
• Al Hizam also rewrote his own Saudi Arabian national record of 5.41 meters (17-9), set March 31 at the Texas Relays. He owns both the indoor and outdoor Saudi pole vault records, both of which he took down this year.
• The men’s 4×400-meter relay closed out the meet on a high note for the Jayhawks, defending their Sun Angel Classic title in runaway fashion. The foursome of Ivan Henry, Strymar Livingston, Tre Daniels and Jaron Hartley built a lead of nearly 20 meters less than 500 meters into the race and never looked back, getting the baton across the finish line in 3:08.53 and claiming the 4×400-meter relay title for the second-straight year in Tempe.
• Junior Laura Taylor earned her third victory of 2017 and her second straight at the Sun Angel Classic with another big clearance in the pole vault. For the second-straight week, Taylor topped the bar set at 4.16 meters (13-7¾), which tied her career best.
• In its first appearance of the outdoor season, the women’s 4×100-meter relay team put together an impressive outing that ranks among the fastest in program history. The quartet of Tianna Valentine, Sydney Conley, Jedah Caldwell and Nicole Montgomery passed the baton around in 44.73 to finish second in the event. The time, which has the team inside the top-20 on the most recent West Regional standings, ranks as the 10^th fastest in Kansas history.
• Sophomore Nicole Montgomery tallied an impressive outing in the premier division of the 400 meters. The Colorado Springs native completed her quarter-mile lap in an outdoor personal best of 53.68, good for a fifth-place finish. The time moved Montgomery to fifth on KU’s all-time outdoor 400-meter list and to fourth on the yearly Big 12 rankings.
• Senior Mitch Cooper turned in a season-best outing in the premier division of the men’s discus earlier in the day. Cooper notched a mark of 57.78 meters (189-7) on his first throw of the competition, which ended up earning him third place as well as the top collegiate finish. Cooper’s mark ranks among the top-10 in the yearly NCAA DI ranks as of Saturday. Former Kansas thrower Mason Finley won the event with a mark of 62.76 meters (205-11).
• Sophomore Shaylyn Stallbaumer enjoyed a solid season-opener in the javelin, posting a runner-up finish in the event. On her final attempt of the night, she heaved the spear to a distance of 50.76 meters (166-5), moving her name from sixth to second to close out the competition. The mark has Stallbaumer in 20^th on the latest NCAA javelin chart.
• After a week off, the Jayhawks will return to action when they host the 90^th Kansas Relays inside Rock Chalk Park April 19-22. Thousands of high school and collegiate athletes are set to compete during the four-day meet, with Saturday’s evening session slated to be televised on Spectrum Sports and ESPN3. Log on to KansasRelays.com for a schedule and additional information on one of the nation’s most historic track meets.