👟 Three Jayhawks Punch Tickets to NCAA Outdoor Championships on Day One of Prelims

COLLEGE STATION, Texas – Three Jayhawks – Gleb Dudarev, Zach Bradford and Hussain Al-Hizam – earned bids to the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Championships at the NCAA West Preliminary in College Station, Texas on Wednesday.

In addition to the three Jayhawks punching their tickets to Eugene, Oregon, two Jayhawks, AJ Green III and Cody Johnson qualified for the quarterfinal round of their respective events, to be contested on Friday.

Kansas got the day started in the men’s hammer throw, where senior Gleb Dudarev marked the No. 1 throw out of the west region at 71.53m (234-8 ft.) on his third attempt, qualifying for his fourth-career NCAA Outdoor Championship.

In addition to Dudarev, freshman Oleg Klykov made his NCAA prelims debut, placing 20th overall with a throw of 62.84m (206-2 ft.).

Just moments later, Kansas secured two more qualifications for the NCAA Championships in the men’s pole vault, including sophomore Zach Bradford and senior Hussain Al-Hizam. Both Jayhawks cleared 5.45m (17-10.5 ft.) to qualify, while Bradford enters the Championships in Eugene with the No. 1 mark (5.81m (19-0.75 ft.)) in the nation, while Al-Hizam enters with the fourth-best mark in the country (5.70m (18-8.25 ft.)).

On the track, freshman AJ Green III set a personal best in the 800 meters, running a 1:49.10 to qualify for the quarterfinal round on Friday. In the next event, senior Cody Johnson also qualified for the 400 meter hurdles quarterfinals, finishing in 50.83.

In the men’s long jump, freshman Tyler Pride finished 31st overall with a top jump of 7.32m (24-0.25 ft.), while junior Jelani Pierre finished 33rd with a top jump of 7.30m (23-11.5 ft.).

Kansas’ Patrick Larrison also finished off his strong season in the men’s shot put, marking a throw of 17.81m (58-5.25 ft.) to place 29th.