Jayhawks Take Third in Sunflower State Battle

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas men’s and women’s track & field teams settled for third place in the triangular meet that pitted the Jayhawks against Sunflower State rivals Kansas State and Wichita State Saturday inside Ahearn Field House. The KU teams combined to score 202 points, finishing third behind Kansas State’s 261 points and Wichita State’s 217 points. Jayhawks claimed wins in four events and saw runner-up finishes in 12 of the day’s competitions.
 
“I think we got beat by teams the truly performed better than us today,” said head coach Stanley Redwine. “We have to look at the silver lining though because we had some people that really did step up and perform well. Unfortunately, we’re going through a few injuries right now that I think hampered our teams a little today. The reality is we didn’t show up and there are several areas where we still need to improve as we move into the heart of the season.”
 
It was the middle distance and distance runners that delivered the most points for the Jayhawk men. Junior Evan Landes ran away from the field in the 3,000 meters in his first time donning the Crimson and Blue in an indoor competition in nearly two years. The Mulvane, Kansas native met little resistance in running to his third-career win in the indoor 3,000-meter race. Landes crossed the finish in 8:26.93, nearly four seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The Jayhawks also featured the second and third-place finishers as freshman Chris Melgares earned the runner-up spot in 8:31.65, while senior James Wilson took third in 8:35.83.
 
The KU men also snagged the top two spots in the 1,000 meters. Fresh of his 3,000-meter win at the Bill Easton Classic a week ago, senior Josh Munsch added another medal to his collection by claiming victory in the shorter 1,000-meter race. Munsch outkicked sophomore teammate Daniel Koech over the final 100 meters to earn the win in 2:30.01. Koech wasn’t far behind, posting a second-place finish in 2:30.13.
 
The Jayhawk men and women dominated the 400-meter races. Senior Kenneth McCuin turned in another strong performance and picked up his first event victory of 2014-15. The Baltimore, Maryland product shaved .2 seconds off his previous season best to clock in with a winning time of 49.58. Less than five minutes later, sophomore Whitney Adams tallied a win of her own in the event. In her first outing of the season, Adams completed her two laps in 57.55 to outpace Kansas State’s Sarah Kolmer by .3 seconds. The win was Adams’ second collegiate win and is the third-fastest 400 meters clocked in the Big 12 so far this year.
 
Off the track, it was Daina Levy who had another career day inside the weight throw cage. While she only managed to tally one fair throw, the junior made that one attempt count, hitting a mark of 19.02 meters (62’5″) on her second try. The toss surpassed Levy’s previous best by nearly six inches and elevated her to No. 2 on Kansas’ all-time weight throw chart, sitting only behind two-time All-American and school-record holder Alena Krechyk. Levy’s throw earned her a runner-up finish in the event and gave the Kansas women their first five points of the meet.
 
Sydney Conley posted her best long jump mark of the season, however it wasn’t enough to give the junior her third win in the event of 2014-15. The All-American twice surpassed the six-meter mark, flying to a distance of 6.03 meters (19’9½”) on her third trip down the runway. The leap eventually earned her a runner-up finish, placing second only to Kansas State’s Akela Jones, who turned in the nation’s second-best mark this year.
Senior Jonathan Fuller leaped to his best height of the year in a third-place finish in the high jump. Fuller needed only four attempts to clear his first three bars of the competition. He used all three tries but crept over on his final attempt at 2.09 meters (6’10¼”), which secured a third-place finish. The mark is the best by a KU male so far this season and has Fuller ranked inside the top-10 of the Big 12 rankings.
 
Conley was the high scorer for the women’s squad, picking up five points in the long jump, four points with her third-place finish in the 60 meters, and an additional point after finishing sixth in the 200 meters. On the men’s side, Munsch also combined to earn 10 points, amassing seven points with his win in the 1,000 meters as well as three points following a fourth-place finish in the mile.
 
The KU men’s team finished third compared with the other men’s squads, combining to score 105 points, just 12 points behind first-place Kansas State. The Jayhawk women were also third among the other women’s squads after totaling 97 points.
 
The Jayhawks will return to Lawrence for their final home meet of the indoor season when the teams play host at the Jayhawk Classic on Friday, Jan. 30. The event is slated to begin at 9 a.m., with the women’s weight throw and conclude at 8:15 p.m., with the men’s 4×400-meter relay. Get live updates and results from the Jayhawks’ performances by following on Twitter, Instagram and Vine at @KUTrack.  
 
 
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