Jayhawk Distance Medley Posts Season-Best at Alex Wilson
Freshman Nicole Montgomery |
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Kansas women’s distance medley relay team turned in a season-best outing at the Alex Wilson Invitational Saturday morning inside the Loftus Sports Center. The KU quartet moved into the top-25 of the NCAA rankings after finishing the 4,000-meter race in 11:26.05 and finishing ninth in one of the fastest distance medley races of the season.
Junior Lydia Saggau, freshman Nicole Montgomery, junior Whitney Adams and sophomore Sharon Lokedi entered the Loftus Center Saturday with high expectations, hoping to notch a time that would put the Jayhawks in prime position to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in three weeks. The Alex Wilson Invitational routinely produces some of the fastest distance medley clockings every season, which has held true for many of the previous KU DMR team’s that have journeyed to South Bend. Entering the day, four of the 10-fastest DMR’s in KU history had been achieved on the Loftus Center track and the Jayhawk contingent carrying the baton Saturday hoped to join that list.
Saggau kicked things off for Kansas, running the opening 1,200-meter leg. The junior made her four laps around the 300-meter track in just under 3:30 before handing off the freshman Montgomery for the 400-meter stretch. Montgomery completed the quarter-mile in 53.3 before Adams took over on the 800-meter leg. The school’s second-fastest ever in the indoor 800-meters, Adams posted another quick split with her time of 2:07.8. The junior then handed off to Lokedi, how anchored home her team for the mile leg.
Just a week removed from shattered the Kansas record in the 5,000 meters, Lokedi showed her versatility in the shorter distance Saturday and rounded out a solid effort for the Jayhawk DMR. She brought the baton across the finish with the clock reading 11:26.05 after completing her mile split in 4:55. The mark was good enough to earn the Jayhawks a ninth-place finish in the race that saw all ten teams post times that rank inside the top-30 of the national chart.
Kansas’ performance was the seventh-fastest ever for a KU women’s distance medley team and has the quartet ranked fourth in the Big 12 with the conference meet just six days away.
The Jayhawks will now head to Ames, Iowa for the Big 12 Indoor Championships to be held in the Lied Recreation Center for the third-straight season. The league meet is scheduled to kick off Friday, February 26 and conclude Saturday, February 27. Get live updates and results from the Jayhawks’ performances by following on Twitter, Instagram and Vine at @KUTrack.
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