Throwers Get Jayhawks Off and Running at Big 12 Outdoor Championships

LUBBOCK, Texas – The University of Kansas men’s and women’s track & field teams kicked off competition at the 2014 Big 12 Outdoor Championships inside Fuller Track Complex Saturday. The KU women saw three turn in scoring performances while the men added all-league outings in the javelin in the 10,000 meters. Junior Lindsay Vollmer also got off to a hot start on day one of the heptathlon, running, jumping and throwing to the overnight lead with his career-high first day score of 3,597 points.
 
The Jayhawk women ended day one in a tie for fifth-place after amassing nine points, while the KU men find themselves in sixth place with eight points.
 
Daina Levy got the Kansas women on the board early in the day as she tallied an All-Conference performance in the hammer throw. Levy uncorked a throw of 58.95 meters (193’5″) on her third attempt of the day to slide herself up near the top of the overall leaderboard. The sophomore was unable to improve on her final three attempts in the finals but still managed to notch a fourth-place finish and give her team their first four points of the Championship.
 
Later in the afternoon, several Jayhawk women returned to the throws field to take part in the javelin. Junior Kianna Weinzheimer was the top KU finisher after hitting a mark that surpassed her previous season best by over nine feet. Weinzheimer posted a throw of 46.17 meters (151’6″) on her final attempt of the competition to earn herself a sixth-place finish. Fellow junior and combined-event specialist Vollmer also managed to tally a scoring performance after she finished eighth with her mark of 44.07 meters (144’7″). The KU duo combined to earn four points to add to their team’s total.
 
On the men’s side, junior Johann Swanepoel claimed his third-career All-Big 12 performance after throwing to a fifth-place finish in the event. The All-American’s first throw eventually turned out to be his farthest, hitting a mark of 63.74 meters (209’1″). Swanepoel was able to notch just one more fair throw but was able to pick up the Jayhawk men’s first four points of the weekend. His season-best mark has him in good position to extend his season as it currently ranks seventh in the NCAA West Regional standings, which will likely earn him a spot at the West Regional Preliminary meet in two weeks.
 
To close out the night on the track, junior Evan Landes ran to his first scoring performance at the Big 12 outdoor meet with a gutsy finish in the 10,000 meters. The Mulvane, Kansas product looked to rebound after just missing out on All-League honors in the event a year ago where he finished ninth. Landes found himself up against a competitive field, which seemed to be getting the better of him through the first half of the 6.2 mile race. With just over two kilometers to go he began to move his way up to the front of the pack, climbing as high as second at one point. Over the final 800 meters the pace began to pick up to a near sprint, but Landes did his best to make sure he could garner the all-important points for his team, crossing the finish in fifth place with a time of 30:33.84. The junior’s finish earned Kansas its final four points of the day.   
 
Prior to her All-Big 12 performance in the javelin, Vollmer began the defense of her conference heptathlon crown strong as she competed to the overnight lead on day one of the event. The NCAA’s reigning champion in the event, Vollmer kicked off her day on a high note by posting a new personal best of 13.57 in the 100-meter hurdles, the fastest in the field and good enough for 1,040 points.
 
Vollmer then added 891 points after clearing 1.73 meters (5’8″) in the high jump, which managed to keep her a top the heptathlon leaderboard through the first two events.
 
The Hamilton, Missouri native then tallied her second career-best of the day with her heave of 12.95 meters (42’6″) in the shot put. The first attempt mark was the second-farthest of the competition and spread Vollmer’s lead to 16 points with four events remaining.
 
To close out the first day of competition Vollmer was able to pad her lead after she posted the fastest time of the competition in the 200 meters. She clocked in with a time of 24.41, just .14 seconds off her personal best, to secure her final 942 points of the day to bring her overall total to 3,597 points, which leads the field by 75 points and is ahead of her personal-best pace by 29 points.
 
The heptathlon’s final three events will take place Saturday, beginning with the long jump at 11 a.m.
 
Two days remain of the 2014 Big 12 Outdoor Championships. Saturday will feature preliminary action from the track as well as finals of the women’s shot put, men’s pole vault and long jump events in the field. Stay updated on all the Jayhawks’ performances through the meet central page on KUAthletics.com and watch for the complete recap, along with results and videos, which will be posted following the finish of the day’s events.
 
 
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