Bradford, Al Hizam claim First Team All-America honors on day 1 of NCAA Indoor Championships
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Kansas freshman Zach Bradford and senior Hussain Al Hizam became the 24th and 25th indoor First Team All-Americans in the pole vault in Kansas history on day one of the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. Finishing fifth and sixth, respectively, the Jayhawk pair each tied their season-best performances at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.
The pole vault was a longer-than-expected event on the night with an error by meet officials raising the bar to an incorrect height causing a delay in the action, but ultimately Bradford and Al Hizam each tied their season-best performance with clearances of 5.63 meters (18-5.5 ft.).
Junior Bryce Hoppel earned a trip to the final in the men’s 800-meter run, clocking the fastest preliminary time of the 16 competitors in the event. Hoppel hit the line at 1:48.30 for the top spot in heat one, using a late surge in the last 75 meters to move up from fifth to first before the finish.
Senior Sharon Lokedi ran in her final race of her Jayhawk career, placing 11th in the 5,000-meter run to earn Second Team All-America honors, marking the 10th All-America honor of her career. Lokedi clocked in with a time of 16:06.21, which was the No. 7 time in program history.
The women’s distance medley relay team of Riley Cooney, Honour Finley, Nicole Montgomery and Ally Ryan placed 11th with a time of 11:29.84 and senior Marleena Eubanks finished 16th in the women’s 800-meter run prelims with a time of 2:15.36. Both the DMR and Eubanks earned Second Team All-America honors for their efforts.
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The Jayhawks will have four Jayhawks in action on the final day of the NCAA Indoor Championships. Freshman Rylee Anderson will compete in the women’s high jump at 1 p.m. CST, junior Andrea Willis will jump in the women’s pole vault at 4 p.m. CST, redshirt sophomore Gleb Dudarev will try to earn his second All-America honor in the weight throw at 4:30 p.m. CST and Hoppel will run the 800-meter final at 5:40 p.m. CST.
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