Dudarev, Lokedi snare titles on day 1 of Big 12 Championship
WACO, Texas – Kansas track & field earned two individual conference titles on the first day of the 2018 Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championship in Waco, Texas. Sophomore Gleb Dudarev snared his second-straight title in the men’s hammer throw and senior Sharon Lokedi earned her third-consecutive conference crown in the 10,000-meter run.
Dudarev picked up the win in the hammer by more than seven meters, posting a best mark of 72.37 meters (237-5 ft.) to earn the only 10 points for the KU men’s team on Friday, placing them in a tie for sixth through three scored events. The Vitebsk, Belarus native’s closest competitor was Kansas State’s Mitch Dixon who posted a best mark of 64.95 meters (213-1 ft.). Dudarev’s winning toss proved to be a Clyde Hart Track & Field Stadium record, breaking a mark of 66.21 meters (217-3 ft.) set last season by Anthony Shivers of Notre Dame.
Lokedi became just the second female to win three 10,000-meter Big 12 titles, joining Iowa State’s Lisa Koll, who won four from 2007-10. Lokedi clocked in at an easy 34:56.39 for the win, 13 seconds earlier than second-place Anne Frisbie of Iowa State. The Eldoret, Kenya native will look to join Koll as the second athlete in conference history to double in the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters in consecutive years, as she is set to run the 5,000 on Sunday at 7:50 p.m. CDT.
The individual title by Lokedi earned the Kansas women 10 points on the day, and javelin throwers Shaylyn Stallbaumer and Allie Twietmeyer added five more points to place the Jayhawk women in fifth after the first day’s events.
Stallbaumer, a junior from Seneca, Kansas, followed up her fourth-place finish in the javelin at the 2017 Big 12 Outdoor Championship with a fifth-place finish this year with a throw of 44.67 meters (146-6.75 ft.). Twietmeyer, a sophomore from Cheney, Kansas, posted a personal-best throw of 42.29 meters (138-9 ft.) for an eighth-place finish to earn the final spot on the awards podium.
Teri Huslig and Morgan Griffiths started off the day’s action with the heptathlon, and currently sit in ninth and 11th, respectively, through four of the seven events. Huslig was able to post a personal best in the shot put with a mark of 10.01 meters (32-10.25 ft.) to earn 530 points.
Freshman Chace Hale finished 17th in the 10,000 meters with a time of 33:00.91 to conclude the day one action in Waco for Kansas.
The Jayhawks return to Clyde Hart Stadium on Saturday and Sunday to finish off the conference meet. Action is slated to get underway at 10 a.m. on Saturday, with the first KU action, the heptathlon long jump, scheduled for 11 a.m.
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