Finley’s silver highlights Kansas action at USATF, Jamaican championships
LAWRENCE, Kan. – A number of current and past Kansas track & field athletes were in action over the weekend at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships and the Jamaican Senior and Junior National Championships. Jayhawk alum Mason Finley highlighted the action by placing second in the discus at the USATF Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, while current KU athletes Ivan Henry and Marleena Eubanks posted top-six performances in their respective events at the Jamaican Championships in Kingston, Jamaica.
FINLEY TAKE SILVER IN DES MOINES
Kansas track & field alum Mason Finley finished second at the 2018 USATF Championships in the discus with a mark of 67.06 meters (220-0 ft.). The competition was an entertaining one, with the lead changing several times.
Third-place finisher Sam Mattis broke the Drake Stadium facility record, which was held by Sunday’s winner, Reggie Jagers, in the first round with a throw of 65.45 meters (214-8 ft.) and then again with a mark of 66.32 meters (217-7 ft.) in the third round. Jagers then reclaimed the stadium record and took the lead at the end of the third round with a throw of 66.92 meters (219-7 ft.). Finley then upped the ante with his best mark of the day in the fifth round to take the lead and hold the facility record for a short time until Jager took it over again minutes later with a throw of 68.61 meters (225-1 ft.).
EUBANKS RUNS NO. 6 TIME IN KU HISTORY
Junior Marleena Eubanks placed fourth in the 800-meter run at the Jamaican National Championships, clocking in with a time of 2:05.48. Eubanks’ time is the sixth-fastest in Kansas history in the event, giving the junior her third top-10 time in KU history in her one season of action in the Crimson and Blue. Eubanks also holds the No. 2 time in school history at 2:04.44, set at the Big 12 Championships, and the No. 8 time of 2:06.05 from her run at the National Relay Championships.
Eubanks’ career-best time of 2:04.44 is just one-one hundredth of a second off the school record time set by Whitney Adams in 2016.
HENRY TAKES SIXTH AT JAMAICAN NATIONALS
Junior Ivan Henry took sixth at the Jamaican Championships in the 400-meter dash, clocking in at 46.72 seconds in the final. Henry qualified for the final with a time of 46.65 seconds in the preliminaries, which was the eighth-fastest time in the round.
OTHER JAYHAWKS IN ACTION
• KU alum Andrea Geubelle finished fifth in the triple jump at the USATF Championships with a mark pf 13.45 meters (44-1.5 ft.).
• Former Kansas athlete Jake Albright placed seventh in the men’s pole vault at the USATF Championships with a clearance of 5.55 meters (18-2.5 ft.).
• Kansas alum Zach Zarda clocked in at 29:23.38 in the 10,000-meter run at the USATF Championships to finished eighth. Zarda was also entered in the 5,000-meter run but did not finish the race.
• Barden Adams, a senior for the Jayhawks during the 2018 season, finished 10th in the men’s triple jump at the USATF Championships, notching a mark of 15.99 meters ( 52-5.5 ft.).
• Jayhawk alum Michael Stigler finished 11th overall in the first round of the men’s 400-meter hurdles at the USATF Championships, qualifying for the semifinal round by being one of the top-three finishers in his heat with a time of 50.33 seconds. Stigler did not run in the semifinal round.
• Kansas sophomore and First Team All-American Bryce Hoppel finished 12th overall in the preliminary round of the 800-meter run at the USATF Championships with a time of 1:48.09.
• KU alum Sydney Conley finished 14th in the long jump at the USATF Championships with a mark of 5.99 meters (19-8 ft.).
• Senior Courtney Coppinger finished 16th in the preliminary round of the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase at the USATF Championships. Coppinger clocked in at 10:03.08, which proved to be the No. 9 time in KU history.
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