Host of Jayhawks in action at USA Championships this week
LAWRENCE, Kan. – Ten members of the Kansas track & field teams are set to take part in the USA Senior and Junior Championships to be held at Sacramento State’s Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, California June 22-25. The meet will exhibit hundreds of the nation’s top athletes at both the junior and senior levels and is also slated to include four former members of the KU track & field teams.
The athletes competing in the Senior Championships will be looking for the right to represent the U.S. at the World Championships in London in mid-August. The top-three finishers in each event at this week’s meet will automatically earn the right to represent team USA at the World Championships. On the junior level, the top-two finishers in each event will qualify to represent the U.S. at the Pan American Junior Games in Trujillo, Peru July 21-23.
Leading the way for KU this week will be senior Sydney Conley who will be competing in the long jump. Conley is the 10th-ranked American in event this year with her leap of 6.66 meters (21-10¼) at the NCAA West Preliminary on May 26. She is two weeks removed from securing First Team All-America honors for the third time in the outdoor long jump after claiming bronze at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Conley is slated to hit the runway for the long jump final on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. (CT).
Other Jayhawks set to compete in the senior meet this week include senior Jake Albright (pole vault, Saturday), junior Barden Adams (triple jump, Friday) and sophomore Shaylyn Stallbaumer (javelin, Thursday).
The Jayhawks will also have a strong group competing against many of the best under-20 track & field athletes in the nation in the USA Junior Championships. On the men’s side, freshman Cody Johnson is set to take part in the 400-meter hurdles on Friday at 4:55 p.m. (CT) and freshman Chase Pennewell will compete in the pole vault starting Saturday at 6:05 p.m. (CT).
The Kansas women will have four competitors in the junior meet. Freshman Cameron Gueldner will toe the start line for the 5,000 meters on Friday at 11 a.m. (CT); freshman Mariah Kuykendoll is entered in the 400 meters, scheduled to go off on Friday at 3:55 p.m. (CT); freshman Jedah Caldwell is entered in the 200 meters, set for 4:55 p.m. (CT) Friday; and freshman Andrea Willis will take part in the pole vault on Saturday beginning at 6:10 p.m. (CT).
Several former Jayhawk standouts will also be competing in Sacramento. Mason Finley will hope to defend his national title in the discus. Finley, who won the USA Championship at the U.S. Olympic Trials a year ago, will hit the discus ring on Saturday at 2:40 p.m. (CT). The 2015 NCAA 400-meter hurdle Champion, Michael Stigler, will look to maintain his position as one of the premier American hurdlers. The four-time First Team All-American is scheduled to begin his week in the event prelims on Friday at 8:40 p.m. (CT). Two-time NCAA Champion Andrea Geubelle is entered in the triple jump competition scheduled for Thursday 8:20 p.m. (CT) and Kyle Clemons, a two-time Big 12 champion as a Jayhawk, will run in the 400 meters, slated for Thursday at 9:46 p.m. (CT).
For results and updates on the Jayhawks’ performances throughout the week, log on to KUAthletics.com and follow on Twitter at @KUTrack.
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
