Jayhawks earn 3 more titles, 2 school records fall on final day of Big 12 Indoor Championship
LUBBOCK, Texas – Three Kansas track & field athletes earned titles on the final day of the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Track & Field Championship in Lubbock, Texas. Senior Marleena Eubanks broke the KU school record and the Big 12 meet record on her way to a win in the women’s 800-meter run, junior Bryce Hoppel repeated as conference indoor champ and broke the school record in the 800, and senior Sharon Lokedi won her second title of the weekend, this time in the 3,000-meter run, to help her earn the women’s high-point award for the meet.
The six total champions on the weekend for Kansas help the men’s team to a third-place finish and the women’s squad to fourth place. The men’s finish marks the second time in head coach Stanley Redwine’s 19-year career at Kansas that his men’s squad earned a top-three finish at the conference indoor meet, the other coming in 2017. The fourth-place finish by the women’s squad marks the seventh time in eight years that KU squad earned a top-five finish at Big 12 indoors.
MARLEENA MAKES HISTORY
Coming into the Big 12 meet, Eubanks held the No. 3 time in school history at 2:06.01, but blew out that mark and the school record, held by Kristi Kloster, with a time of 2:03.99. Eubanks was also on the border of NCAA qualifying coming into the weekend, but solidified her spot in Birmingham, Alabama for the NCAA Indoor Championships, March 8-9 with her altitude-converted time of 2:03.64 being the No. 4 time in the NCAA this season.
HOPPEL REPEATS AS BIG 12 INDOOR CHAMP
Junior Bryce Hoppel defended his conference indoor title in the men’s 800-meter run, clocking in at 1:46.84 for his second gold medal of the weekend, having also won a conference crown as a member of the distance medley relay team on Friday night. Hoppel took the school record holder title away from Jeremy Mims, who set the previous record of 1:47.04 in 2005. Hoppel’s altitude-converted time of 1:46.84 puts him at No. 6 in the NCAA this season and will qualify him for the NCAA Indoor Championships in two weeks.
LOKEDI CAPS HER BIG 12 CAREER WITH ANOTHER TITLE
The senior from Eldoret, Kenya won yet another title at the Big 12 Indoor meet, taking the 3,000-meter crown on Saturday. Lokedi clocked in at 9:20.71 for the No. 7 performance in KU history. With the two wins this weekend, Lokedi ended her Big 12 Conference career with a total of 12 conference championships between cross country, indoor and outdoor track & field. Lokedi will don the Crimson and Blue for the final time at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Birmingham where she solidified her spot in the 5,000-meter run.
NOTABLES
- Freshman Cordell Tinch earned two trips to the podium on Saturday to make it three total trips on the weekend. He placed fifth in the 60-meter hurdles final with a time of 7.95 seconds and he also placed third in his collegiate high jump debut, clearing 2.19 meters (7-2.25 ft.), which proved to be the No. 4 performance in school history and made him the No. 3 performer on the KU all-time charts.
- Darius Releford also earned a spot on the podium in the 60-meter hurdles, running a PR 8.10 seconds to become the No. 9 performer in KU history.
- Freshman Rylee Anderson moved into a tie for No. 4 on the KU all-time performers list in the high jump with the No. 5 height in school history, clearing 1.82 meters (5-11.5 ft.) for second place.
- Alexandra Emilianov placed fourth in the shot put with a mark of 15.65 meters (51-4.25 ft.).
- McKenzie Wilks placed seventh in the one-mile run with a time of 4:55.89 to earn two points.
- Dylan Hodgson came back from a distance medley relay win on Friday night to earn fifth in the one-mile run final and fifth in the 3,000-meter run.
- Nicole Montgomery placed third in the 600-yard run with a personal-best time of 1:20.44 to mark the No. 3 performance in Kansas history in the event.
- Sophomore Honour Finley placed fifth in the 400-meter final, improving her standing as the No. 2 performer in school history in the event with a time of 53.12 seconds.
- Freshman Ally Ryan earned her first trip to the podium with a gutsy third-place performance in the 1,000-meter run. Ryan clocked in at 2:49.73 to become the No. 6 performer in school history in the event.
- Jack Young placed seventh in the men’s 1,000 with a time of 2:29.25.
- Patrick Larrison and George Evans placed sixth and seventh, respectively in the men’s shot to earn a total of five points for the KU men.
- Jedah Caldwell ran a 23.53 to place fifth in the women’s 200-meter dash final.
- The women’s 4×400-meter relay team placed second with a season-best time of 3:34.49, putting them in potential NCAA qualifying position.
- The men’s 4×400 relay placed third with a time of 3:10.23.
UP NEXT
Any athletes that rank in the top-16 of the their respective events, or top-12 in relays, will qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championship at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama, March 8-9.
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