Jayhawks notch 2 meet records, 21 PRs on day 1 of National Relay Championships

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Kansas track & field saw success on the first day of action at the National Relay Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with junior Bryce Hoppel recording a facility record and meet record in the 800-meter run, and freshman Zach Bradford earning a meet record in the pole vault. Along with the two meet records, 21 personal-bests were set by the Jayhawks on Friday—a number of which altered the KU all-time top-10 charts.

Hoppel’s meet and facility record in the 800 meters marked the 13th-straight individual race won by the Midland, Texas native. His winning time of 1:45.87 was a season-best and was the fourth-fastest 800 ran by a Jayhawk in program history. Hoppel’s time currently ranks No. 2 in the NCAA this season and No. 7 in the world.

Bradford, who was coming off a school-record performance at the Kansas Relays, placed second in the men’s pole vault with a clearance of 5.62 meters (18-5.25 ft.). His clearance tied Baylor’s KC Lightfoot’s winning jump as the meet record.

Senior Marleena Eubanks saw success in the women’s 800-meter run, clocking in at 2:05.12 for a season-best performance and the No. 3 time in KU women’s history. Her time, which was the top collegiate mark and second overall on Friday, ranks No. 20 in the NCAA this season.

Junior Cody Johnson ran his way to a second-place finish in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a PR time of 50.73 seconds, which moved him into the No. 5 spot on the KU all-time performers list in the event.

Freshman Cordell Tinch ran a wind-legal time of 13.89 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles to place second and become the No. 9 performer in KU history, redshirt sophomore Mariah Kuykendoll improved her time as the No. 9 performer in program history in the 400-meter dash (53.70) and sophomore Catherine Liggett moved into the top-10 in program history in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:25.62 to round out the KU all-time top-10 performances on Friday.

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NOTABLES

  • Junior Jedah Caldwell ran her collegiate-best time of 11.73 seconds in the 100-meter dash to place eighth overall.
  • Courtney Griffiths placed eighth in the 800-meter run with a personal-best time of 2:09.99.
  • Six of the seven Kansas men’s runners in the 1,500-meter run recorded personal-bests in the event, with George Letner leading the pack with a sixth-place finish, clocking in at 3:55.43.
  • Lauren Harrell (4:33.56) and Cameron Gueldner (4:37.11) each PR’ed in the 1,500-meter run to place fifth and seventh, respectively.
  • Callie Hicks tied her PR in the pole vault with a clearance of 3.95 meters (12-11.5 ft.) to place sixth.

UP NEXT
The Jayhawks are set for a day full of relay action on Saturday, the final day of the National Relay Championships in Fayetteville. Events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with the meet being aired on the SEC Network and streamed live online at WatchESPN.com.
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