Kansas 4x400 relays added to NCAA Championships field
INDIANAPOLIS – The Kansas men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay teams have been added to the NCAA Division I Indoor Track and Field Championships field, announced Wednesday evening by the NCAA Division I Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Committee.
The committee decided to add four teams to each race after information was received regarding a miscommunication of rules that impacted the competitive fairness of the 4×400-meter relays during conference championships meets held on eight-lane, 300-meter tracks. Because of the miscommunication, a fourth heat was added to include the next four declared teams in each race.
Kansas was the only school that benefitted from the addition in both races. Texas Tech, Auburn and Tennessee were also added to the men’s race, while Duke, Oklahoma and Texas were added on the women’s side.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay team of Ivan Henry, Jaron Hartley, Isaiah Cole and Tre Daniels notched its season-best time at the Alex Wilson Invitational (Feb. 17), passing the baton around in 3:06.76, which ranks second all-time in the Kansas men’s indoor record book.
The women’s 4×400 relay team of Nicole Montgomery, Honour Finley, Mariah Kuykendoll and Megan Linder, which won the 2018 Big 12 Indoor Championship last weekend, also posted its season-best time at the Alex Wilson Invitational, recording the third-fastest time in KU women’s indoor history at 3:33.53.
Prior to the addition of the 4×400 relay teams, Montgomery had already qualified for the NCAA Championships as a member of the women’s distance medley relay team, which was one of eight original entries for Kansas.
The addition of the two relay teams now brings the total to 10 entries for the Jayhawks. In addition to both the 4×400 and distance medley relay teams, the Kansas women will have Sharon Lokedi compete in both the 3,000 and 5,000-meter run and Laura Taylor competing in the pole vault. The Jayhawk men will now have the 4×400 team, Bryce Hoppel running the 800 meters, Hussain Al Hizam in the pole vault, Barden Adams in the triple jump and Nicolai Ceban in the shot put at the national championships.
ESPN3 will stream the meet live starting at 5:30 p.m. CST, March 9, and starting at 4 p.m., March 10. A re-air of the championship will take place starting at 6 p.m. Sunday, March 11 on ESPN2.
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