Kansas men No. 15, women No. 22 in latest USTFCCCA poll
NEW ORLEANS – The Kansas men’s track & field team ranked No. 15 in the week five U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national rankings released Monday, while the Jayhawk women came in at No. 22 in the polls.
The Jayhawk men, who were ranked No. 13 for the last two weeks, have six athletes that hold top-25 marks in the NCAA this season, while the Jayhawk women have eight top-25 marks.
Sophomore Gleb Dudarev is ranked No. 1 in the NCAA in the hammer throw after winning the Kansas Relays quadrangular title in the event with a throw of 78.04 meters (256-0 ft.). The mark broke Dudarev’s own school record, the Kansas Relays meet record and the Rock Chalk Park facility record, currently ranks No. 6 in the world and made the sophomore the No. 5 all-time collegiate performer in the event.
Senior Barden Adams jumped from the No. 3-ranked athlete to No. 2 in the triple jump over the weekend at the National Relay Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, hitting a mark of 16.59 meters (54-5.25 ft.) to finish second in the competition. Adams now ranks No. 2 on the KU all-time list in the event with the mark.
Junior Hussain Al Hizam is the No. 5-ranked pole vaulter in the NCAA this year with a clearance of 5.60 meters (18-4.5 ft.) at the Texas Relays. He is joined by senior teammate Nick Meyer in the top-25, who has a clearance of 5.35 meters (17-6.5 ft.) this season to rank 25th.
Junior Dylan Hodgson ranks No. 13 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 8:47.81, ran at the Stanford Invitational, and senior Nicolai Ceban ranks No. 20 in the discus with a mark of 57.63 meters (189-1 ft.), set at the Sun Angel Classic.
Senior Sharon Lokedi and freshman Alexandra Emilianov each hold two top-25 NCAA marks this season. Lokedi broke the school record in the 10,000 meters with a time of 32:21.19 to rank No. 3 in the national currently, and broke the school record in the 5,000 at 15:42.76 to rank No. 9. Emilianov ranks No. 18 in both the shot put and discus this season, with a school-record mark in the shot at 16.64 meters (54-7.25 ft.), set last weekend at the National Relay Championships.
Like the Kansas men, the KU women’s vaulters also have two top-25 performers currently this season, with senior Laura Taylor ranking No. 9 and Andrea Willis sitting at No. 14.
The Kansas women’s 4×400-meter relay team of Megan Linder, Jedah Caldwell, Nicole Montgomery and Honour Finley ranks No. 20 in the NCAA with a time of 3:33.83, and senior Courtney Coppinger ranks No. 22 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:09.74.
Kansas will conclude its regular season action with a pre-conference tune-up meet, the Ward Haylett Invitational, hosted by Kansas State on May 5.
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