Kansas men ranked at No. 6, women No. 22 entering NCAA Championships
NEW ORLEANS – Both of Kansas track & field’s men’s and women’s teams will find themselves ranked among the nation’s top-25 entering next week’s NCAA Outdoor Championships after the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) released its pre-championship computer rankings Tuesday. The Jayhawk men continued their rise on the national list, jumping four spots to No. 6, the highest standing in program history, while the Kansas women entered the top-25 for the first time this season, checking in at No. 22.
Last week, the Kansas men’s squad saw nine entries advance out of the West Preliminary to compete at the NCAA Outdoor meet in Eugene, Oregon June 7-10. Six of those entries are ranked among the top-10 in their respective events, which includes freshman Gleb Dudarev who still holds the nation’s best mark in the hammer throw.
The Jayhawks also feature senior Mitch Cooper, the NCAA’s No. 2-ranked discus thrower, senior Jake Albright and sophomore Hussain Al Hizam, both of whom sit at fourth on the NCAA DI pole vault chart, and junior Nicolai Ceban, whose personal-record toss of 20.24 meters (66-5) in Austin last week has him at No. 5 among DI shot putters heading to Eugene.
Kansas is the top-ranked Big 12 squad entering next week’s event. The Jayhawks were followed by Texas at No. 10, Baylor at No. 16, Texas Tech at No. 21 and Oklahoma State at No. 22.
The KU women were listed among the top-25 teams for the first time this year after moving up 10 spots to No. 22. The Jayhawks will see eight entries at the national championships next week, including senior Sydney Conley, who is the NCAA’s second-ranked long jumper.
The NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon for the fifth-straight year June 7-10. All four days of competition will be televised on the ESPN family of networks.
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