Kansas out to quick start at Husker Invitational

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LINCOLN, Neb. – The Kansas track & field teams kicked off their weekend strong at the Husker Invitational Friday inside the Bob Devaney Center. Senior Jake Albright flew to another top-three finish in the pole vault, while junior Tre Daniels and sophomore Nicole Montgomery turned in season-best outings in their respective 400 meter races.

PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY
In what has turned into an every week occurrence, the Kansas men turned in another dominant performance in the pole vault once again. The Jayhawks secured five of the top-six finishes, with Albright leading the way by way of his runner-up finish.
 
As the 21-man field started to dwindle, it quickly became a Crimson and Blue themed event, with five of the final seven vaulters dawning Kansas singlets. Seniors Nick Meyer and Nick Maestretti and sophomores Paulo Benavides and Hussain Al Hizam joined Albright in that final group. After the KU quintet cleared 5.30 meters (17-4½), it was Albright, Benavides and Nebraska senior Steven Cahoy who kept their competition going with vaults over 5.40 meters (17-8½). None of the three remaining competitors could conjure up clearances over the next height at 5.50 meters (18-0½), but it was Cahoy who earned the first-place finish in front of the home crowd after posted fewer misses at the lower bars.
 
While no Jayhawks were able to finish atop the podium for the first time this season, KU still saw at least one Jayhawk post a top-three finish in the event for the sixth time in as many outings in the 2017 campaign.
 Sophomore Nicole MontgomeryNOTES
* Freshman Quentin Dancer sprinted to a new season-best in the preliminary heats of the 60-meter dash. The West, Texas native broke the tape in 6.92, good enough to earn him a 15th-place finish. Dancer’s time moved him to No. 8 on KU’s all-time 60-meter list and has him among the top-20 among Big 12 sprinters this season.
* It was an impressive 400-meter outing for junior Tre Daniels, who tallied an indoor personal best and a top-10 finish on the Bob Devaney track. Daniels won his heat with ease and claimed an eighth-place finish overall after he broke the tape in 48.16. The outing helped Daniels join teammate Strymar Livingston inside the top-15 of the most recent Big 12 400-meter standings.
* Sophomore Nicole Montgomery also tallied a season-best in the 400 meters en route to a fourth-place finish in the event. Montgomery completed her quarter-mile in 54.70, just .3 seconds off her career best. The performance moved the Colorado Spring, Colorado product to seventh in the latest Big 12 rankings.
 
UP NEXT
The Jayhawks will return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center Saturday to compete on the final day of the Husker Invitational. Action will begin at 9 a.m., with the final three events of the men’s heptathlon and conclude at 4:56 p.m., with the men’s 4×400-meter relay.
 
 
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