Lokedi cruises to school record, highlighting Kansas action in Iowa, Arkansas
Kansas junior Sharon Lokedi set her second school record of the 2017-18 indoor season on Friday night at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa, highlighting the first day of split squad action for the Jayhawk track & field teams. Lokedi and a group of Kansas athletes, primarily distance runners, traveled north to the Lied Recreation Center in Ames, while the remainder of the squad competed at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
PERFORMANCE OF THE DAY
Sharon Lokedi’s second school record of the season came in the 3,000-meter run, where she clocked in with a time of 8:59.69, also setting the meet record at the Iowa State Classic. Lokedi dethroned former teammate Hannah Richardson of the top time in KU history by 17 seconds. Richardson earned the school record last season at the Big 12 Championship, coming in at 9:16.02. Lokedi’s first school record this season came in the 5,000-meter run at the Boston University Season Opener on December 2, where she broke her own record with a time of 15:39.05. Lokedi now ranks No. 4 in the nation in both the 3,000 and 5,000-meter runs and tops the Big 12 performance lists in both events.
STANLEY SAID IT
Quotes from Kansas head coach Stanley Redwine
On the day’s performances…
“We had good improvements for some athletes today, especially Sharon. What she did was outstanding. We will be looking for another quality day tomorrow. The coaching staff and athletes are hungry to do better.”
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES
• Junior Hussain Al Hizam became just the sixth Kansas athlete to clear 18 feet in the indoor pole vault at the Tyson Invitational on Friday. Al Hizam finished third in the invitational section of the event with a clearance of 5.53 meters (18-1.75 ft.), which moved him into sole possession of sixth place on the Kansas men’s indoor all-time performers list. The Jubail, Saudi Arabia product’s previous best came earlier this season at the Jayhawk Classic (Jan. 26) where he set the Anschutz Pavilion facility record with a jump of 5.48 meters (17-11.75 ft.). Friday’s clearance made Al Hizam the No. 6 performer in the NCAA and tops the Big 12 charts this season.
• Senior Megan Linder and freshman Honour Finley finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the college section of the 400-meter dash at the Tyson Invitational to become the No. 4 and 6 performers in KU women’s indoor history. Running in the same heat, Linder clocked a time of 53.93 and Finley finished right behind her with a time of 54.04. The times mark the second straight weekend that the pair has recorded personal records in the event, each notching career-best times at the Rod McCravy Memorial on February 3 as well.
• Junior Dylan Hodgson recorded the No. 6 time in the Big 12 this season in the 3,000-meter run at the ISU Classic, tallying a personal-best of 8:01.54. The Washington, Kansas native moved into the No. 6 spot on the Kansas all-time performers list with the time.
• Senior Courtney Coppinger continued her climb up the Kansas record books in the 3,000-meter run at the Iowa State Classic, clocking a personal-best time of 9:34.67. Coppinger jumped from No. 9 to No. 7 on the Kansas all-time performers list with the time. The Mission Hills, Kansas product cracked the top-10 earlier this year at the Mark Colligan Memorial (Jan. 20) in Lincoln, Nebraska with a time of 9:42.04.
UP NEXT
Kansas will continue its split squad action at the Iowa State Classic and Tyson Invitational on Saturday. The Jayhawks will split again next weekend with members of the team returning to Fayetteville for the Arkansas Qualifier and others traveling to South Bend, Indiana for the Alex Wilson Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame.
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