Two Kansas school records set on final day of National Relay Championships
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Kansas track & field record books were rewritten on the final day of the inaugural National Relay Championships at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Jayhawk freshman Alexandra Emilianov broke the KU school record in the shot put and the women’s 4×800-meter relay team set a new program-best in the event.
Emilianov, a native of Chisinau, Moldova, broke the school record in her first time competing in the shot put this outdoor season. The freshman finished third in the event with a mark of 16.64 meters (54-7.25 ft.) to take down previous school record holder Stephanie Horton’s mark of 16.52 meters (54-2.5 ft.) set at the NCAA Championships in 2008.
Emilianov’s throw ranks her No. 15 in the NCAA this season and she also ranks No. 18 in the discus.
The women’s 4×800-meter relay team of Wumi Omare, Riley Cooney, Courtney Griffiths and Hannah Dimmick set the school record with a time of 8:41.64, finishing fifth in the race. Omare led off the race with a 2:12.98 split before handing off to Cooney who completed her leg in 2:10.14. Griffiths ran the third leg in 2:10.27 and gave way to Dimmick to anchor the team home with a split of 2:08.27.
Senior Barden Adams finished second in the invitational triple jump, which consisted of an array of the nation’s top talent and was likely a preview of what the NCAA Outdoor Championships will look like in the event in June. The West Orange, New Jersey product hit a personal-best mark of 16.59 meters (54-5.25 ft.) to become the No. 2 performer in the nation this year, behind only KeAndre Bates of Florida, who won the event with an NCAA-leading leap of 16.69 meters (54-9.25 ft.) on his final attempt.
Adams is now No. 2 on the Kansas all-timer performers list with the mark to pair with his No. 2 ranking in the Kansas annals in the event indoors.
The Jayhawks will conclude the outdoor regular season with the Ward Haylett Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas on May 5 before traveling to Waco, Texas for the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, May 11-13.
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