Eventful Saturday Concludes 87th Kansas Relays

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – A pair of multiple-event winners and some of the nation’s top times sent the 87th Kansas Relays out with a bang as the meet came to a close Saturday inside Rock Chalk Park. Just over 6,000 fans filled the brand-new facility and witnessed some of the best performances in the country so far this year at both the high school and collegiate levels.
 
Meet officials selected Kansas’ Michael Stigler as the Most Outstanding Male Performer after his NCAA-leading time in the 400-meter hurdles as well as his leg on the victorious Jayhawk 4×100-meter relay. Pine Creek High School’s Ally Watt was dubbed the meet’s Most Outstanding Female Performer after her victory in the 100-meter dash as well as anchor legs on the winning 4×100-meter and 4×200-meter relays.
 
Women’s Shot Put
Rice junior Claire Uke’s round-by-round improvement gave her the boost she needed to claim the Women’s Shot Put championship on Saturday. Uke found herself in third place after a 15.66 meter (51-4.50 ft.) throw on her fifth attempt. With one throw left in the sixth and final round, Uke thrust herself to the top of the leaderboard, where she would stay, after a 16.11 meter (52-10.25 ft.) toss, becoming the only contestant to exceed the 16-meter mark on the day. Uke’s sixth-round heroics sent a duo of Kansas throwers into second and third place, respectively. Jayhawk sophomore Anastasiya Muchkayev took second after a 15.74 meter (51-7.75 ft.) throw on her first attempt while senior Jessica Maroszek’s 15.70 meter (51-6.25 ft.) throw in the first round landed her in third place.

Men’s Shot Put
Southern Illinois sophomore Josh Freeman was crowned champion of the Men’s Shot Put Saturday afternoon during the final day of the 2014 Kansas Relays. Facing a steady wind out of the south, Freeman was the only thrower to surpass 18 meters on the day hitting the event’s best mark after nailing the 18.87 meter (61-11 ft.) mark on his third attempt. A pair of Nebraska Cornhuskers claimed the next two spots in the final standings as sophomore Will Lohman’s second attempt of 17.98 meters (59 ft.) notched him second place while his teammate, senior Chad Wright, placed third after throwing a distance of 17.90 meters (58-8.75 ft.) on his fifth attempt.

Women’s Javelin
The University of Nebraska earned a victory today in the women’s javelin as sophomore Maggie Malone bested the windy conditions and came out firing on her first throw of the second flight, hitting a mark of 48.72 meters (159-10 ft.). The Geneva, Neb., native never looked back as she fended off two competitors that came within two meters of her best throw.

While Malone did not break any personal records on the fourth and final day of the 87th annual Kansas Relays, she was happy and relieved to conquer another one of her goals.

“I came here my junior year and got second place and I was really close to getting the big first-place trophy,” Malone said. “I am really excited I get the big trophy this time because I have never been to another meet where they give such awesome trophies.”
 
Women’s Long Jump
On the fourth and final day of the 87th Kansas Relays, Kansas sophomore Sydney Conley secured a first-place finish in women’s long jump in front of the home crowd.

With strong 20 mile-per-hour winds gusts Conley fouled on her first attempt, but bounced back to set a new personal best for herself with a wind-aided jump of 6.50 meters (21-4 ft.). While she was unable to record a fair mark on either her fourth or fifth trips down the runway, the Fayetteville, Ark., native jumped  6.04 meters (19-9 ft.) on her fourth attempt and passed on her sixth attempt.
 
At the conclusion of the event Conley said, “Today was definitely a confidence booster. I set a new PR today and it was legal, thank God. It was a crazy wind out here today but it was a confidence booster. It let me know what I am capable of and what I need to work on going into conference (the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championships, May 16-18, Lubbock, Texas).”

Men’s Long Jump
With wind coming out of the southwest at an estimated 20 miles per hour, Iowa Western Community College freshman Will Williams topped the field with a jump of 7.68 meters (25-2 ft.).

Williams fouled on his first two attempts, jumping 7.30 meters, 7.29 meters and 7.49 meters on his third, fourth and fifth attempts, respectively. He ended his day with a winning jump of 7.68 meters (25-2 ft.).

After the completion of his first Kansas Relays, Williams said, “It really feels good and it’s a blessing (to win). It’s my first time jumping on this track; it has a fast runway. I scratched my first two jumps, so it feels really good to win.”

Women’s 1,500 Meters
Kansas sophomore Hannah Richardson and senior Natalie Becker ran ahead of the pack the whole way for the hometown Jayhawks and finished one-two in the women’s 1,500-meter race. The duo recorded times of 4:29.68 and 4:32.07, respectively. Ashley Miller of Nebraska finished third in the event with a time of 4:33.72.
 
Men’s 1,500 Meters
Freshman William Roberts of Rice passed Iowa Central Community College sophomore Dylan Eigenberger on the final straightaway to take the men’s 1,500 meter race in 3:56.76. Eigenberger finished second in the event with a time of 3:58.08 while junior Kyle Gibson of Nebraska finished third in 3:58.13.
 
Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles
Kansas junior Lindsay Vollmer took the women’s 100-meter hurdles title with a time of 13.49 to best freshman Vanessa Style of Allen County Community College by two-tenths of a second (13.69). Junior Ladonna Richards of Lincoln (Mo.) rounded out the top three by finishing the race in 13.71.
 
Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles
In a photo finish, Dexter Faulk took the 110-meter hurdles title in 13.681, just beating out Iowa Central Community College freshman Chris Caldwell (13.684). Freshman Angelo Gross of Coffeyville Community College crossed the finish line in 13.79 to take third place.
 
Women’s 100 Meters
Kansas sophomore Tianna Valentine set a wind-aided personal record of 11.33 to claim the women’s 100-meter dash title of the 87th Kansas Relays. Precious Hitchcock, a freshman from Coffeyville Community College, ran a time of 11.54 to finish in second place. She was followed by Neosho County Community College’s Tina Davis, a sophomore, who took third with a time of 11.72.
 
Men’s 100 Meters
Sophomore Andre De Grasse of Coffeyville Community College was the men’s 100-meter dash champion in 10.03 seconds. Rounding out the top three in the event were Barton County Community College sophomore David Winters (10.22) and Kansas senior Shawn Smith (10.42), who placed second and third, respectively.

Women’s 400 Meters
Former Kansas track & field star Paris Daniels, now competing unattached, took the women’s 400-meter race in 53.66, to best former teammate and Olympic gold medalist, Kansas senior Diamond Dixon, who finished second with a time of 54.07. Rounding out the top three was sophomore Madison Reynolds of Oral Roberts with a time of 54.43.
 
Men’s 400 Meters
Former Kansas star Kyle Clemons finished the men’s 400-meter race in 46.78, to take first. Southwest Baptist senior William Shell took second in the event, with a time of 47.79 and Kansas junior Kenneth McCuin finished third with a time of 47.80.    
 
Women’s 800 Meters
Kansas sophomore Rhavean King led the entire way as she took the first in the women’s 1,500 meters with a time of 2:10.28. Coming in right behind King was her teammate, freshman Whitney Adams, in 2:10.72. Junior Marissa Bongers from Nebraska-Kearney finished third in 2:10.87.

Men’s 800 Meters
Patrick Peterson, an unattached runner, took the men’s 800 meters with a time of 1:51.86. Kansas senior Brendan Soucie and Nebraska-Kearney senior Paul Pape finished closely behind with times of 1:53.22 and 1:53.49, respectively.
 
Women’s 400 Meter Hurdles
Nebraska senior Ellie Grooters crossed the finish line in under a mintue (59.16 seconds) to claim the  women’s 400-meter hurdle title at the Kansas Relays Saturday. Sophomore Oarabile Babolayi from Missouri State and senior Kita Alvares from Saint Louis finished in 59.86 and 1:01.41, respectively, to round out the top three.
 
Men’s 400 Meter Hurdles
Kansas junior Michael Stigler ran a sizzling time of 49.35 in the men’s 400-meter hurdles to win the event by nearly three seconds. Stigler’s time is the fastest in the NCAA so far this season and currently ranks fifth in the world. Tibor Koroknai rounded the oval in 52.09 to finish as the runner-up in the event. The Nebraska senior was followed closely by Cornhusker teammate Mate Koroknai, a sophomore, who cleared the 10 hurdles around the track in 52.16 on Saturday afternoon.
 
Women’s 200 Meters
Destiny Carter of Iowa Central Community College sprinted to a 23.24 200-meter time to claim the event title at the annual Kansas Relays Saturday. The sophomore beat out junior Janae Johnson from Lincoln (Mo.), who ran a 23.42, and Triton teammate Ariel Jackson, another sophomore, who finished in 23.49.
 
Men’s 200 Meters
Maurice Mitchell, a runner up in the 200 meters at the Olympic Trials and a member of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team in London, ran a 20.54 on Saturday afternoon in Lawrence to claim the Kansas Relays title in the same event. Mitchell pulled away from the rest of the field to beat out Romone Hill, a junior from Lincoln (Mo.) and freshman Dontrell Lyons from Colby Community College, who placed second and third, respectively. Hill ran a 21.00 while Lyons crossed the finish line in a time of 21.13.
 
Women’s 3,000 Meter Steeplechase
Rice’s Heather Olson dominated the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase, winning the event by nearly seven seconds. The senior Owl crossed the finish line in 10:45.59, while the runner-up, senior Kyle Blakeslee from Augustana (S.D.), recorded a time of 10:52.94. Kansas sophomore Kelli McKenna made up ground during the course of the race to finish third in 11:17.36.
 
Men’s 3,000 Meter Steeplechase
Harald Karbo from traversed the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:06.47 to earn first place by nearly 12 seconds. The sophomore from Augustana (S.D.) was followed by freshman Benard Keter of Cloud County Community College with a time of 9:18.03 while third place was claimed by Dylan Doss, a junior from West Texas A&M, in 9:22.62.
 
 
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