KU Track Concludes Strong Weekend in Fayetteville, Ames

Tyson Invitational // ISU Classic
Fayetteville, Ark. // Ames, Iowa

Senior Michael Stigler helped the men’s 4×400-meter relay to one of the fastest times in school history Saturday at the Tyson Invitational.
Tyson Invitational
Combined Results
Kansas Results

 

ISU Classic
Combined Results
Kansas Results

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Kansas men’s 4×400-meter relay collected its best time of the season to finish out a strong Jayhawk outing at the Tyson Invitational Saturday afternoon inside the Randal Tyson Track Center. Seven members of the Kansas teams posted personal-bests as well as the men’s 4×400-meter relay, which clocked in with the sixth-fastest time in school history.
 
“The meets this weekend were really great meets for competition,” said head coach Stanley Redwine. “It (the competition) did a good job of giving us a realistic view of where our teams are as we head into the conference meet. We saw that there are some areas that we’ve made big strides in, but there are other areas that we still need to put some work into. As a team we need to take the next few days to rest up and get healthy, then it will be time to get back to work to get ready for the Big 12 meet in two weeks.”
 
In the final event of meet, the Jayhawk 4×400-meter squad kept the trend of a weekend full of some of the top Kansas performances in school history. The group of Kenneth McCuin, Drew Matthews, Michael Stigler and Tre Daniels passed the baton around in 3:10.42 to win their heat and top second-place Kansas State by .75 seconds. The quartet, which shaved nearly 2.5 seconds off its previous season-best, became one of the school’s all-time fastest 4×400-meter squads as the Jayhawks’ time ranks sixth among KU’s top-10 mile relay teams.
 
McCuin, Matthews, Stigler and Daniels finished 13th overall in the field that added 12 of the top-20 times in the NCAA this year. The Kansas team now sits fourth in the Big 12 standings and has moved into the top-25 of the national rankings.
 
It was another career outing for senior Lindsay Vollmer, who took part in the high jump earlier in the day. The All-American combined event specialist leaped over a new personal best height of 1.82 meters (5’11½”) to secure a second-place finish in the event. The clearance was the fifth-highest ever by a Jayhawk indoors and moved Vollmer, who now owns two of the eight-best indoor high jump marks in KU history, to No. 2 on this season’s Big 12 high jump rankings.
 
The high jump pit inside the Tyson Center was also kind to senior Colleen O’Brien. Competing in the invitational high jump later in the day, the Louisburg, Kansas product cruised through the opening heights, needing only three attempts to clear her first three bars. O’Brien’s best jump came at a height of 1.77 meters (5’9¾”), which tied her career-best for the indoor event. With her performance, the Kansas women boast three high jumpers ranked among the top-seven of the latest conference high jump list.
 
In his second outing as a Jayhawk, Nicolai Ceban tallied a new career-best in the shot put. The freshman out of Moldova launched the implement to a mark of 17.44 meters (57’2¾”) on his first attempt of the afternoon. The mark would stand has Ceban’s best of the day, and earn him an eventual 10th-place finish in a stacked field of throwers.
 
Another notable performances on the final day in Arkansas came from junior Casey Bowen, who nearly notched his second personal best in the pole vault in as many weeks. Competing in the invitational section of the pole vault, Bowen posted a top mark of 5.40 meters (17’8½”) and was only centimeters away from moving himself even further up the school’s all-time charts after narrowly clipping the bar at 5.54 meters (18’2½”). He was forced to settle for a fifth-place finish in the event that witnessed the collegiate record fall to Akron’s Shawn Barber.  
 
AMES, Iowa – Several Jayhawks also saw career performances on the final day of the ISU Classic inside the Lied Recreation Center, the same venue which will host the conference championship meet in two weeks.
 
Freshman Alaina Schroeder posted one of the Jayhawks top performances on the weekend in Ames after she ran the first sub-10 minute 3,000 meters of her young KU career. The Manhattan, Kansas native finished 9:54.16 to finish 23rd overall, the time making her the No. 9 performer in school history.
 
Four of the five KU men who competed in the 800 meters ran the fastest times of their careers. The Jayhawks were led by junior Daniel Koech, who crossed the finish in 1:52.64 to take 25th. He was followed closely by redshirt freshman Adel Yoonis, who finished 30th in 1:52.78.
 
Hannah Richardson may have not tallied a career-best but her performance in the mile was something to take note of. The junior clocked in with the third-fastest time of her career at 4:49.49 to finish 10th overall. The time makes Richardson the No. 7 miler in the conference so far in 2015.
 
Kansas will now have 13 days to prepare for the Big 12 Indoor Championships to be held back in Ames, Iowa. Action from the Lied Recreation Center will kick off on Friday, Feb. 27 and conclude Saturday, Feb. 28. Follow all the action throughout the weekend at Big12Sports.com and through Twitter at @KUTrack.
 
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