Host of Jayhawks Contribute in Quad Sweep at 88th Kansas Relays

88th Kansas Relays
Rock Chalk Park \ Lawrence, Kan.

Kansas freshman Sharon Lokedi (right) and Alaina Schroeder (left) celebrated after finishing first and second in the 5,000 meters Friday.
Results Wrap-Up
Complete Results (PDF)
Kansas Results
Live Results

 

Men’s Quadrangular
Team Score
1. Kansas 226 pts.
2. Colorado State 157 pts.
3. Purdue 131 pts.
4. Kansas State 121 pts.
Women’s Quadrangular
Team Score
1. Kansas 194 pts.
2. Kansas State 172 pts.
3. Colorado State 159 pts.
4. Purdue 143 pts.

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LAWRENCE, Kan. – Ten event titles propelled both the men’s and women’s Kansas teams to victories in the 88th Kansas Relays quadrangular competition Friday inside Rock Chalk. The KU men came out on top in dominant fashion, dispatching of the other three squads by 69 points after tallying 226 points during the three-day event. The Kansas women amassed 194 points for the win, 22 points clear of second-place Kansas State.
 
Senior Michael Stigler set the tone for the Jayhawk men early in the day as he defended his Kansas Relays title in the 400-meter hurdles with ease. The world leader in the event, Stigler was not about to allow himself a letdown on his home track. He made up the stagger quickly out of the blocks and never looked back, building a lead of more than 20 meters down the homestretch and clocking in at 50.07. The time was nearly two seconds ahead of the next finisher and gave Stigler his 10th 400-meter hurdle win in his last 13 races.
 
One of the top performances from the women’s squad came from the high jump pit as senior Colleen O’Brien turned in the highest clearance by a KU female in over two decades. O’Brien needed only one attempt to get over 1.85 meters (6’0¾”), making her just the third Jayhawk woman in history to clear six feet. The mark earned O’Brien the win after Colorado State’s Jazmyn Webster was unable to match the Jayhawk’s career clearance. O’Brien now sits at sixth in the NCAA and first in the Big 12 Conference rankings.
 
Another KU senior vertical jumper earned an event victory by way of a career-best earlier in the day. Senior Jaimie House, who had come close in her two outings prior, finally managed to vault over 4.20 meters (13’9¼”). The clearance bettered House’s previous best by four inches and moved her to No. 5 on Kansas’ all-time vaulting chart. The performance also shot House up the NCAA leaderboard as she now sits 15th in the nation and among the top-10 vaulters in the West Region.
 
Junior Daina Levy had perhaps the most notable career achievement of the day as she launched one of the best hammer throw marks in school history. Levy uncorked a throw of 65.81 meters (215’11”) on her final attempt of the day to not only move into first on the leaderboard, but surpass her previous career best mark by over seven feet. The career mark wasn’t enough to give Levy her second-straight Kansas Relays hammer throw title as Kansas State’s Sara Savatovic posted a personal-record throw of her own on her last trip into the ring. Despite being forced to settle with the runner-up finish, Levy’s mark ranks as the 10th-best in program history and moved her into the top-five of the national rankings.
 
Junior Jacob Morgan met little resistance as he ran to his first Kansas Relays championship in the 5,000 meters. The Topeka, Kansas product was able to put more than 200 meters between himself and the next competitor midway through the 3.1-mile race and maintain his lead from there, cruising to the win in 14:20.17.
 
Sydney Conley again managed to shave some time of her continuously-dropping 100-meter personal best in a winning effort in the event Friday morning. The junior finished the race in 11.54, a time only four other KU women have bettered.
 
The men’s 4×400-meter relay squad of Jaime Wilson, Tre Daniels, Kenneth McCuin and Stigler ended the Jayhawks’ home meet with a bang. The quartet led throughout the race, never relinquishing the lead, even when a strong charge from the Purdue team came over the final leg. Stigler held off the Boilermakers and brought the Jayhawks across the finish line in 3:08.90.
 
Other Jayhawk victors Friday included McCuin (400 meters – 47.49), senior Josh Munsch (1,500 meters – 3:48.06), freshman Ben Burchstead (Steeplechase – 9:23.15) and freshman Sharon Lokedi (5,000 meters – 17:20.47).