Jayhawks Off to Fast Start at Husker Invitational

Day 1 Results  |  Kansas Results

LINCOLN, Neb. – The Kansas track & field teams kicked off their weekend strong at the Husker Invitational Friday inside the Bob Devaney Center. Sophomore Laura Taylor tallied a top-10 finish while freshman Ivan Henry and senior Drew Matthews turned in season-best outings in the 400 meters.
 
In a stacked field in the pole vault, Taylor leaped to an indoor career best clearance en route to a 10^th-place finish as well as the eighth-place mark among the collegians entered. The sophomore needed just four vaults to clear her three bars on the day. On her first attempt at 3.88 meters (12’8¾”) Taylor slipped over the bar to post a new personal best in the indoor event, bettering her previous high by more than three inches. The mark moved her among the top-eight Big 12 vaulters.
 
Henry and Matthews also strong outings in the 400 meters. Running in the sixth of 10 heats, Henry completed his two laps in a season-best clocking of 48.70, the fastest time by a Jayhawk so far this season. Matthews, who ran in the ninth of 10 heats, wasn’t far behind after he posted a quarter-mile time of 48.78, also a season best. Henry and Matthews’s times earned them 23^rd and 26^th-place place finishes in the 54-man field.
 
In the women’s 400 meters, freshman Nicole Montgomery turned in another impressive outing as she took 12^th in one of the fastest 400-meter fields she has seen in her young collegiate career. The Colorado Springs, Colorado product was narrowly edged at the finish line to claim third in the eighth heat. Montgomery’s time of 56.16 was just .1 seconds off from her season best. Sophomore Megan Linder also saw a strong outing with a personal best time of 56.94 and a 22^nd-place finish.
 
The Jayhawks will return to the Bob Devaney Sports Center Saturday to compete on the final day of the Husker Invitational. Action will begin at 12 p.m. with the men’s shot put and the men’s triple jump and conclude at 4:56 p.m., with the men’s 4×400-meter relay.
 
 
KUAthletics.com: The official online source for Kansas Athletics, Williams Education Fund contributions, tickets, merchandise, multimedia, photos and much, much more.
 ###