Jayhawks enjoy successful Saturday at Emporia State Relays
EMPORIA, Kan. – Nine Jayhawks and two relay teams picked up top-three finishes as a large Kansas contingent took part in the Emporia State Relays Saturday inside Fran Welch Stadium. Junior Nicolai Ceban collected a victory in the discus by way of a career-best toss, while the Jayhawk women leaned to a win in the 4×400-meter relay.
The Kansas throwers once again dominated as three Jayhawks finished inside the top-four of the men’s discus. Ceban was impressive in his outdoor debut in the discus. The second team All-American posted a career-best and meet record throw of 60.01 meters (196-10) to claim the victory. The mark, which ranks third in the latest NCAA discus rankings, gave Ceban the win by nearly 12 feet over teammate Mitch Cooper, who claimed the runner-up finish with his toss of 56.42 meters (185-1).
Ceban’s mark has only been topped by five other Jayhawks in the program’s history.
Freshman Chris Gleghorn picked up a runner-up finish in the men’s long jump. The Stone Mountain, Georgia product got out to a mark of 7.34 meters (24-1), a leap that has him ranked inside the top-35 in the all-important NCAA West Regional rankings as well as eighth in the Big 12.
Ezekiel Welch also saw a solid outdoor opener in the horizontal jump pits Saturday. The junior posted a runner-up finish in triple jump by way of his mark of 14.63 meters (48-0).
On the track, the women’s 4×400-meter relay squad of Wumi Omare, Chloe Akin-Otiko, Talia Marquez and Zantori Dickerson closed out the night with a win. The foursome got the baton across in 3:52.91, more than three seconds faster than the runner-up team out of Central Missouri.
Kansas will hit the road once again when the teams journey to Tempe, Arizona for the Sun Angel Classic April 7-8. For updates and results from the weekend in Arizona, log on to KUAthletics.com and follow on Twitter and Instagram at @KUTrack.
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