KU Women Earn Highest Big 12 Outdoor Finish in School History

Manning, the defending champion in the triple jump, placed second in the event on Sunday.

May 18, 2008

BOULDER, Colo. - On the heels of two school records, the University of Kansas women earned their best team finish in Big 12 Outdoor history on Sunday. The women placed fourth while the men were ninth at the 2008 Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Aiding the women's team was junior Nickesha Anderson's effort in the 200 meters. The Hanover, Jamaica, native broke a 27-year-old Kansas record, finishing third. Her time of 22.57 marked the first time in school history in which a woman broke the 23-second barrier in the event. The old record of 23.0 was set in 1981 by Lori Green-Jones at the Husker Invitational. Anderson also scored in the 100-meter dash, finishing in sixth-place with a time of 11.35.

The women's 400-meter relay team set the second KU school record of the day with their finish of 44.61. The team of senior Crystal Manning, Anderson, senior Ashley Brown and junior Victoria Howard passed the 2006 time of 44.99 from the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships. Manning and Howard were also on that team.

Manning added to the women's rise in the standings as the Big 12 runner-up in the women's triple jump, nearly eclipsing her school record from the 2007 conference meet. Manning's third jump of 13.66 meters (44-09 ¾ ft.) was her best of the season and the fourth-best in the NCAA this year.

In the 400-meter hurdles, Brown and junior Sha'Ray Butler placed third and fifth, respectively. Brown improved her regional time by finishing in 58.37 and Butler crossed the finish line at 1:00.31.

Sophomore Lauren Bonds added some key scoring for the Jayhawk women in the afternoon with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Her time of 10:56.13 adjusts to 10:38.02 due to Boulder's high altitude and improves her regional qualifying time.

The men's team gained 12 points from the pole vault with sophomore Jordan Scott placing second and sophomore Kirk Cooper finishing fifth. Scott, the winner of three Big 12 Championships in the event (two indoor and one outdoor), reached 5.30 meters (17 feet, 4 ½ inches), while Cooper matched his top mark this year, surpassing 5.05 meters (16-06 ¾ ft.).

Senior Julius Jiles ran to a second-place finish in the 110-meter hurdles. His time of 13.72 trailed only Shawon Harris of Texas Tech - the region's top performer in the event.

Senior Matt Baysinger was fourth in the 800 meters after finishing at 1:50.63 while senior Hugh Murphy was fifth in the men's javelin. Throwing into the wind throughout the event, Murphy's opening toss of 62.66 meters (205-07 ft.) was the second-best of the season for him.

The fourth-place finish for the women was their best conference showing since placing fourth at the 1995 Big Eight Championships. The 83.5 points is also a new record for the KU women at the Big 12 outdoor meet while the men completed competition with 41.

Texas A&M took home the women's team championship with 157 points while host Colorado won the Big 12 men's championship with 138 points. It was the first conference title for the Buffaloes since 1947 as they scored 80 points in the distance events alone.

Next up for the Jayhawks is the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships in Lincoln, Neb. May 30-31. Kansas will enter the meet with 29 regional qualifying marks. Check back with kuathletics.com for all the information and results.

KU Big 12 Championships Results:

Men:

110-Meter Hurdles: 2-Jiles (13.78p, 13.72f)

200 Meters: 14-Toussaint (21.80)

400 Meters: 13-Toussaint (47.83), 21-Rollins (48.77), 23-Frigon (49.58)

400-Meter Hurdles: 14-Jiles (54.05)

800 Meters: 4-Baysinger (1:50.62p, 1:50.63f)

5,000 Meters: 13-Hefferon (15:23.82), 23-Caprario (16:03.24), 24-Imgrund (16:13.82)

10,000 Meters: 8-Hefferon (31:15.08), 12-Caprario (32:08.54)

400-Meter Relay: 9-KU (41.41)

1,600-Meter Relay: 7-KU (3:10.06)

Hammer: 1-Agafonov (67.65m)

High Jump: 14-Scherzer (2.00m)

Javelin: 5-Murphy (62.66m), 15-Kirk (56.18m)

Long Jump: 9-Fattig (7.32m), 11-Saunders (7.21m), 15-Turner (7.07m), 19-Stallbaumer (6.93m)

Pole Vault: 2-Scott (5.30m), 5-Cooper (5.05m), 16-Merrill (4.75m)

Triple Jump: 16-Stallbaumer (14.29m), 18-Fattig (14.04m)

Women:

100 Meters: 6-Anderson (11.35p, 11.35f), 13-Howard (11.85)

100-Meter Hurdles: 9-Brown (13.75)

200 Meters: 3-Anderson (23.13p, 22.57f), 13-Howard (23.68)

400 Meters: 13-Gaines (56.47)

400-Meter Hurdles: 3-Brown (59.41p, 58.37), 5-Butler (1:01.03p, 1:00.31f)

800 Meters: 6-Pencil (2:09.59p, 2:11.68f), 16-Gruenbacher (2:16.52), 18-Stowers (2:17.12)

3,000-Meter Steeplechase: 4-Bonds (10:56.13)

5,000 Meters: 15-Harbert (18:28.10), 19-Miller (18:55.44)

10,000 Meters: 9-Harbert (37:30.73), 11-Miller (37:55.59), 14-McGregor (38:11.01)

400-Meter Relay: 5-KU (44.61)

1,600-Meter Relay: 5-KU (3:40.02)

Discus: 17-Horton (43.60m)

Javelin: 13-Cunningham (35.70m)

Hammer: 3-Tarasova (59.98m)

High Jump: 3-Erb (1.75m)

Long Jump: 5-Manning (6.19m)

Pole Vault: 1-Sultanova (4.10m), 3-Harmon (4.00m), 4-Cummings (4.00m)

Shot Put: 5-Horton (16.05m)

Triple Jump: 2-Manning (13.66m)

Women - Team Rankings - All Events Scored
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1) Texas A&M 157

2) Nebraska 105
3) Texas Tech 101.5

4) KANSAS 83.5
5) Kansas State 76.50

6) Oklahoma 75
7) Baylor 59

7) Texas 59
9) Iowa State 36.5

10) Missouri 35
11) Oklahoma State 17

12) Colorado 13

Men - Team Rankings - All Events Scored
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1) Colorado 138

2) Texas A&M 121
3) Texas 96

4) Nebraska 95
5) Texas Tech 76

6) Baylor 72
7) Oklahoma 55

8) Missouri 49
9) KANSAS 41

10) Kansas State 38
11) Iowa State 26

12) Oklahoma State 11