Jan. 17, 2013

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LAWRENCE, Kan. - Kansas track & field head coach Stanley Redwine along with assistant coaches and select student-athletes met with members of the media Thursday morning to preview the highly anticipated 2013 season. Coach Redwine began the day with an overview of this year's men's and women's teams and was followed by his assistant coaches discussing their specific event groups. Below is are videos and transcripts of Redwine's, the assistants' and the athletes' comments.

Head Coach Stanley Redwine
"Thanks everyone for coming. First off I want to talk about Rock Chalk Park. We're very excited to have it. We're looking forward to the track portion of it. It's been a huge desire of ours since I've been here. I'm in my 13^th year and when I first got here they were talking about building a new track and that was something we were really looking forward to and now we're here 13 years later and it's actually happening. A big thanks goes out to Dr. Zenger and Tom and Dru Fritzel. So we're excited about that."

"We're excited about both the men's and women's teams. We have a coach that is gone and going to a meet, Coach (Tom) Hays is at the UCS Vault Summit in Reno, Nev. So he's not here. We're excited that things are going well with the team but there's still a lot of work that we have to do. We're excited where we are but, to me, we have a target on our back and we'll need to step up to the challenge every time we compete. We're looking forward to the opportunities to compete and get better."

"We've had a couple home meets already this year. Our men's team is really doing well. We had some facility records broken and some national leaders. On the women's team we also had some facility records breakers, school record breakers and NCAA leaders. Those are the things that we, as coaches, really work hard for. The athletes are really working hard to get better so we're excited that they've responded to everything that we have given to them. We're looking forward to making sure those things happen and looking forward to having a great season, both indoors and outdoors."

Sprints/Hurdles coach Elisha Brewer
"I'm Coach Brewer. This is my ninth season at KU. I'm excited about this year's team, men and women. We definitely have a very talented team. As Coach (Redwine) talked about, we've had a good start so far. Every group is working hard and working toward getting better. We know that our best races are yet to come so I'm looking forward to seeing the progress our team and our groups make. I'm definitely excited about the potential of the team but we also have to continue to work hard and do the little things that will make the difference. So far so good, but we're excited at the progress we're going to continue to make."

Horiztontal Jumps/Multi-Events coach Wayne Pate
"My name is Wayne Pate and I'm working with the horizontal jumps and the female mutli-events. Again, we're excited about everything that's happening here. Our kids are training very hard. We've made progress from where we were last year. I think this is the first year with my group where I feel like we're not starting from scratch. Our kids have progressed and I think they've retained some of the things that they've learned in the past. I'm excited about moving forward from this point. Our guys are a little young; I have a sophomore and a freshman. They still have work to do but they're putting the work in. Hopefully in the future they'll come around and do some things."

"Obviously our women's crew is very strong. We have a lot of senior leadership in Andrea (Geubelle) and Francine (Simpson). I think that our younger girls are doing everything they can to hold on to that tradition those senior girls have established. I think Lindsay (Vollmer) as well as Sydney Conley, who is (Coach Redwine's) niece, are responding very well to the training as well as any freshman that we have. It's a lot different than what she had in high school. She's having an adjustment period which most of the freshman do have but she's coming along just fine. We do have another senior who is in the mutli-events, Rebecca Neville, who's training really hard. She's actually PR'd in two of the meets we've had. I'm excited about the group of kids we have. I think there are going to be some big things that happen in our group and I hope you guys are around to watch it."

Middle Distance/Distance coach Michael Whittlesey
"My name is Michael Whittlesey. I'm an assistant coach here with the middle distance and distance. This is my fourth year with this staff and it's an unbelievable staff. It's great, as coach (Redwine) said, to have the new track facility and be in the midst of about to be breaking ground for that facility."

"With the middle distance/distance we lost a significant impact on the women's side with Rebeka Stowe but we do have a young freshman, Hannah Richardson, that I think is going to step in and have a good, solid impact on the middle distance side of things. We have a veteran coming back, Natalie Becker, who will help solidify that along with Maddy Rich and Kathleen Thompson. From a distance perspective, we have a couple seniors in Tessa Turcotte and Kyra Kilwein who are supposed to both hold strong in that area. We have a lot of work to do to really have the impact we need from a national standpoint. But I think there are some people that are in the position to really help the team on a consistent basis."

"On the men's side we return a really strong group. They had a very solid cross country season. I think they gained a lot of experience and confidence for what they can do, not only on a conference, but on a national, scene. Josh Munsch comes back from his first trip to nationals last year as a sophomore. So he's kind of our leader on the middle distance side with Reid Buchanan, who is going to be a solid contributor, as well as Gabe Gonzalez. Evan Landes, James Wilson and Josh Baden should be the strength of our distance program. We have a young freshman, Ty Williams, that's currently redshirting but he's hopefully going to have a big impact in the outdoor season."  

Throws coach Andy Kokhanovsky
"My name is Andy Kokhanovsky. I'm the throws coach. This is my eighth year here. I have four girls and three guys. One guy is injured. On the girls' side I think we're going to do well. We've had a few little injuries with two of our girls but they're getting well. They're getting healthy and I think if everything goes okay and goes well with training we should help the team to win nationals, conference, whatever we're supposed to win."

UP NEXT
With most of the team off for the next two weeks, the KU pole vaulters will journey to Reno, Nev., to take part in the UCS Pole Vault Summit on Saturday, Jan. 19. Updates and results of the meet can be found on KUAthletics.com or on Twitter at @KU_Track.

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