June 11, 2007

LAWRENCE, Kan. -

University of Kansas juniors Ashley Brown and Crystal Manning were named Outdoor All-Americans, the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Monday. The All-American honors brought Kansas' 2007 outdoor haul to eight individual student-athletes, the most in school history during the outdoor season.

Brown finished 10th in the women's 400-meter hurdles at the NCAA Championships in a school-record time of 57.15 seconds. She narrowly missed the finals of the event by two tenths of a second when she finished her semifinal heat in 57.46 seconds. She broke her own school record in the event's opening round.

Manning placed ninth in the women's triple jump with a leap of 42-08.25 (13.01m). She missed eighth place and scoring at the meet by 1-01.25, as Toledo's April Williams leapt 42-09.50. In the event's preliminaries, she jumped 43-09.25 (13.34m). Also, Manning shattered the school record this year when she won the Big 12 title with a jump of 44-11.75 (13.71m).

The All-America honors by Manning and Brown also bring the KU women's total to four in 2007, the most in school history. KU previously landed three female outdoor All-Americans in 1999 and 2005.

Excluding student-athletes who became All-Americans through participation on a relay team, the eight named outdoor All-American in 2007 is the most ever in Kansas history for student-athletes participating in individual events. The previous high for student-athletes competing in individual events was seven in 1959. Women All-Americans first started being named in 1978.

In Division I track and field, the top eight finishers in each event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, including relays, are accorded All-America status. In the individual (non-relay) events, if one or more of the top eight finishers are of another nationality, eight American-born athletes are selected in addition to any foreign-born All-Americans.

2007 Kansas Outdoor All-Americans
Egor Agafonov, Hammer Throw
Eric Babb, Long Jump
Ashley Brown, 400-meter hurdles
Abby Emsick, Discus
Julius Jiles, 110-meter hurdles
Crystal Manning, Triple Jump
Barrett Saunders, Long Jump
Kate Sultanova, Pole Vault

- KU -