Kansas Relays

Detailed Results: BOYS - GIRLS - Highlights

Highlights

by Anthony Boza

Weather Friday was wind-blown and cool, heavy homestretch winds by the the
afternoon session with the 400's on. Saturday dawned cool and clear for the
4 x 800's, but by the 100's pouring rain was coming down from a prarie
thunderstorm.

Numerous past and present KU athletes and Olympians appeared at the meet,
signing autographs and meeting younsters, giving very generously of their
time. Billy Mills (Olympic 10K champ in 1964) was down in the staging areas
after races, seemingly talking for hours to anyone who wanted a word. Jim
Ryun and Wes Santee (great miler from the 1950's) both circled the track and
spent time afterwards with fans. Scott Huffman (former American PV
record-holder) and Pat Manson competed in the vault, and then spent time with
fans. Kent Floerke (1964 Olympic TJ'er) and Bill Alley (1960 Olympic JT)
also appeared, along with Bob Timmons, KU track coach from the mid 1960-s to
mid 80's). Along with a number of Olympic athletes who appeared in the open
division and then went into the stands for their fans, enough can't be said
of the time these people were willing to spend Friday and Saturday with the
competitors and fans of track and field.
Complete results, including the high school, college, university and open
divisions can be found at http://www.kuathletics.com/

FRIDAY.
Girls Long Jump: Elkhorn NE's Holly Hinrichs dealt best with windy
conditions to leap 18-2.25. Oak Grove MO's Nina Gooden was second at 17-9.5,
followed by Maralene Zwarich (SM North) at 17-7.5.

Girls Javelin: Kendra Wecker (Marysville) rocketed the javelin out 166-7 for
a massive win to start off a great KU Relays for the K-State basketball/track
signee.
Wecker won by almost 30 feet in unfavorable conditons, and would return
Saturday to anchor Marysville to a 4 x 100 win. Salina Central's Ashleigh
Keats threw 134-6 for second.

Boys Javelin: Baldwin's Eric Brown narrowly won over Wichita Heights Garret
Labus, both throwing 198-9, Brown winning on the better backup. Manhattan's
Matt Schwant was third at 193-4 as heavy winds hampered a tense competition.

Boys Long Jump: Cleavon Dillon (Leavenworth), the nation's leading indoor
jumper, made his outdoor debut at the KU Relays. Dealing the best with
strong winds that made havoc of checkmarks, Dillon jumped 23-11.5 to win by
over a foot from Tulsa Edison's Zachary Winters 22-7.25. DeSoto Mill
Valley's Dominque Burgin took third at 22-0.25

Boys Pole Vault: Andale's Dylan Schmidt, the defending state 4A champion,
raised his state leading mark to 15-11. Phil Brandt (Kearney NE) was second
and Mike Mehring (Buhler) third, both at 14-11

Girls 3200: Riley County's Amy Mortimer pulled away late from Leavenworth's
Amy Hastin to score an 11:04.17-11:09.03 win. Manhattan's Harper McConnell
led the chase pack, placing third at 11:30.31

Boys 3200: Kearney NE's Luke Garringer continued his school's tradition of
success at the KU Relays, scoring a 9:16.73 win over Liberty MO's Josh Davis
at 9:20.34. Garringer's team mate Drew Tonniges placed third at 9:25.55

Girls 100 heats: Naomi Williams (Kansas City MO Northeast) led the
qualifiers with a 12.32 win in heat 1, holding off Blue Valley Northwest's
Jan Seale at 12.39. Marysville's Courtney Bruna won heat two at 12.40, and
SM West's Megan Robinson won heat 3 at 12.55

Boys 100 heats : Leavenworth's Cleavon Dillon, fresh from his LJ victory,
won heat one at 10.86, just edging Lacey Horner (Wichita Southeast-10.87).
Olathe North's Darren Sproles won heat two at 10.93, and Joseph Ferguson
(Kansas City MO Pembroke Hill) won heat three at 10.92.

Girls Distance Medley: Jenks (OK), anchored by 1600 champion Briann McLeod,
destroyed the field, and the KU Relays record, with a dominating 12:29.3 win.
The old record was 12:44. Jenks jumped into the lead on the first step of
the 1200 leg, and simply ran off, leaving Lawrence Free State in second at
13:21.1 and Manhattan third at 13:22.2.

Boys Distance Medley: Lockhart (TX) and Jenks (OK) locked up a step-for-step
duel from the opening leg, with Lockhart winning in 10:34.5 over Jenk's
10:35.9. Leavenworth placed third at 10:47.5.

Girls 300 hurdles Manhattan's Julie Curtis dominated the field, winning
heat three in 43.26 for a new KU Relays record. Harrisonville MO's Jenny
Woodward ran a 46.39 in Curtis's wake for second in the section, and the
second best overall. Wichita Heights Brianna Woodard won section one at
47.66, and Wathena's Annika Haedt section two at 47.70.

Boys 300 hurdles SM Northwest's Pete Kelley scored a victory in 39.75 from
section two. Team mate Aaron Thomson won section one at 41.16, while the
third section was won by Junction City's Anthony Thomas (39.90).

Girls 400: In the final section, Hutchinson freshman Morgan Bonds used her
strength (she was 6A cross country runnerup) to hold off KC Northeast's Naomi
Williams and score a 57.40 to 57.44 victory. Tiffany Bilderback
(Leavenworth) placed third in 58.16 as the field battled a brutal homestretch
wind in the last 100.

Boys 400: Topeka Seaman sophomore Ryan Irvin dueled classmate Drew Moreno
(St. Thomas Aquinas) in a thrilling homestretch that saw Irivin eake out a
49.70 to 49.10 win. Kansas City KS Wyanotte's Kwame Overton was third at
50.19.

Girls 1600: Jenk's (OK) sophomore Brianna McLeod, who also ran on a record
setting DMR, and would run on Jenk's winning 4 x 800 Saturday, scored an
individual win in the 1600, pulling away in mid-race to a 5:10.39. 3200
champ Erin Mortimer (Riley County) stayed withhin striking distance
throughout the race to finish in 5:13.54. Early leader Alshley Sanders
(Clinton MO) placed third at 5:15.0

Boys Jim Ryun Mile: Congressman and Kansas legend Jim Ryun fired the gun to
start this race, then joined the crowd to watch the thrilling finish. Blue
Valley North's Scott Loftin jumped to an immediate lead and paced the field
through a 2:06 880, with Liberty MO sophomore Adam Perkins a step or two
behind. After passing the 1320 at 3:13, Loftin made a strong backstretch
move with Perkins still a stride behind, and Mountain Home (AR) senior Eric
Gross making up a ten yard gap. The three flew around the final turn and
into the windy homestretch with Loftin still in the lead, Perkins now on his
shoulder, and Gross moving wide two come into the lead by maybe a body width
with 50 to go. Perkins fought for the lead in the middle, with Loftin
wind-milling his arms, as with 20 yards left, all three went side-by-side.
At the line, with the crowd on it's feet, Loftin leaned foward,with his arms
flailing and all three fell across the line. A replay of the finish on the
KU Scoreboard JumboTron TV screen showed Loftin winning by a body-width at
4:13.97, with Gross and Perkins almost inseperable. Gross was given a photo
second at 4:14.04 with Perkins third at 4:14.05.

Girls 800: Topeka Shawnee Heights freshman Trisha Nicoley added the KU
Relays 800 title to her 5A state cross country championship. Nicoley led
early on the way to a 2:17.3 triumph. Maize's Liz Kramer, the defending 6A
1600 champion, was second at 2:18.8, with Edmunds' (McLouth) third at 2:19.6

Boys 800: Brandon Hodges, competing unattached, dominated the second section
and won in 1:53.9. Liberty's Adam Perkins, coming back from that exciting
mile, placed second in the section and third overall in 1:56.5. Pawnee
Heights Christian Smith (1A state runnerup last year) roared to an early lead
in the first section and hammered a 1:56.3 to place second overall.

Boys High Jump: Paola's Jesse Sims overcame windy conditions to win at 6-10,
and have a very close miss at 7-0. St. Charles West's (MO) Brett Terp
placed second at 6-6 and Derby's Nick Reid was third at 6-4.

Girls High Jump: Gardner-Edgerton Dani McNanay won at 5-7, with DeSoto Mill
Valley's second at 5-5.

Girls Pole Vault: Lindsey Bourne (Joplin MO) leaped 11-11.75 to win over
Hesston's Christi Lehman (11-5.75). Kearney NE's Christy Perry was third at
10-11.75.

SATURDAY
Girls 3200 Relay: Jenks (OK) again blew out on top in the opening leg, and
ran off to a 9:52.21 win, with Wichita Kaupan Mt.-Carmel second at 9:58.58.
Wichita Bishop Carroll placed third a 10:00.68.

Boys 3200 Relay: Smokey Hill came down from Colorado and devasted the 3200
field with a 7:52.26 victory. Kearney NE placed second at 8:01.58 with Jenks
(OK) third at 8:01.93 .

Boys 100: Leavenworth's Cleavon Dillon took the 100 crown to add to his LJ
triumph. Dillooon's 10.68 victory gave him a clear margin over Lacey Horner
(Wichita East) 10.88 and Olathe North's Darren Sproles (10.96).

Girls 100: Namoi Williams (Kansas City MO Northeast) scored a narrow 12.23
win over Marysville's Courtney Bruna (12.27). Jan Seale's (Blue Valley
Northwest) was third at 12.44

Boys Shot Put: Maize's Kris Hinson, a glider with amazing quickness, popped
a 59 footer, then followed that up with a 60-3.25 winner. El Dorado's Colby
Cost placed second at 57-8.5, followed by Kearney NE's Josh Krolikowski at
56-0.

Girls Shop Put: Jessica McFarland (Derby) tossed a 43-7.75 winner, with
Concordia's Taby Robbins second at 42-4 and Towanda-Circle's Kellie Krahn
third at 40-7

Boys 110 Hurdles: Smoky Hill (CO) scored their second win of the day as
Jason Cook broke on top early on the way to a 14.35 win. Kansas City MO
Ruskin hurdler Jamarquis Jordan was second at 14.51, with Derby's Nick Reid
third at 14.92.

Girls 100 Hurdles: Julie Curtis (Manhattan), added to her KU Relays Record
300 hurdles win Friday. Shooting form the blocks, Curtis won in 14.42 from
runner-up Jenny Woodward (Harrisonville MO) 14.97. Ashleigh Keats (Salina
Central) was third at 15.13.

Boys Triple Jump: Shawnee Mission Bishop Miege's Michael Stewart scored a
45-4.5 win. Hutchinson's Sean Buford was second at 43-9.75, and Emporia'a
Anthony Karanja third at 43-4.5 with winds beginning to swirl.

Girls Triple Jump: Kansas City Sumner Acadamy's Rayna Boyd scored a 36-6
win. Hutchinson's Morgan Bonds showed some more of her athletic talent
(having been the 6A state cross country runner-up, and winning the 400 here
on Friday), placing second at 35-2.5, with Emporia's Shelly Miller third at
34-9

Girls Discus: Melanie Uher (Wilber-Clatonia) came south from Iowa and showed
good quickness in the ring, winning at 139-11. Krystal Bowes of Louisburg
placed second at 130-11 with Kristi Stillwell (Beloit) third at 127-8.

Boys Discus: Hutchinson Trinity's Ryun Ketchum tossed a 173-3 winner. El
Dorado's Colby Cost won his second silver medal at 166-6, with Conan Gifford
(Kearney NE) third at 162-10.

Girls 400 Relay: A prarie thunderstorm rolled in, dowsing the track and
runners in rain as the 400 relay got underway. Marysville's Courtney Bruna
shot out of the blocks to give her school, situated in a farming community of
about 3000 in north-central Kansas, a quick lead. On the anchor, Kendra
Wecker roared away down the homestretch, giving Marysville a 48.90 victory
over Grandview MO 49.16, and Jenks OK 49.34.

Boys 400 Relay: With rain still falling hard, Olathe North's Darren Sproles
gave his team the lead with a brilliant third leg, and North rolled to a
43.38 win over SM Northwest (43.68) with Junction City third (43.72).

Girls 1600 Relay: Leavenworth pulled steadily away from the field on a damp
night to win in 4:00.28. Grandview MO was second at 4:03.05, and Jenks (OK)
finished a great KU Relays for their school at third in 4:05.12.

Boys 1600 Relay: Smoky Hill (CO) took the lead early, but Jenks (OK) used
mid-race strength and a big anchor to score a 3:19.61 victory to close out
the 2001 KU Relays. Lawrence Free State placed second at 3:22.40. Smoky Hill
was third at 3:22.40.