Kansas rocks Relays

Track and field team, fans show stuff at Memorial Stadium

By By Patrick Shehan (Contact)

Monday, April 25, 2005

The Jayhawk track and field team had something to prove at the Kansas Relays. The team wanted to show fans that track stars don’t have to be imported to Lawrence. They can be grown here, too.

Senior Jeremy Mims proved just that on Saturday. He impressed local fans in the men’s 800-meter invitational with a convincing victory over Big 12 rival Dmitrijs Milkevics of Nebraska. Mims ran a regionally qualifying time of 1:50.00. The field he defeated included University of Missouri alumnus Derrick Peterson.

Peterson was one of the Olympic athletes brought in for the Gold Zone Invitational. At the U.S. Olympic trials last year, he qualified for last summer’s Olympics in Athens, Greece. Milkevics finished second by running in 1:50.29. Peterson finished third with a time of 1:51.62.

“The conditions today aren’t really timed,” Mims said. “Timewise, I wasn’t really worried about it.”

Mims spoke of the deep field of competition that was brought in for the invitational, and whether this was the most competitive race of the season.

“As far as names, yes,” Mims said. “Dmitrijs’s a guy I can look forward to racing against in conference. It’s going to be like that all season.”

Mims credits his victory in part to his confidence.

“Everyone goes in expecting to win,” Mims said. “I’m not afraid of anyone on the track.”

Although he had the fans’ support, Mims enjoys his anonymity among athletes in Lawrence. Mims had friends and family in the crowd, though.

“There’s a lot of people here, and a lot of people that love KU,” Mims said. “It’s not me, it’s the uniform that everyone’s cheering for.”

Mims took the opportunity to show the fans what KU track has to offer.

“They don’t get to see you a lot, so to come here and give them a win is really nice and definitely satisfying

Brooklyn Hann also chalked up a victory for Kansas, winning the women’s invitational triple jump. Her best jump of 43 feet, 3.75 inches was two inches farther than second-place finisher Vanitta Kinard.

“The fans were great,” Hann said. “You want people to know how hard you’ve been working.”

The pressure to win wasn’t overwhelming for Hann.

“It’s just a good day to relax and jump far,” Hann said. “Hopefully, next week I’ll do better.”

A far less likely victory was Abby Emsick’s in the women’s discus. She threw 50 meters in her first attempt, solidifying her spot in the finals. After that, she was on cruise control.

“It’s always nice to get a mark that will get you to finals,” said Emsick. “It helps you relax.”

Emsick’s has won at the Relays before, but this is her first victory as a Jayhawk. She won last year as an unattached competitor.

“The Kansas Relays has never really gone that well for me. This is the best I’ve ever done, and the furthest I’ve ever thrown,” Emsick said of her performance at the Relays.

 

Related articles

Penn, Drake Relays to divide track team

/news/2005/apr/29/sports_track_preview/

Running up the track accolades

/news/2005/apr/05/sports_track_mims/

Jayhawks named All-Americans

/news/2005/jun/15/NCAA_track_championships/

Kansas Relays to begin on Wednesday

Olympic athletes Bershawn Jackson and Scott Russell, among others, are slated to ...

/news/2009/apr/14/kansas_relays/

Relays renaissance

/news/2005/apr/21/sports_track_relays_history/

Jumper to leave record, legacy

/news/2005/may/05/sports_track_hann/

Jumper, vaulter leap past records

/news/2005/feb/07/sports_track_jumper/

Gruber to run at Relays

/news/2005/apr/20/sports_track_gruber/

Fans flock to see Olympic runners

/news/2005/apr/25/sports_track_gold/

Relays boast track stars

/news/2005/mar/31/sports_trackandfield_jones/

Track team splits up to head to ...

Sprinters head to Arkansas while distance runners go up to Iowa.

/news/2009/feb/13/track_splits/

Track team splits up to head to ...

Sprinters head to Arkansas while distance runners go up to Iowa.

/news/2009/feb/13/team_splits/

Track and field wins 14 first places

/news/2005/jan/31/sports_trackandfield_places/

Coach says mental preparation key

/news/2005/feb/25/sports_football_trackfield/

Jayhawk runner sets record in 3,000-meter event

/news/2005/feb/14/sports_trackandfield_runner/

Kansas Relays brings Olympic athletes to Lawrence

The 85th Annual Kansas Relays begins tomorrow in downtown Lawrence at 6 ...

/news/2012/apr/17/kansas-relays-brings-olympic-athletes-lawrence/

Olympic tradition continues at Relays

From hurdlers to long distance runners, the Kansas Relays will feature a ...

/news/2009/apr/17/olympic/

Jayhawks can’t jump the hurdle to the ...

KU track and field athletes compete for spots on the U.S. Olympic ...

/news/2008/jul/09/olympics/

Athletes ready for the Kansas Relays

2010 event features Olympic medal-winners and other collegiate runners.

/news/2010/apr/14/athletes-ready-kansas-relays/

Jayhawks succeed, break records in Kansas Relays

High school and college athletes, along with world-class Olympians, competed last week ...

/news/2008/apr/21/kansas_relays/

Don't miss these athletes at the Kansas ...

Jayhawks and Olympic athletes will be competing this week in Memorial Stadium.

/news/2010/apr/15/athletes-not-miss-ku-relays/

Long jumper sets personal-best leap

Babb, the 2006 first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference athlete, beat out the ...

/news/2007/apr/23/throwers/

Dixon outruns Olympic gold-medalist at Kansas Relays

Diamond Dixon won second place with the fastest time in the NCAA ...

/news/2012/apr/22/dixon-outruns/

Behind the scenes remains official business

/news/2005/apr/19/sports_trackandfield_beene/

Track and field jumper sets high goals

Junior Andrea Geubelle won Female Big 12 Track and Field Athlete of ...

/news/2012/feb/20/track-jumper/

Women's relay team breaks University record

The track team broke personal and University records last weekend at the ...

/news/2012/apr/15/womens-relay-team-breaks-university-record/

Track and Field hopes to keep momentum ...

The Kansas Relays will showcase some world-class athletes, including World Champions and ...

/news/2008/apr/16/track_and_field_hopes_maintain_momentum_kansas_rel/

‘World class’ athletes tapped for relays

The Kansas Relays have managed to attract a fair number of famous ...

/news/2007/apr/09/relays/

Five qualify for track and field regionals

While rain prevented pole vaulters from competing, athletes in other events fought ...

/news/2007/apr/09/track/

Kansas Relays: World record holder takes first ...

Hurdler wins at Kansas Relays on her way to the USA national ...

/news/2011/apr/23/kansas-relays/

Women basketball players ready for changes

/news/2005/sep/27/womens_basketball/

Track splits up for weekend meets

The Kansas track and field team will head to the Drake Relays, ...

/news/2007/apr/27/track/

Webb runs sub-four mile, 'Batman' withdraws

Kansas Relays concludes its fourth and final day of events with record-setting ...

/news/2009/apr/18/Relays/

Jayhawks finish Kansas Relays with victories

Success at the Kansas Relays boosts the women's track team ranking to ...

/news/2012/apr/24/jayhawks-finish-kansas-relays-victories/

Relays brings together professional, collegiate athletes

The Jayhawks racked up numerous victories at the 80th Kansas Relays this ...

/news/2007/apr/23/relays/

NEW: Gold Zone on the horizon

/news/2006/apr/21/new_goldzone_horizon/

Jiles brings experience, history into weekend

/news/2005/apr/21/sports_track_relays_jiles/

Outdoor track and field starts strong

The Kansas outdoor track and field season started off well with 10 ...

/news/2007/mar/26/track/

Track and field teams dominate Missouri meet

Both the women’s and men’s teams brought home victories for the Jayhawks.

/news/2012/jan/16/track-and-field--dominate-missouri/

Record-breaking runner in final season

Nickesha Anderson’s run has been historic, and she was part of the ...

/news/2009/apr/13/anderson/

Comments

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.

Sign in to comment

Advertisement