Senior Amy Linnen sets a new school record in the pole vault during the 2005 NCAA Track and Field Outdoor Championships. Linnen finished third in the event with a height of 14-1 1/4.

At the end of the collegiate track and field season the Kansas track and field team had three of its members named as All-American athletes.

KU athletes Jeremy Mims, Sheldon Battle and Amy Linnen received All-American honors for this season’s achievements.

Twelve members of the women’s and men’s teams competed in Sacramento June 8 through 11. That is the most athletes to attend the NCAA Championships since Head Coach Stanley Redwine arrived at the University.

The first two days of the Championships were spent in the preliminary rounds to determine which athletes would move on to the finals. Five athletes from the KU track team qualified for the finals.

“The entire meet was great overall, there were good performances in all the events,” said senior middle distance runner Mims. “It was exciting to see some of the top athletes in the nation compete and be there when collegiate records were broken by people that I knew or had competed against.”

Mims qualified for the finals in the 800-meter run. He finished 4th overall with a time of 1:45.86. This time is a personal best for Mims and the second best time in KU school history.

“It was a little disappointing for me personally,” Mims said. “Coach and I had a great strategy for me to win the race and I feel like I let him down, but it was a great experience anyway.”

Sheldon Battle, junior, concentrates on the throw. Battle finished second in shotput with a personal best distance on June 10, during the 2005 NCAA Outdoor Championships.

Junior thrower Battle qualified for the finals in both the shotput and discus throw. He placed 2nd in the shotput with a throw of 66-07 1/4, and 11th in the discus throw. Battle competed in three separate events at the NCAA Championships. He also placed 16th in the hammer throw preliminaries with a throw of 199-05.

Both women pole vaulters who qualified for the NCAA Championships also made it to the finals. Senior pole vaulter Lennin placed 3rd overall, setting a new school record with a height of 14-01 1/4, and freshman Ekaterina Sultanova took 7th place. Senior Brooklyn Hann made it to the finals in triple jump, placing 8th in the competition.

Other notable performances include freshman Julius Jiles, who ended his freshman career Wednesday with an 11th-place finish in the 110 meter hurdles. On June 9, first time competitor at the NCAA Championships and senior thrower Jen Widerstrom placed 19th in the hammer throw, ending her career with a new school record throw of 185 feet.

A selected few of the KU Track and Field team members will receive invitations to compete in the U.S. Championships.