The Kansas Relays opened yesterday at Memorial Stadium with events from the heptathlon and decathlon, marking the 80th anniversary of the Relays.

During the eight decades of competition, the Relays has featured some of the finest athletes in the world. Olympian Glenn Cunningham competed for Kansas in the mile run, which is now named after him. In the 1960s, Jim Ryun represented the Jayhawks in the mile, winning four titles in that event. More recently, Kansas’ Charlie Gruber won three titles at the Relays and later went on to compete in the 2004 Olympics. Basketball star Wilt Chamberlain even competed at the Relays, finishing third in the triple jump in 1956 and second in the high jump the following year.

Candace Dunback, curator of the Booth Family Hall of Athletics, first competed at the Relays in 1995 as a high school senior from Nevada, Mo., while being recruited by Kansas. Though she hadn’t told the coaches yet, Dunback said she had already decided she wanted to be a Jayhawk.

“They were still recruiting me pretty hard,” Dunback said. “It was late in the day so not many people were still there, but the coaches got all of the athletes together to come and support me.”

Dunback cleared 5-7 in the high jump that evening and won the event. At Kansas, she went on to compete in the heptathlon, although for two of her years at the University, the Relays were cancelled while a press box was being built at the stadium. Former meet director Tim Weaver named the event after her.

Many other former athletes also still have ties to the meet. Former middle- distance runner Steve Heffernan competed for the Jayhawks from 1987 to 1990 and now coaches at Lawrence Free State, which will compete in the high school portion of the Relays.

Heffernan said his fondest memory from his time competing in the meet was the 4x800 relay his junior year in 1989. He said the team knew it had a chance to win before the race, but doubts arose during the second leg of the race when the Kansas runner lost his shoe with a lap to go.

“The shoe came off halfway at first and he tried to run with it, but that wasn’t working so he just kicked it off,” Heffernan said. “He always wore tube socks so he had about eight inches of sock flopping around.”

Despite only having one shoe, the runner finished his leg in fifth place. He handed off to Heffernan for the third leg, who moved the team up to second place for the final leg, where the anchor took the lead for good.

Heffernan said he thought the level of competition in collegiate events has dropped in recent years, but he was confident that it was headed back in the right direction. He said the high school side of the meet has grown immensely since he first competed in the relays as a high school senior in 1986.

Marilyn Stokstad, retired Distinguished Professor of Art History Emeriti, first attended the relays in 1959 at the suggestion of a friend. She’d been a swimming fan before coming to Kansas and said the meet captured her interest and converted her to a follower of track and field.

Stokstad said the variety of events taking place simultaneously impressed her.

“It was like a circus,” she said. “There’s no downtime at the Relays.”

Stokstad also served as the director of the Museum of Art, which is now Spooner Hall. Even when she had work to do and couldn’t be at the Relays, she saw the effect that the thousands of spectators had on the campus.

“People came in the door at the museum and tried to act casual,” Stokstad said. “Then, their first and only question would be ‘Where is the ladies’ room,’ or ‘where is the men’s room?’ I felt as though I was a grade school toilet monitor rather than a distinguished professor.”

Stokstad said she planned to attend the Relays again this year as long as the weather stayed nice.

Heffernan will be coaching his Lawrence Free State athletes in the high school competition, which begins Friday, and Dunback said she planned to attend the heptathlon and several other events.

For those three, the history of the Relays is more than the story of a track meet; it is a part of the their own history and will continue to be.

Kansan staff writer Kyle Carter can be contacted at kcarter@kansan.com.

­— Edited by Ashley Thompson