Saturday's track meet promises success

Friday, January 18, 2008

Junior sprinter and long jumper Crystal Manning doesn’t believe in pain. This is how she gets through her grueling races and events for the KU track and field team, she said.

Manning’s strategy seems to be working well, as she, along with three other KU athletes, provisionally qualified for the indoor NCAA Championships last weekend at the Arkansas Invitational.

“I think a lot of people stepped up,” Manning said. “A lot of people are surprising themselves when they step out of their comfort zone.”

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I think a lot of people stepped up. A lot of people are surprising themselves when they step out of their comfort zone.

—Crystal Manning, junior sprinter and long jumper

Senior distance runner, Paul Hefferon, is excited about this year’s team as well. “We have a really well-rounded team this year,” he said. “We’ll get points from every category.”

The 11th ranked men and 27th ranked women will need points from every category Saturday as they host four premier teams in the Kansas Invitational. The Jayhawks will face stiff competition, including Missouri, UMKC, Tulsa and Wichita State. The event will be held at the Anschutz Pavilion and is one of two indoor home meets for the Jayhwaks this season.

Redwine said he was excited about the team’s strong start, but added that there was plenty of room for improvement at this Saturday’s meet.

“We need to continue to compete harder,” he said. “I think a lot of them really competed well [in Arkansas]. We made some mistakes and we need to correct them.”

Those mistakes should be corrected this Saturday as the Jayhawks compete on their home turf.

“It’s going to be a great meet for us. This is where we train every day. It’s a great opportunity for our friends, families and track supporters to watch,” Nickesha Anderson, Hanover, Jamaica, junior said. At the Arkansas Invitational, Anderson set a new school record in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 23.77 seconds. Saturday she hopes to better her time, she said.

Other athletes to watch include senior Jordan Scott, junior Zlata Tarasova and sophomore Kelsey Erb, who all won their respective events at the Arkansas invitational.

“It’s always really good to compete at home,” Redwine said. “There’s something special about competing in your area and doing well. We have very few meets in which the fans can come and support us.”

Track and field events begin Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Anschutz Pavillion and will last most of the day.

—Edited by Matt Hirschfeld

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