Track & field athletes advance to championship

Monday, June 9, 2008

The KU track and field team qualified 10 athletes — seven females and three males — for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which begins today at 10 a.m. and runs through Saturday in Des Moines, Iowa.

Nine of the athletes advanced to this point by finishing in the top five of their respective events at the Midwest Regional Championships in Lincoln, Neb. Zlata Tarasova, Togliatta, Russia junior, was forced to wait an extra few days for the NCAA to make its at-large announcements before she qualified in the hammer throw, giving Kansas double digits.

The team arrived in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday to prepare for its final meet of the season. Head coach Stanley Redwine said he wasn’t surprised by the 10 athletes that qualified for the championships.

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Kansas NCAA Qualifiers

Egor Agafonov - hammer throw Nickesha Anderson - 100 meters and 200 meters Ashley Brown - 400 hurdles Sha’Ray Butler - 400 hurdles Stephanie Horton - shot put Julius Jiles - 110 hurdles Crystal Manning - long jump and triple jump Jordan Scott - pole vault Kate Sultanova - pole vault Zlata Tarasova - hammer throw

“I believe that the athletes that have put the work and time in to get there are there,” Redwine said. “I see the work they’re doing on a daily basis to get there. You always want more athletes there. But I am excited that we have the number that we have.”

For the women, Crystal Manning, Terrell, Texas, senior, and Nickesha Anderson, Hanover, Jamaica, junior, were the only athletes to qualify for the championships in more than one event. Manning will compete in the long jump and the triple jump, an event she earned All-American honors last year. Anderson will compete in the 100-meter dash and the 200.

Ashley Brown, Overton, Neb., senior, qualified in the 400-meter hurdles. Last year she earned All-American honors by finishing as one of the top eight American athletes in an event at the outdoor championships. Brown broke the school record in the 400-meter hurdles at last year’s championships with a time of 57.15 seconds.

Brown said she wasn’t feeling pressure about duplicating her All-American feat this year.

“It’s not so much pressure,” she said. “It’s the expectation of where I want to be. I have no doubt with my training regimen that I can be there. My goal is to break 57, and I think if I run that time, it will put me at All-American status.”

On the men’s side, Egor Agafonov, Togliatta, Russi,a senior, Jordan Scott, Watkinsville, Ga., sophomore, and Julius Jiles, Kansas City, Mo., senior, advanced to the championship. Agafonov and Scott did so by winning the Midwest Regional in the hammer throw and pole vault. Agafonov set a meet record in the hammer throw for the third consecutive year with a toss of 223 feet, and Scott’s pole vault carried 18 feet 1 inch. Jiles qualified in the 110-meter hurdles, finishing second at regionals in 13.75 seconds.

Agafonov’s throwing coach, Andy Kokhanovski, said the hammer throw title likely would come down to Agafonov, Cory Martin or Jacob Dunkleberger, both of whom are from Auburn University.

“He’s prepared for everything,” Kokhanovski said. “If it works out, the strongest throw is going to win. And why not Egor? He has as much chance as those two guys. Egor is very competitive.”

Kokhanovski said a qualifying throw today of about 225 feet should put Agafonov into the finals on Friday, where he would need a toss of 235 to 240 feet to win.

— Edited by Brieun Scott

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