Friday, April 3, 2009
breakbox
Who: Kansas Track and Field What: Arizona Invitational Where: Tuscon, Arizona When: Saturday, April 4
Arizona is a special place for junior pole vaulter Ryan Hays. While on spring break before his first high school track season, Hays took his first-ever jumps at the track facility of the University of Arizona with his father, vertical jumps coach Tom Hays, who coached there at the time.
Now Hays will get the chance to return to Arizona this Saturday with the Kansas track and field team when they compete in the Arizona Invitational in Tucson, Ariz.
“I can’t wait to get out there and see the track,” Hays said. “I know what I’m walking into, I’ve seen the track before, the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ are out and I just want to get back out there and jump and see how high I can jump at that facility.”
The Arizona Invitational will be the first official meet of Kansas’ outdoor season. Last week’s Missouri Relays were canceled because of bad weather and the team is looking forward to competing in good weather. Saturday’s forecast in Tucson is sunny and 70.
Sophomore distance runner Amanda Miller will be competing in the 3,000-meter run. Miller said it would have been nice to have competed more this season before Saturday.
“I feel like I’m in good shape, but it can be different when I get on the track,” Miller said.
With last weekend’s meet canceled, the team held Saturday practice to go along with its regular preparation for this weekend’s meet. Coach Stanley Redwine said that the team was excited about where they were travelling this weekend.
“The team is looking forward to going to a different place and seeing new things. They’re ready for competition,” Redwine said.
Kansas will be one of two schools representing the Big 12 when it faces Pac-10 schools University of Washington and University of Arizona as well as Big Ten schools Penn State and University of Wisconsin.
“All these schools are really good; it’s going to be some good competition,” Redwine said.
Senior Sha’Ray Butler said she is looking forward to the competition, especially in the 400-meter hurdles.
“I’m not sure if they’re in the Pac-10 but I know there’s some competitors for the 400-hurdles at this meet,” Butler said.
Last year, Butler earned all-region honors in the 400-meter hurdles, running with a time of 58.98 seconds at the NCAA Midwest Regionals.
This meet will bring the return of senior sprinter Nickesha Anderson, who is in her last season of eligibility at Kansas. Anderson will compete in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes along with the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay.
Anderson said that running in the 400-meter event would be beneficial for her in her other events.
“I’m starting to do the 400 so I can be a little bit stronger for the 100 and 200,” Anderson said.
Anderson said she had been in training mode and was ready to get back into competition.
Starting the season against tough opponents will be both a challenge and an opportunity.
“It’s very important it being our first outdoor meet,” Redwine said. “Hopefully they’ll go out and compete well, but the reality is that in order to be the best, you have to compete against the best and this is a meet we will be able to do that.”
— — Edited by Sonya English
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