Friday, March 6, 2009
The Kansas track and field team knows its current situation. Junior pole-vaulter Jordan Scott is the lone Jayhawk definitely competing at the NCAA Indoor Championships in College Station, Texas. And that doesn’t sit well with the rest of the team.
“We’ve got to give him some company,” freshman sprinter Keith Hayes said. “We can’t let him go by himself and spend time with just the coaches.”
Freshman Keith Hayes clears a series of hurdles during the Jan. 16 meet against Missouri in Lawrence. Hayes placed fifth in finals last weekend, running the 60-meter in under eight seconds.
Jokes aside, the Iowa State Last Chance track meet in Ames, Iowa, will be the Jayhawks’ final chance to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships
For the Jayhawks, this indoor season has been a learning experience. For Hayes, it was being able to run the 60-meter hurdles under eight seconds, which he managed to do last weekend for the first time at the Big 12 Indoor Conference Championships, placing fifth in the finals.
“Now that I realize what it takes to run under eight, I’m going to try to not run over eight again,” Hayes said.
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THIS WEEKEND
Friday Arkansas NCAA Qualifier Fayetteville, Ark.
Saturday Iowa State Last Chance NCAA Qualifier Ames, Iowa
Hayes will attempt to go less than eight seconds in the 60-meter hurdles. Hayes said that if he doesn’t make it to nationals, then he feels that he didn’t complete his season.
For senior sprinter Victoria Howard, other than getting victories in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes at the Kansas vs. Missouri duel, she has struggled in the past few meets. Howard had difficulty getting through the preliminary rounds in both events.
“My performances this year period haven’t been going well at all and it’s been a disappointing season,” Howard said. “Hopefully I can get it together and have one last chance.”
Like Hayes, sophomore sprinter Keron Toussaint made it to finals at the Big 12 Indoor Conference Championships. Toussaint qualified in the 600-yard dash, placing sixth.
Toussaint said that despite the challenge, he felt confident in his team’s ability to make it nationals.
“Basically this is what we’ve prepared for, it’s a challenge and you got to step up to every challenge,” Toussaint said.
BONDS AND WISSEL COMPETE AT NOTRE DAME
Colby Wissel has been a fan of the movie “Rudy” since he was a little kid. The 1993 movie about a small town kid walking on for the famed Notre Dame football team is one of Wissel’s favorite sports movies of all time.
“I watch it about twice a week,” Wissel joked.
Fortunately for Wissel, he’ll get the opportunity to travel to South Bend, Ind., to compete at the Alex Wilson Invitational. Accompanying Wissel is junior distance runner Lauren Bonds, and both will be trying to make their case for why they belong at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Both provisionally qualified for the indoor nationals at previous meets, Bonds in the one-mile and Wissel in the one-mile, 3,000-meter and 5,000-meter run. However, Wissel said he will focus on the 3,000-meter run.
“It’s my best last chance meet for my event in the country.” Bonds said.
Bonds managed to knock first attempt at the mile by 20 seconds.
“This weekend will be a good indicator of how well and how smart my training was,” Bonds said. “This week, we’ve been keying up for, it feels like the miles over winter break is paying off.”
For Wissel, it’s his last attempt in his final indoor season to go to nationals.
Wissel said he would ideally want to run under 7:56 in the 3,000-meter and with all the training he’s put in hopes to go out in food fashion for his last indoor season. “I just want to try to have the same success as Rudy did,” Wissel said.
— — Edited By Sam Speer
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