University Daily Kansan Friday, February 27.1976 9 Jayhawks favored to repeat in Big 8 meet KU's four team captains are Benson (kneeling), sprints; Lundberg (left), distances; Guinn, jumps; and Guevara, weights. By GARY VICE Sports Writer If the University of Kansas trackmen can equal the performances they have recorded this indoor season, the KU track team should win the Big Eight Indoor Track Championships this weekend in Kansas City. Mo The Jayhawks, defending indoor champions will enter tonight and tomorrow's competition in the 48th annual NCAA basketball tournament in seven of the 18 scheduled events. The two-day event will begin at 6 p.m. tonight in Municipal Auditorium with several preliminaries and the finals in the long jump and shot put competitions. The triple jump finals begin at 1:30 p.m. followed by the remaining finals at 7:30 p.m. THE JAYHAWKS CAN expect their strongest challenge from either Oklahoma, Missouri or Kansas State. KU was defeated by Missouri in a dual meet in Columbia and lost to both Oklahoma and Kansas State at the Sooner Indoor Relays. Kansas State and Oklahoma each have two returning champions from last year's title meet. The Wildcats have Jeff Schiemel in the mile run and Bob Prince in the half mile. Oklahoma she putter with Randy Wilson, 1,000-ard run champion Randy Wilson. Assistant coach Thad Talledey, said "Oklahoma looks good right now and K-State has a history of performing well in this game," he added. "I always come in higher than a kite." HEAD COACH BOB Timmons agreed, "OK oklahoma or K-State got hot," he could have done better. "Missouri is a good dual team team but itink they will have a little more difficulty in playing against Florida." Timmons said the team's biggest opposition might be themselves if they didn't take the preliminaries seriously and failed to qualify for the finals. “There are going to be some good athletes who are going to be watching the finals from the stands,” he said. “We just hope none will be ours. They can't be too complacent, they've got to be hungry to win and not let up at the finish.” TALLEY SAID THIS year's KU squad could be the strongest team in years with a 14-0 record against Florida. "We have a maximum of 24 athletes we can enter," Tallley said. "This is the first year we've had to cut off guys who can score points for us." KU women cagers travel to Las Vegas The KU women's basketball team is off to the fast and furious city of Las Vegas this weekend. But this trip is no holiday for the team. The trip is business, strictly basketball, as this Monday the women's team takes on the University of Nevada—Las Vegas in a game at the Las Vegas Convention Center. But that's okay with the team. "Playing a prelim to the men's game is fantastic," said center Ardan Mitchell. KU coach Marian Washington said. In the heat of the weekend will be used to promote his program. The Las Vegas trip is a financial dream come true for the women. It's possible, said Shannon, that the business will turn out well. paying a portion of KU's air fare, and has also arranged for the team's room, board and transportion in Las Vegas. The women need to make most of the money needed to make the trip. The women are traveling to Las Vegas via Wichita, where they will play tonight against Wichita State. KU beat Wichita by a tight 69-68 earlier this season. BENSON, A SENIOR and the Jayhawk's spirt captain, said, "Waddell is the only one I'm really worried about. One of us will win. We should go 1-2." The Jayhawks' depth begins with their fine corps of sprinters. In the 440-yard dash, Randy Benson and Waddell Smith rank 1-2 in the Big Eight based on their perimeter in season indoor competition. Benson ran the indoor competition of 47.6 while Soya owns a 48.1 mark. Smith, who won the 600-yard run last year, said he won't be defending his title because he preferred to run the 440-yard dash. Smith, senior All-America said, "I never considered the 600 mine tailnote answer. I just won the race. It wasn't important to me. We had indoors are important. Wait till outdoors." KU also has the top two Big Eight performers in the 600-yard run, Nolan Clemens and Willow Peters, at 1:10:00 at the United States Track and Field Federation National Championships in Oklahoma City. Wagner, a junior walk-on, is only one-tenth of a second back at KU IS ALSO A strong favorite to win the mule relay. At the Idaho State Meet of Champions in Pocatello, the Jayhawk mile wagon team was a top contender. Berson and Cliff Wiley ran a 3:11.4. Tallley hasn't announced which athletes will run on the mile relay squad in the Big Eight Indians, but he said they would be on track for a mark of 1:16.1 set in 1972 by Nebraka. Wiley, the defending champion in the 60-yard dash, has recorded a 6.2 time this season in his specialty and will be teaming up with 6.1.2 sprinter Newell and Laverne Spith. Freshman harden Anthony Coleman is tied for the conference best in the 60-year high durches with a 7.2 clocking and in the 60-year low durches with his 6.8 speed. KU'S COACHES ARE concerned with their strength in the field events. "One thing we don't have this year is we don't have the field events like we had in the past." Tallay said. "We have strength in the past, and I have confidence in us, but we just don't have the depth we need." Gary Pepin, assistant coach, said, "What d'really like to see is for our shottoppers to look like we do." If so, the shot putters led by former Big Eight indoor champion Rudy Guevara, would put the Jayhawks in a strong position after the first day of competition. Govera leads the Big Eight with a loss of 0s-3 and has a lifesate benefit of 62-84. *H*1 is the largest number in the sequence. Staff photo by DON PIERCE Benson to Wagner: half of the Big 8's best mile relay second with 58-10%, just short of the 99 feet necessary to qualify for the NCAA championships. Steve Stone, a senior, ranks fifth in the Class A shot patters with 57/2 mark this season. THE CONFERENCE' leader in the pole vault is Tad Scales, a Lawrence sophomore. Scales has cleared 16-7/2 this season to qualify for the NCAA championships. Talley said, "Tad has been inconsistent this year, but he has a way of coming up with ideas." KU will have John Butterfield and Steve Rainbow to challenge Missouri's Nat Page in the high jump. Page, a freshman, has been hit by a fall, but is suffering from a pulled hamstring. 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