MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2014
PAGE 12
Event Athlete/s Result
400m Hurdles Michael Stigler 2nd in finals
4x400m Relay Drew Matthews, DeMario Johnson, Jaime Wilson, Michael Stigler 23rd in semi-finals
Long Jump Sydney Conley 7th in finals
Discus Jessica Maroszek 6th in finals
Heptathlon Lindsay Vollmer Did not finish
4x100m Relay Diamond Dixon, Alisha Keys, Tianna Valentine, Sydney Conley Did not finish
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Three athletes bring home NCAA trophies
TRACK AND FIELD
SAM DAVIS sports@kansan.com
The University track and field team's performance was up and down with the weather last week at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Ten Jayhawks arrived at the University of Oregon ready to compete, and three of the athletes would return to Lawrence with trophies and First Team All-America honors.
The women's 4x100 meter relay team started off day one for the Jayhawks, but their day was quickly over as they failed to make the third handoff within the exchange zone and were disqualified. Only the sophomore Sydney Conley—who was also competing in the long jump that day—would continue to compete Wednesday evening with championship hopes still alive.
Conley, who finished 17th in the long jump during the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, advanced into the long jump finals with a best jump of 20 feet 8 inches. Conley fouled on her first jump in the finals and saw no improvement during the remaining two jumps. She finished seventh in the final standings and received First Team All-America honors.
The team's first day in Eugene concluded on the track where junior hurdler Michael Stigler was running in the semi-final round of the 400-meter hurdles. Stigler finished first in his heat with a season best time of 49.34 seconds.
In addition to having the fastest qualifying time of the day, his time is the second fastest in school history and is the 18th fastest time in the world in 2014.
Two days later, Stigler lined up in lane four of the 400-meter hurdles final. Although he was the favorite and projected winner going into the week, Stigler was the runner-up for the second year in a row with a time of 49.90 seconds, just behind Nebraska's Miles Ukaoma's 49.23 seconds.
Junior Lindsay Vollmer started day two for the track and field team with the 100-meter hurdles—the first of four events that took place on Thursday as a part of the heptathlon. She finished the race in 13.61 seconds, coming close to her personal record of 13.57 seconds. The swift finish earned her 1,034 points and placed her fifth in the standings.
The high jump was the next event for Vollmer where she chalked up another 870 points with a best jump of 5 feet 7.75 inches.
In the third heptathlon event, the shot put, Vollmer threw 12.24 meters and added 677 more points to her score.
The fourth and final heptathlon event on Thursday was the 200-meter dash. She clocked in at 24.82 seconds, just shy of her personal best. Her final effort of the day earned her 903 points and allowed her to finish the day second overall in the standings.
Friday began with Vollmer over at the long jump—the first of the final three events in the heptathlon. Her first jump of the day was measured at 18 feet 3.75 inches and was her best and only attempt in the event—she was unable to get a fair mark fouling on her last two attempts. Her first jump earned her 723 points, putting her at fifth place overall and 359 points off the lead.
Shortly after Vollmer's last try at the long jump, she sat on the ground receiving medical attention. She later elected to withdraw from the heptathlon with an apparent right knee injury. Vollmer was not able to defend her national title, but remains the only female individual outdoor champion in Kansas history.
Senior thrower Jessica Maroszek also competed for the women's track and field team Thursday in the discus.
After only two throws, Maroszek was number two in the standings with a throw of 179 feet 9 inches and moved on to the discus finals in third place overall. Maroszek failed to improve on her best attempt of the day and finished in sixth place, earning herself First Team All-America honors for the third time in her college career.
The 4x400 meter relay was the team's only other event. Stigler and the rest of the $4\times 400$ meter relay team, which also includes junior DeMario Johnson and sophomores Drew Matthews and Jaime Wilson, finished the race with a time of 3 minutes 12.22 seconds, but failed to advance to the finals.
— Edited by Kaitlyn Klein
FOOTBALL
Three players leave program, Heaps transfers to Miami
DANIEL HARMSEN
sports@kansan.com
Quarterback Jake Heaps will transfer to the University of Miami for his final year of NCAA eligibility. Miami announced Sunday. The news comes two days after Kansas Football announced Heaps and wide receiver Andrew Turzilli graduated from the University and that running back Darrian Miller had left the program for personal reasons.
"I'm proud that [Heaps and Turzili] leave Kansas as graduates," head
All three departures saw significant minutes last fall—Heaps started nine games, Turzilli seven and Miller was Kansas' second-leading rusher behind 2014 graduate James Sims.
Heaps, who transferred to Kansas from Brigham Young University in 2012, will finish his degree this month before leaving for Miami.
coach Charlie Weis said in a Friday news release. "I would like to thank them for their contributions to KU football and wish them the best."
"I am very grateful for the opportunity given to me by Coach Weis
to play football and earn my college degree at the University of Kansas," Heaps said in the release. "My wife and I have truly enjoyed being part of the Jayhawk community. We have made lifelong friends through this experience and we will always consider ourselves Jayhawks."
Heaps had a high billing before coming to the University—he was rated the top quarterback in the 2010 class by Rivals.com. In his only year as a Jayhawk, Heaps completed 128-of-161 passes for 1,414 yards, and scored eight touchdowns but logged
10 interceptions.
"I am extremely proud to have earned my degree from KU," Turzilli said in the release. "I am thankful for all of the relationships I have made during my time at Kansas and I wish the entire program nothing but the best in the future."
Turzilli saw action in 24 games, caught 27 passes for 491 yards and scored two touchdowns during his three years at Kansas.
Darrian Miller also had high expectations before coming to Kansas, ranked as the top player in Missouri
Miller did not play in the final game of the season, and left the program in 2012. He returned in 2013 and played in eight games averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
by Rivals.com. As a freshman in 2011, Miller played in 11 games and finished the year second on the team in total rushing yards, including his career best of 148 yards in the 31-30 overtime loss to Baylor in 2011.
Edited by Emma LeGault
* KANSAS UNION LEVEL 2 * 1301 JAYHAWK BLVD. * LAWRENC, KS 66045 * (785) 864-4640 *
一
+