FRIDAY. MARCH 4, 2005
SPORTS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
7A
QUALIFYING
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
championships. At the ISU Classic in Ames, Iowa Feb. 12, he threw the distance of 19.29 meters in the shot put. That
Chesang
mark fell one centimeter short of an automatic bid.
Junior distance runner
B en s o n
Ches s an g
broke a 37-
year-old
record earlier
this year in the 3,000-meter run. He provisionally qualified for nationals with the time of 7:59.46 Feb. 11 at the John McDonnell - Tyson Invitational. Although he broke Jim Ryun's historical record, his time gives him a 19th-place ranking on the descending list, nearly four seconds away from an automatic bid.
Ekaterina Sultanova, a freshman standout awaits the news as well. The pole-vaulter qualified for nationals in her second collegiate meet. Sultanova ranks tenth on the descending list with her jump of 13'7.75" at the John
McDonnell-
Tyson
Invitational.
Sultanova
Brooklyn Hann ranks 24th. The senior triple-jumper and spinter qualified with her jump of 12.91 meters.Feb.5
at the Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Neb. After qualifying, Hann felt like a burden had been lifted off of her shoulders.
Nicoletta Niosi/KANSAN
"I've been overdue for this," Hann said. Her jump was .39 meters away from an automatic bid.
Hann
This weekend, three of the five athletes mentioned will travel to South Bend, Ind., to compete in the Alex Wilson Invitational.
Chesang,
Hann and Battle will compete to increase their chances of qualifying' for the national championships.
Sophomore thrower Cody Roberts practices throwing discus yesterday in front of Memorial Stadium. The team's next competition is March 5 at the Iowa State Invitational in Ames, Iowa.
"We have individuals on this team that can compete at a national level," sprints and
hurdles coach Elisha Brewer said. "This event allows our best athletes to get into a position to qualify."
The rest of the team will
— Edited by Azita Tafreshi
excited Miles, who showed a large grin after being reminded of the improbable shots he's made over the last two years.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
The last senior class to go undefeated at Missouri was the class of 1968, winning three games in Columbia, Mo., by an average of 13 points per contest. But the class of 1968 didn't get to play as seniors, so it's anyone's guess whether they could have gone 0-4. Nevertheless, this year's group of seniors has two opportiu-
"I'm not going in there thinking about that," Miles said. "But I certainly would like to get that win, and hopefully that will be the case."
SENIORS
First, a fourth victory at Missouri would give them sole possession of the Big 12 championship.
ties to accomplish more than the class of nearly 40 years ago.
In 1968, Kansas couldn't make it to the championship; Kansas State won the Big Eight championship.
"We want the conference title outright." Langford said. "We don't want to share it at all."
Second, this Kansas team has never lost in the regular season to either of its main rivals. The class of 1968 lost at Kansas State twice, as well as once in Lawrence. It also fell to Missouri at home in 1968.
This year's group has never lost to Kansas State.
To finish off their careers
Kansas and Missouri will tip off at 1 p.m. Sunday in Mizzou Arena in Columbia, Mo. These are the projected starting lineups, based on each team's starters in its last games:
EXPECTED STARTERS
Kansas (22-4, 12-3 Big 12)
Aaron Miles guard Jimmy McKinney
Keith Langford guard Jason Horton
Mike Lee guard Thomas Gardner
Wayne Simien forward Linas Kleiza
Christian Moody forward Kevin Young
FOOTBALL
Source: Kansas and Missouri athletics departments
"They'll give us their best effort," Simien said. "Anytime a win can save your season you're going to give it your all."
— Edited by Lisa Coble-Krings
with a 4-0 record at Missouri and Kansas State, and with a 16-0 combined regular season record against their two bitter rivals, the Jayhawks will again have to resist the Tiger's best shot.
Rams beef up next season's defense
ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Rams added their second freeagent linebacker in two days yesterday, signing Chris Claiborne to a three-year, $10.5 million contract.
The Rams, who were weak on run defense last year, said the signings on the first two days of the free agency period didn't necessarily mean that linebacker was the greatest area of need.
The signings represented a splash for a team that has been relatively quiet in the free agent market in recent seasons. The last time the Rams made such an impact was in 1999 when they signed quarterback Trent
"We're just trying to improve our team," defensive coordinator Larry Marmie said. "It's the area we had a chance to get started with and I'm sure we're still looking to improve."
Claiborne, a middle line-backer, gets a $3.6 million signing bonus and joins outside linebacker Dexter Coakley in the Rams' restocked defense. Coakley got a five-year, $14.5 million deal with a $3 million signing bonus.
Claiborne missed four games last year with a calf injury and was seventh on the team in tackles. According to team statistics he had 81 total tackles, including 49 solos, with one interception, one fumble recovery and seven quarterback hurries.
Green and offensive guard Adam Timmerman.
The Rams needed two new starters at linebacker because Pisa Tinoisamoa is being moved to safety due to concerns about his durability at that position, and Tommy Polley is a free agent. Middle linebacker Robert Thomas, a first-round pick in 2002, is being moved to the outside.
Claiborne, 6-3 and 255 pounds, was the ninth overall pick in the 1999 draft by the Lions out of Southern California. He visited the Rams after the 2002 season but ended up signing with the Vikings.
Marmie said Claiborne passed a physical with "flying colors."
Coakley is a bit undersized at 5-10 and 236 pounds, but Marmie said he wouldn't be adverse to giving him some time at middle linebacker.
The Associated Press
SEASON
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10A
Winning a conference title has been the Jayhawks' goal since the beginning of the season. Senior guard Mike Lee said wrapping up sole possession of the title would be on their minds Sunday.
"Now that we have part of it, we wanna win it," Lee said.
Kansas Basketball Notes
- Kansas leads the all-time series with Missouri, 161-91.
- Keith Langford, Wayne Simien, Aaron Miles and Mike Lee have never lost a regular season game against the Tigers.
- When asked if senior guard Mike Lee would remain in the starting line-up after being inserted on Senior Night, Self didn't deny the possibility.
"I don't know how were
gonna do it," Self said. "Mike did some good things. I will talk to our coaches and talk to our guys to see what they wanna do."
Lee would replace sophomore J.R. Giddens in the lineup. Giddens scored eight points on Wednesday and hit two three-point shots.
Freshman forward C.J. Giles has not seen any playing time lately. Instead, freshman forward Sasha Kaun has been playing. Wednesday, freshman forward Darnell Jackson saw some playing time.
Self said Jackson was playing well in practice.
"I like the way Darnell is playing," he said. "We need somebody other than Wayne and Christian down there. Darnell has been good in practice everyday."
Edited by Lisa Coble-Krings
The University of Kansas Department of Theatre and Film University Theatre
Presents the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy
a madcap and merry look at a demented family as hilarious as they are unconventional
You Can't Take It with You
Reserved seat tickets are on sale in the KU Ticket Offices. University Theatre, 864-3828, and Lied Center, 864-AIRTS, and on-line at kutcheme.com; public $16, senior $17, public $16; staff $15, and all students $10. both VISA and Mastercard are accepted for phone orders.
This production is partially funded by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for Public Art. Funding is also provided by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for Public Art.
by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
STUDENT
THE SENATE FOR THE CITY
SENATE
Please join us for a talkback with the director and cast members immediately following the performance Friday, March 4. You will be a featured event of the 2005 New Literature Conference sponsored jointly by the American Theatre and Drama Society and TeenWorks.
Directed by Kim Hines, guest artist
7:30 p.m.
March 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 2005
2:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 8, 2005
Crafton-Preyer Theatre