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SPORTS
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THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
23
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 18,2003
TRACK
Young track athletes await competition with seniors
By Saju Ng'alla
sngalla@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Despite disappointing performances at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, four University of Kansas athletes are excited about competing at the USA Senior Track and Field Championship
Abby Emsick, Council Bluffs, Iowa, freshman; Jeremy Mims, Iowa City, Iowa, sophomore; Leo Bookman, Dickinson, Texas, junior; and Cameron Schwehr, Colbert, Wash., freshman, qualified to compete at the senior championship June 19-22, in Palo Alto, Calif.
Stanley Redwine, Kansas track and field coach, said the athletes had impressive seasons but inexperience caught up with them at nationals. He said Emsick was a phenomenal athlete and should be commended for qualifying as a freshman.
"She got a little nervous and was not herself," Redwine said.
SEE CHAMPIONSHIPS ON PAGE 25
The freshman qualified for nationals after breaking a University record with a discus throw of 180-10—four feet and six inches further than the previous record.
Emisck will throw the discus at the senior championships and Redwine expects that she will have a stronger showing than at nationals.
Mims said he was unhappy with his performance at nationals but he would compete in the 800-meter dash at the senior championships, though he did not compete after the preliminaries at nationals.
"It was more or less a mental lapse," Mims said, "I was so excited to be there, I forgot what I came there
Redwine said it was a simple case of nerves.
University of Houston sophomore Stanford Routt, University of Kansas junior Leo Bookman and Hampton University sophomore Jerome Mathis, near the finish line of the men's 200-meter dash at NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held at California State University in Sacramento, Calif. Bookman finished first in the event.
Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee
TRACK AND FIELD
Kansas runner secures title
Teammates struggle after preliminary rounds
By Saju Ng'alla
snglaa@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Leo Bookman solidified his position as one of the best college sprinters in the country Saturday night. The Dickinson, Texas, junior won the NCAA Outdoor 200 meter-dash at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif.
Bookman won the 200-meter dash at the NCAA Indoor Track Championship.
"It is seldom done that an athlete wins both the indoor and outdoor championships because of the intense competition," said Stanley Redwine, Kansas track and field coach. "To win both is a great tribute to that athlete."
Redwine said Bookman worked extremely hard all year and deserved the victory.
Bookman won the race in a time of 20.47 seconds and tied his second-best performance of the season.
"It was a really close race, but I pulled out," Bookman said in a media release. "I knew if I just got out of the blocks and pushed it that I could do it."
Bookman said there was a lot pressure on him because he was expected to win. Bookman was relieved when he was announced the winner,he said.
Redwine said he did not know who won until the results were posted. Teammates present during the race said they were on edge from the start until the end.
Kim Clark, Elkhorn, Neb., sophomore and member of the 4x400-meter relay team said Bookman looked awesome the way he came from behind to win the race.
"He clearly had more strength than the other athletes," Clark said. "In the last 50 meters he had a strong surge that just
pushed him forward."
The winner was determined by a photo finish with Bookman taking the victory by .001 seconds.
Bookman said he planned to take life easy for a while after his victory before he focused on the football season.
Redwine said he didn't mind Bookman playing football and running track.
"He is a great athlete as a football player and he is a great athlete on the track," Redwine said. "Either way he is representing the University of Kansas, and that is what I enjoy."
Bookman's victory was the only one for Kansas at the championships. The only other athlete to make it to the finals and earn All American Honors was Mark Menefee, Hutchinson senior.
The Meneefee competed in the 5,000
SEE BOOKMAN ON PAGE 25