THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, APRIL 27, 2009
SPORTS
5B
TRACK & FIELD
Kansas disappointed in performance at Penn Relays
Ryan McGeeney/KANSA
Nickesha Anderson, Hanover, Jamaica, senior, represented Kansas in the Penn Relays this weekend, competing in the 100-meter dash event and the 4x400 meter relay. Anderson competed in the Penn Relays when she was in high school, often finishing in the top three, though her return this weekend wasn't as successful.
The men's and women's squads didn't make qualifying times in the 4x400 relay
MLB
Fukudome's birthday blast helps Cubs beat Cardinals
ST. LOUIS — Kosuke Fukudome didn't want a birthday celebration from his teammates. He had no trouble giving them a present, though.
JASON BAKER
jbaker@kansan.com
er and drove in a career-high five runs on his 32nd birthday, helping the Cubs end a four-game skid with a 10-3 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
It had been almost six years since senior Nickesha Anderson had competed at the oldest track meet in the country, the Penn Relays.
Fukudome hit a three-run hom-
The Hanover, Jamaica, sprinter used to compete there in her high school days and usually finished in the top three.
This week marked her return, though the relays went a little differently. This time, she donned KU colors and didn't see the same success. Anderson didn't qualify for regionalists in the 100-meter dash or the 4x400 team relay.
Her fellow Jayhawks didn't fare much better. This weekend the Jayhawks competed at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, with a goal to regionally qualify for the 4x400 meter relay events. Unfortunately neither men's or women's squads were able to reach that goal.
The women's 4x400 team comprised of Anderson and seniors Charity Stowers and Sha'Ray Butler and freshman Shayla Wilson came the closest to competing in the collegiate finals.
Their preliminary time of 3:47.44 had placed them as first alternate for the women's final making it possible for the Jayhawks to run again if one of teams failed to show.
Fukudome went 3-for-4 to hike his average to .371 after hitting .257 last season. He hit his fourth homer in the eighth off lefty reliever Trever Miller to finish the scoring.
Unfortunately, all the teams did come, leaving the lajahyes out of
"We were ready to run". Anderson said.
"This was a chance so you could run again, even though we didn't run well the first time." Anderson said.
the finals. Anderson said she was disappointed.
Anderson had more than the relay event to focus on. She was also competing in the 100-meter dash event.
There were three preliminary heats in which the top three of each heat would advance to the finals. Anderson finished fourth, running at 11.72 seconds.
Anderson said that she slipped out of the starting blocks at the beginning of the race.
"For me it was just to improve on my speed and time. Get more feeling and get back into race mode."
"There wasn't much I could
NICKESHA ANDERSON Senior sprinter
do, Anderson said.
Anderson said it was the first time she had not made the finals in an event. But having already qualified for regionals at the Jim Click Shootout early in the outdoor season, she viewed this race as preparation for regionals later in May.
"For me it was just to improve on my speed and time," Anderson said. "Get more feeling and get back into race mode."
Like Anderson, freshman hurdler Keith Hayes ran two events; the 4x400 and the 110-meter hurdle event.
"It it a good environment, good atmosphere. I just ran like crap," Hayes said.
First came the 110-meter hurdles event in which he finished fifth in his heat and 16th overall, running 14.23 seconds.
"I ran pretty bad. I ran out like
Drake relavs
Junior Lauren Bonds regionally qualified, running her best time in the 1500-meter run at 4:27:16, taking third at the Drake Relays.
Freshman jumper Corey Fuller took second in the triple jump, jumping 15.20 meters. It's the third meet in a row that the freshman has taken second in the triple jump including at home at the Kansas Relays.
In men's pole vault, junior Kirk Cooper took 17th, jumping 4.90 meters while junior Jordan Scott, who is redshirting this outdoor season, took sixth in the men's pole vault, jumping 5.32 meters.
Senior Jonathan Edwards took 22nd overall in the men's javelin throwing 47.91 meters.
Both seniors Stephanie Horton and Emily Reimer placed in the top 15 in the women's shot put. Horton took 13th (14.47 meters) and Reimer in 15th (14.37)
Kansas also competed in the Penn relays and the Nebraska Open this weekend.
I had no idea what I was doing." Hayes said.
Hayes said that he didn't remember the race all too well because it happened so quickly, but did know that he did not execute the race the way he had wanted to.
"Right now I'm not living up to my potential," Hayes said. "My day is coming; I just can't wait until it comes."
Hayes said that literally right after finishing the 110-meter hurdle event, he had to prepare to
run the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay with senior Jarrell Rollins, junior Reggie Carter and sophomore Keron Toussaint.
"We felt very prepared," Hayes said. "For myself, I had the drive, but it wasn't good enough."
The men's squad finished third in the preliminary heat, but didn't
"Right now I'm not living up to my potential. My day is coming; I just can't wait until it comes."
qualify for the finals. Hayes said that the weekend was overall a disappointment.
"We came in with an eye on the prize and we came up empty-handed." Haves said.
KEITH HAYES
Freshman hurdler
Hayes said he was using this experience along with not making the indoor championships as motivation for next year.
Even though the Jayhawks didn't come away with
"It's gas to the fire," Hayes said.
anything at the Penn Relays, competing at the oldest track meet in the U.S. was something they were glad to experience.
"I'm glad I got the opportunity," Hayes said. "Not everybody gets to run at Penn."
However, hitting the homer off a southpaw was something to relish, Fukudome said.
Edited by Sonya English
"More than hitting, winning is the most important thing," Fukudome said through a translator. "I'm too old for a cake and I don't want to get fat."
Associated Press
NASCAR Fans injured after crash near end of Talladega
race
TALLADEGA, Ala. — Carl Edwards began his charge to the front with nine laps to go at Talladega Superspeedway. He never expected to up airborne, upside down, sheet metal spewing behind him as his car sailed into the safety fence.
Dr. Bobby Lewis, Talladega's onsite physician, said two people in the crowd were airlifted from the track to avoid the heavy traffic. One woman had a possible broken jaw.
The dangerous but dramatic restrictor-plate racing came under fire after Edwards' attempt to block Keselowski's winning pass triggered the last of several frightening accidents at one of the sport's most exciting tracks.
"We'll race like this until we kill somebody," Edwards said, "then (NASCAR) will change it."
"I'm glad the car didn't go up in the grandstands," he said. "I saw some fencing at one point and that made me a little bit nervous. I don't know if I could live with myself if I ended up in the grandstands."
The fence bowed, but held, and Edwards returned safely to the racing surface — another "Big One" to thrill the fans.
Edwards, who climbed from the fiery wreckage and crossed the finish line on foot, was thankful it wasn't worse.
Officials said seven fans sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Only this time, seven people were hurt and one of the lasting images of Sunday's race will be the pink-clad woman strapped to a stretcher, her head in a brace as she was airlifted to a hospital after debris from Edwards' last-lap crash with winner Brad Keselowski sailed into the grandstands.
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Associated Press
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