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KANSAN.COM
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KU cross country teams hope home court advantage with two meets at Rim Rock will be starting gun for successful season
Runners compete at Rim Rock farm in 2014. The first is the season opener, the Bob Timmons Classic, on Sept. 1, and the second is the Rim Rock Classic on Oct. 3.
GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSAN
on Oct. 3
G.J. MELIA
@gjmella
A home field advantage will be key for KU cross country teams this year.
The teams will compete in two regular season meets at Rim Rock Farm. The first is the season opener, the Bob Timmons Classic, on Sept. 1, and the second is the Rim Rock Classic on Oct. 3. Rim Rock Farm will also host the NCAA Midwest Regional Championships on Nov.13.
According to coach Stanley Redwine, the home meets are an advantage for the teams because the course is familiar to the runners.
"Our athletes will know [Rim Rock] well, and they'll know when to move [and] how to move compared to the competition," Redwine said. "We just have to focus on the things that we do best as a team, and that is running as a pack."
Redwine said that hosting the regional meet would also bring
a higher level of notoriety to the program. He said former coach Bob Timmons, who passed away earlier this year, had a vision for the program to host larger-scale meets like the Regionals.
The University will also host the outdoor track Midwest Regionals at Rock Chalk Park in May.
"I think [hosting the regional meet] is really good for the status of our program," Redwine said. "We want to continue [Timmon's] vision and
to make sure we have teams that can produce there. Once recruits start seeing this, it's really good because even the people we lost in recruiting were still talking about Rock Chalk Park. And so that's as big of a recruiting advantage as anything else."
The 2015 men's and women's teams will be led by senior Jacob Morgan and junior Hannah Richardson. Morgan finished 91st at last year's national meet, while an injury kept Richardson out for the entire
season. Both will be looking to build off of the spring's success.
Richardson agrees with Redwine that the home meets at Rim Rock will help the team throughout the season.
"We work out on it, we really have experience with this course, and so to have Regionals here is awesome," she said.
Morgan transferred to the program last year from Colorado State. He said the expectations were much higher this year because of his impressive
2014 season.
"I always want to build off of what I want to do before," Morgan said. "Last year was a lot better than I would have expected, just coming in not knowing too much about the program or what was expected of me. And now, I am kind of finding myself knowing what I'm expected to do for the team."
Edited by Maddy Mikinski
For KU volleyball, a summer of bonding, culture and gelato in Europe
AMIE JUST
@amie_just
Nothing screams Italian desert like gelato, and the Kansas volleyball players ate their fair share during their summer Europe tour.
"There were a couple kids who surprised me with the amount of gelato you can eat on one trip," coach Ray Bechard said jokingly. "I'm not going to point any of those people out, though."
During their stay, they absorbed all parts of the Spanish, French and Italian cultures, including food. But going to Europe did more for the Jayhawks than expose their palates to foreign cuisines.
Learning about the European culture of volleyball was one of Cassie Wait's favorite things.
“[The trip] was incredible for so many reasons,” Wait, a junior libero, said. “First, just to see the culture of volleyball, being a world thing is super important for us. It shows us that there are opportunities after college to play overseas.”
But although the culture of volleyball in Europe is strong, the arenas that the team played in during the trip didn't compare to the grandeur of Horejsi Family Athletics Center and Allen Fieldhouse. Even so, Wait said the commitment and dedication of the European players was something she looks up to.
"They have two-a days all the time," Wait said. "They play every single day all year."
While in France, the Jayhawks became close to the French team they sparred against.
"When we played in France, we had to communicate over Google Translate on our phones," said Tayler Souci, a junior outside hitter. "It was fun to try to communicate that way. They were so energetic. We traded jerseys at the end when we left France and they gave us big hugs. They were so excited and thought that it was the coolest thing."
Not only did the Jayhawks build relationships with some of their opponents, they also became more of a tight-knit team.
The girls spent every moment of every day during the trip together. The only alone time the girls had was while they were sleeping.
["Europe] ignited our team chemistry," Soucie said. "We became so close over that trip."
Senior outside hitter Tiana Dockery agreed, saying that Europe brought the entire team together both off and on the court.
"We had to learn about each other", Dockery said. "We were on the bus here, there, wherever learning each other's personalities. It gave us the opportunities to hang out with one another and learn what each other liked. Once we started playing on the court, we were able to learn how each other plays and build up our chemistry."
Looking back on the experience, the word that Wait, Soucie and Dockery continued to use was blessed.
"It shows me how we're blessed," Soucie said. "It all makes me feel so blessed."
Edited by Emma LeGault
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