sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS | MONDAY, APRIL 24, 2017
After injury, Stigler set on proving he's not a 'fluke'
12B
TOP OF THE HILL
KANSAN.COM
BEST CAMPUS BUILDING ALLEN FIELDHOUSE
$2^{nd}$ Place: Watson Library $3^{rd}$ Place: DeBruce Center
▶ BRENDAN DZWIERZYNSKI
@BrendanDzw
On Feb. 13, 2017 16,300 rabid Kansas basketball fans packed themselves into Allen Fieldhouse for the Jayhawks' game against the West Virginia Mountaineers. This wasn't a typical Kansas game, however, as the crowd opened the evening by setting the world record for the loudest indoor sports event.
That's not to say the venue isn't electrifying on its own, of course. This just happened to be a night when both players and their adoring supporters, stuffing themselves into college basketball's most notable monolith, got to be a part of something special.
As for the game itself, the Allen Fieldhouse magic was on full display as the final minutes of the game wound down, as it often does on Naismith Drive during college basketball season.
After trailing by double digits late in regulation, the Jayhawks mounted a furious rally and eventually overcame the Mountaineers. Filled with excitement, fast-paced basketball and a deafening roar from the Kansas faithful, that night exemplified why Allen Fieldhouse is such a special place to a countless number of people. For those reasons, and more, is why Allen Fieldhouse won "Best Campus Building" for the Kansan's Top of the Hill awards.
Brian Hanni, the director of broadcasting for Kansas Athletics and radio voice of the Jayhawks, has experienced Allen Fieldhouse from the perspective of a fan, a fill-in broadcaster, a member of an opponent's commentary team and as the Kansas play-by-play voice. To him, every "first" broadcast inside what some call "the mecca of college basketball" was special.
"One of the first games I ever had a chance to see at Allen Fieldhouse was Jacque Vaughn's famous game-winner vs. Indiana in 1993," Hanni said in an email. "I was in middle school at the time and thought that shot — and the deafening crowd roar that followed — was about the coolest thing I'd ever witnessed."
The advantage Kansas has when it plays in Allen Fieldhouse is attributable to the rabid fan base that fills the building throughout the season. Hanni, a 2002 University graduate, said the team has an inherent confidence when it has that raucous crowd behind it.
"When a Jayhawk run begins and the crowd starts frothing at the mouth, you can just see the demoralizing effect it has on the faces of the opposing players," Hanni said.
The West Virginia game
epitomizes the aura and special nature of Allen Fieldhouse. Hanni said that game was a perfect example of the effect Allen Fieldhouse has on Kansas opponents, a sentiment which is shared by Chris Lilly, the sports director for WIBWTV in Topeka.
"The craziest game I've ever covered [in Allen Fieldhouse] was the West Virginia game this year." Lilly said. "They were down late, the crowd rallied and all of a sudden KU comes back."
Lilly called the atmosphere in the building "mind-numbing," especially when it comes to opponents facing it.
"It's incredible how loud it gets and how it throws off other teams," Lilly said. "Everything plays into it to make it the perfect home-court advantage."
On the University campus and throughout the legions of Jayhawks fans
athletes finish in top-three positions, including seven first-place finishes. Their performances earned Kansas an additional 138 points to add onto the 93 earned by the field athletes.
Behind an exuberant home-crowd, several Kansas athletes contributed the home-track advantage to their strong performances.
In one of the final events of the evening, Morgan raced out to an early lead in the 5,000-meter race and never looked back. Morgan finished the race in 14:19.59, 2.8 seconds ahead of teammate Dylan Hodgson. The pair won 16 points between them.
"I can't believe how loud
in at a time of 3:53:57. Richards finished ahead of Joyce by .01 seconds.
"The cheering, I loved it. It was awesome," Richards said, looking toward the large crowd of Kansas fans.
Missy MInear/KANSAN
Senior Jacob Morgan crosses the finish line to place first in the men's 5,000-meter run on April 22 at the Kansas Relays.
"I can't believe how loud people were getting on that backstretch, I was like 'dang, is that for me?"
Jacob Morgan Senior
The Kansas women's team also put on a good
performance for the home crowd, finishing second in a hotly contested competition with 181.5 points. They trailed Minnesota by 14 points, which ended the night with 195.5 points.
Both the men's and women's team saw several athletes run multiple events throughout the day, one of whom was sophomore Gabbi Dabney.
Dabney, who placed seventh out of a field of seven in the women's 100-meter hurdles, also competed in the college open 100-meter hur
dles event earlier in the day. Dabney finished the scored quadrangular race with a time of 14.48 seconds.
Dabney felt some pain in her groin area throughout the day, but didn't feel that performing twice in one day affected her performance.
"I really wanted to score some points for my team and finish out the weekend," Dabney said.
Junior Christian Hicks was another athlete to compete twice for the Jayhawks, competing in both the college
open and scored quadrangular men's 110-meter hurdles.
Hicks beat his personal-record in the college open with a time of 14.28 seconds, but unfortunately for the Derby native, the wind was over two meters per second, the limit for an official personal-record. Hicks then followed that performance up in the scored invitational, finishing second behind California's Ashtyn Davis. Although the wind was under two meters per second, Hicks finished his race in 14.46 seconds, .01 seconds behind his personal-record.
"I needed a lot of times under my belt so I can keep lowering it. This definitely really helped me," Hicks said, looking ahead toward the Outdoor Big 12 Championships.
Kansas will return to action next week with the Jayhawks staying in Lawrence for the Rock Chalk Classic on Saturday, April 29, with the hammer throw kicking the meet off at 11 a.m.
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