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KU track and field flexes muscles at Sun Angel Classic
▶ SHAUN GOODWIN
@ShaunGoodwinUDK
The Kansas track and field squad followed Gleb Dudarev's blistering performance on Saturday afternoon with more strong performances. The Jayhawks had athletes on both the men's and women's team earning spots on the podium on the second day of the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Arizona.
With 17 top-three finishes over the course of the two days, it was not unusual to see the words "Kansas" flash up on the scoreboard at Sun Angel Stadium.
on Kansas' all-time list, while also placing him fourth in the latest NCAA rankings.
As has become a habit for sophomore Hussain Al Hizam, he once again broke his own Saudi Arabian pole-vaulting record, as he vaulted 5.60 meters (18-foot-4.25) to finish second behind Texas A&M's Audie Wyatt. Al Hizam's previous record was 5.41 meters (17-foot-9), which was set just over a week ago at the Texas Relays. His efforts placed him No. 6
Senior Jake Albright, who also vaulted 5.60-meters at the Texas Relays, could only manage a height of 5.50-meters (18-foot) in Tempe, good for a third-place finish.
"You can't overlook what our pole vaulters are doing," coach Stanley Redwine said in a Kansas Athletics news release. "Hussain going 18-4 and breaking his national record is really good. We're really excited about what he did today and what our vault group is doing."
Senior Strymar Livingston finishes the 4x400 race at the end of the Kansas Relays in 2016. Missy Minear/KANSAN
We're really excited about what he did today and what our vault group is doing."
Stanley Redwine Kansas coach
Angel Stadium as defending champions, having taken home gold the previous year.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team returned to Sun
Missy Minear/KANSAN
Once again, the team of juniors Jaron Hartley and Tre Daniels, sophomore Ivan Henry and senior Strymar Livingston, finished first for the second year in a row. After a quick start which saw the team dash out to firstplace, the quartet never faltered, finishing the race in 3:08.53.
Junior Laura Taylor also repeated history, as she won her second title at the Sun Angel Classic in the women's pole vault. The junior from Tualatin, Oregon, tied her career best for the second week in a row, as she vaulted a height of 4.16-meters (13-foot-7) to claim first place.
The other Jayhawk to finish in first place at the meet was redshirt junior Tianna Valentine, as she won the women's 200-meter with a time of 24.31.
Valentine was also part of the Jayhawk 4x100-meter relay squad that recorded the 10th-fastest time in Kansas
history. Along with freshman Jedah Caldwell, sophomore Nicole Montgomery and senior Sydney Conley,the quartet finished second in the event in 44.73.
Their time was good enough to place them in the top-20 on the most recent West Regional standings, putting them in good stead for the end of season NCAA
Championship meet.
"Some people seemed a little more seasoned than others this weekend," Redwine said in the release. "It's our second meet (of the outdoor season) and, as we compare it to last week, we performed a lot better. We're now looking forward to the Kansas Relays and showing even more improvement
there."
Following a week of rest, the Jayhawks will stay in Lawrence to compete in the 90th Kansas Relays, held at Rock Chalk Park. The fourday meet, one of the largest in the nation, will take place from April 19-22, with Saturday evening's events set to air live on Spectrum Sports and ESPN3.
Dzwierzynski: Overrating the Masters is par for the course
BRENDAN DZWIERZYNSKI @BrendanDzw
Every year, millions of Americans tune into the Masters, the most revered PGA Tour major event. Their eyes are glued to the TV for a few holes at Amen Corner before inevitably falling asleep on the couch midway through the final round, a tradition unlike any other.
In reality, all the fanfare and revered nature of the tournament contributes to the Masters being the most overrated sporting event of the year.
The argument can be made that for golf, fandom is created by your environment more than it is in any other sport. If you grew up around
the game, playing with your family or friends regularly. you're more likely to be a fan of the PGA and the sport in general.
To be fair, there's nothing wrong with that. Telling someone what to like or how to like it is one of the worst things you can do. It's nobody else's business what you enjoy, and if you like to carve out one weekend per year to praise the hallowed grounds of Augusta National, more power to you.
That said, for those who aren't golf fans, the entire event seems extravagantly overblown. It seems like just another tournament in a calendar filled with months upon months of them.
Why, exactly, are we supposed to treat the Masters like anything special? Is it because of the big names who have won it in the past? Is it because the winner receives a garish green jacket? Is it just because we're told to?
Jordan Spieth hit a tee shot on the third hole during the third round of the Masters golf tournament Saturday, April 8, in Augusta, Georgia.
Associated Press
All the fanfare and revered nature of the tournament contributes to the Masters being the most overrated sporting event of the year."
Plus, if your argument contains anything about the legendary names who have won it in the past, good luck explaining why anyone should care about an event won by complete no-name Danny Willett in 2016.
Whatever the reason is, the justification is flimsy. Considering the Masters isn't a season culmination nor a championship event that has an effect beyond a contribution to the crude and unnecessary FedEx Cup, it's hard for a nonfan to get invested.
perfect vehicle for expressing distaste with the game. Again, it's a difficult sport to get into if you weren't raised with it.
In reality, the problem is with golf, not the Masters specifically; that's just a
A big issue comes with the complete lack of star power in the sport. Yes, a guy like Jordan Spieth is a namebrand golfer, but that sort of person isn't even close to being a "superstar" outside of the narrow world that is golf fandom.
No sensible person wants to speak his name anymore, but everyone knows the last real star golf had. The reason he's still mentioned so frequently by major outlets is because people still care about him. If your sport's biggest draw in terms of name recognition is a guy with a derelict back who hasn't won a major in nearly a decade, you've got serious issues.
Considering the pretentious nature of Augusta National's pimento cheese sandwiches, gaudy green jackets and the sport as a whole, convincing nonfans that the Masters is anything more than a self-celebratory "good ol' boys" club is a futile and misguided task.
- Edited by Omar Sanchez
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