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KANSAN.COM/SPORTS [THURSDAY, SEPT.1, 2016
655 WINLESS DAYS KU is on track to win for the first time since 2014
Students tear down a goalpost on November 8, 2014 after a Kansas victory over Iowa State.
▶ CHRISTIAN S. HARDY
@ByHardy
File Photo/KANSAN
Jordan Shelley-Smith can hardly remember the last time Kansas football won a game. He remembers being a floundering offensive lineman after switching from tight end, still trying to fill out his 6-foot-5 frame. He remembers Clint Bowen as interim head coach, preaching the same type of messages coach David Beaty does now.
But he couldn't tell you how the Jayhawks prepared for Iowa State, what the Cyclones did well, or anything about watching the film before the game. He can only remember that victory in generalities.
first and only win as interim head coach. Shelley-Smith and six others who played in that win have earned degrees from the University in those 655 days since fans stormed to the field and
On Saturday, when Kansas runs from the locker room at the Anderson Family Football Complex, past a crowd of Jayhawk fans and onto the Kivisto Field to play Rhode Island, it will have been 655 days since that last win, a 34-14 home victory over Iowa State.
tore down the Memorial Stadium goalposts.
This time, Shelley-Smith will be the starting left tackle. He has gained close to 40 pounds since Bowen was dunked with Gatorade in his
For good reason, Shelley-Smith doesn't like to look back. It's been 15-straight losses for the Jayhawks, including an
0-12 season. Fifteen times of walking back to the locker room, with no fans cheering or rushing the field and no Gatorade baths. Just 100-some Kansas football players lifelessly trotting
back to their locker room. Saturday, when Kansas is expected to be a heavy favorite over FCS Rhode Island, Kansas can finally begin a new streak.
"It's been a while; lot
of things have happened," Shelley-Smith said. "Our goal now is 1-0 each week. Focus only on that week."
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File Photo/KANSAN
Kansas sophomore Sharon Lokedi races during her freshman season.
KU to race at Rim Rock
ADAM SCHERZER
@ajscherz
The Kansas men's and women's cross country teams open their 2016 season at the Bob Timmons Dual Classic on Saturday.
The Jayhawks are looking to replicate their success from last year as the teams placed first in the women's division and second in the men's division.
The women's cross country team was ranked No. 21 in the country by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTF-CCCA) this week. The women's team is returning much of its roster, which qualified for the National Championships last year. This is the team's highest ranking since they were ranked No. 15 in 1998.
Kansas is also ranked second in the Midwest region behind Big 12 foe Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks rank one sport in front of the Iowa State Cyclones, who are expected to race in the Bob Tim-
mons Dual Classic.
The women's team had eight other runners place in the top 10 last year at this event, and seven of them will be returning this year. The squad is rounded out by seniors Malika Baker, Courtney Coppinger, Jennifer Angles and Nashia Baker as well as junior Lydia Saggau, who won the race last year.
Sophomore and All-American Sharon Lokedi, anchors the women's team. Lokedi placed in first last year at the Rim Rock Classic, which is run on the same course, with a time of 20:42.4 as a freshman. She looks to build off of her 10th-place finish last year in the NCAA Championships.
It is safe to say that the women's team should expect a solid showing from its top five runners. The men's situation is close to the complete opposite.
The Jayhawk men did not finish in either of the top two spots last year, as runners from Minnsota took those spots. However, the men had four
runners finish in the top 10 and all of them will be present this year; sophomores Dylan Hodgson and Michael Melgares, and senior Daniel Koech and James Hampton.
However, the men's team does have freshmen to be excited about. Marcus Quere, George Letner, Ethan Donley and Bryce Hoppel represent the future of this men's team and are anxious to get on the college stage. Also, redshirt freshman Bryce Richards will compete in cross country for the first time at the college level after competing on the track and field team this past spring.
The stage is set and the Jayhawks are ready to kick off the season on the right note this Labor Day weekend. The men's 6K race starts at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 3, while the women's 5K race starts at 10:00 a.m. Both races are at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas.
Armstrong aiming to fill void at defensive end
▶ BRIAN MINI
@brianminimum
Not since Michael Reynolds graduated in 2014 has Kansas had a reliable pass rusher. Signs point to that changing in 2016 thanks to a certain second-year pass rusher.
Sophomore defensive end Dorance Armstrong Jr. had a promising start to his college football career. On a 3rd-and-8 against South Dakota State in the first game of last season, Armstrong entered the game and immediately sacked quarterback Zach Lujan to force a punt.
The Jayhawks would end up losing that game and the following 11, but Armstrong still finished strong. At the end of his debut season, the 6-foot-4 newcomer had 3.5 sacks and four pass breakups as the team's third defensive end.
For reference, Reynolds finished his Kansas career no. 10 in total career sacks despite having just one sack through his first two years on the team. Armstrong might not be thinking of
breaking records, but he is aware of how to get there.
"I learned to learn my speed more," Armstrong said about the change from a year ago. He also emphasized the ability to "communicate as a defense" and "make sure everyone's on the same page."
Despite only being a freshman, Armstrong didn't enter the season under the radar. ESPN ranked him the second-best recruit in a class that included starters running back Ke'aun Kinner, offensive lineman Clyde McCauley, quarterback Ryan Willis and wide receiver Steven Sims Jr., among others.
What was most remarkable about Armstrong's emergence was that he only started the last five games of the season. Prior to the Oklahoma game, the defensive end position opposite recently graduated Ben Goodman Jr. was held by a combination of seniors Damani Mosby and Anthony Olbia.
"I loved it," Armstrong said about getting freshman playing time. "It made
me a better player. When I watch film of what I did last year, I'm able to critique my game."
Armstrong also mentioned that while he was recovering from an offseason injury, he was able to focus on weight training.
On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Clint Bowen cited Armstrong, among a couple others, as the strength of this year's defense. He also said that this development at the "defensive end spot has started to develop depth" this year.
Fast forward to 2016, when Armstrong is listed as the starting defensive end alongside Olobia. The sophomore brings a level of hype that might only be rivaled by sophomore quarterback Ryan Willis.
Coach David Beaty might not have been able to pick up a win in his first season with Kansas, but he certainly took a step in the right direction in recruiting Armstrong.
- Edited by Matt
Clough
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File Photo/KANSAN
Dorance Armstrong Jr. tackles Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes 1I in a 2015 game.
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