+
sports
KANSAN.COM/SPORTS |MONDAY, AUG. 29, 2016
Kansas volleyball sweeps Bulldog Invitational
▶ TIFFANY LITTLER
@oil3.3
No. 5 Kansas volleyball (3-0) will be leaving Mississippi undefeated after defeating Eastern Washington early Saturday (25-13, 25-15, 25-21) and Lamar (25-17, 25-14, 25-9) later in the day. The Jayhawks won in three-straight sets in each of the three matches of the tournament.
"We matched their effort with some good defensive intensity," Kansas coach Ray Bechard said of Mississippi State in a press release. "I thought our defense probably out-shined our offensive performance."
After struggling with service errors Friday night against Mississippi State, the Jayhawks came back
with a total of five aces in just the first set of the match against Eastern Washington. Junior outside hitter Madison Rigdon recorded three on her own.
Freshman outside hitter Ashley Smith recorded her first career block in the second set, while redshirt freshman defensive specialist Allie Nelson subbed in for the first time of her collegiate career.
In the second match of the day, Kansas dominated both defensively and offensively. Lamar was held to a .035 hitting percentage and zero service aces. Then Kansas went on an 8-0 run to start the third set.
The tournament championship was Kansas's sixthstraight non-conference tournament championship. Along with being crowned
champions of the Bulldog Invitational, several other individual awards were handed out to Kansas.
Junior right-side hitter Kelsie Payne, junior setter Ainise Havili, and senior middle blocker Tayler Soucie made the All-Tournament Team. Senior Cassie Wait was named Outstanding Libero, while the tournament MVP award was given to Rigdon.
["Rigdon] created a lot of opportunities for our team and scored points in many different ways whether attacking, serving, or blocking," Bechard said. "Very deserving of MVP honors."
Next up for the Jayhawks will be the start of the Kansas Invitational versus Chicago State on Friday, September 2 at 12 p.m.
Junior Madison Ridgon celebrates after a winning hit against Missouri.
Texas mother thanks David Beaty for saving her son
File Photo/KANSAN
File photo
▶ WESLEY DOTSON
@WeslevDee23
David Beaty looks on from the sideline during a Kansas football game.
Garland, Texas is his home. His work as a receivers coach at Texas A&M helped him land his first head coaching gig. There's no denying he has special ties to the communities in his home state.
Kansas football coach David Beaty has strong ties to the state of Texas.
Trace Cochrun Menchaca, a native of Jersey Village, Texas, posted a "Throwback Thursday" post today on Facebook that was a tribute to Beaty, who was visiting family in Houston in 2013 when he met the Menchacas.
But to one mother, he will always be known as "the man in the blue shirt" who saved her son's life.
Trace's son, Max, fell
through a trampoline at Cosmic Jump, an indoor trampoline park in Houston. Beaty, who was also there at the time, dove in after him. The post shows a picture of Beaty in the aforementioned blue shirt, helping the boy through a grand mal seizure, which usually consists of loss of consciousness and violent muscle contractions.
Not only was Beaty able to rescue the boy, but he was also there for him during court sessions and police meetings.
"I believe he saved Max's life," Trace saves in her post.
According to the Houston Chronicle, Max also suffered traumatic brain injury after fracturing his skull at the Houston trampoline park. Max still struggles with "balance and abstract reasoning." In February, his family was
awarded $11.5 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
"He talked to him, comforted him, reassured him, and held him tight during his grand mal seizures," Trace said. "He talked to Max about sports and specifically football."
Trace and her son will be guests at Memorial Stadium this season when the team takes on Oklahoma State on October 22.
"The man in the blue shirt is our hero," Trace said. "He also happens to be the head football coach at Kansas. His name is David Beaty. David Beaty saved my son's life."
- Edited by Matt Clough
KU alumnus Kyle Clemons earns gold medal in Rio
▶ ADAM SCHERZER
@Ajscherz
An Olympic gold has been a long time coming for former Kansas track star Kyle Clemons. He has gone from winning multiple state championships in high school to becoming a second-team All-American and setting team records at the University of Kansas to becoming a gold medalist
for Team USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Clemons, 26, graduated in 2013 and has been training for this opportunity ever since. When Clemons was at Kansas, he and track and field coach Stanley Redwine put together a plan. Redwine has helped train Clemons through this process since then.
"He pretty much told me I need to grow up."
Clemons said. "I had to rededicate myself and reshift my focus."
gold in the finals.
Clemons won gold in the 4x400 meter relay along with teammates LaShawn Merritt, Gil Roberts, David Verburg, Tony McQuay and Arman Hall. Yes, that is more than four runners. Clemons helped Team USA in the semifinals, but cheered from the sidelines as his teammates took the
Clemons ran the third leg of the semifinal relay and posted a split time of 44.98 seconds. This position in the relay was actually one that he preferred because he said the first leg was more of an "open 400" and the anchor had to be "mentally tough."
He's not looking ahead to Tokyo in 2020 quite yet, but instead towards his
"I like to take it year by year and the World Championships are in London next year," Clemons said.
immediate next event.
After all, an Olympics can be pretty tolling both physically and mentally. To get back and prepared for the World Championships, Clemons plans to keep training here in Lawrence at Rock Chalk Park.
Clemons has not had the time or desire to fully enshrine and display his medal, so instead it's sitting in his car's glove box, where people who ask can see it. Let's just hope his car's security system is top-notch.
—Edited by Chandler Boese
Former Kansas track runner Kyle Clemons won gold as part of the 4x400 relay team at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Christian Hardy/KANSAN
.