THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 19,2007
KANSAS RELAYS
ONE LOVE
3B
Relays show off Kansas athletes'talents
Maybe the boundless Kansas plains tempt kids to race to the horizon.
Maybe the humidity that settles in each summer and chokes the energy out of everyone prepares Kansans for the pain that comes from pushing the body to its limit.
Whatever the reason, Kansas has produced some of the best runners in U.S. history. Glenn Cunningham, Wes Santee, Jim Ryun and Maurice Greene all hail from Kansas. Same with one of the country's best meets, the Kansas Relays.
This year's installment started Wednesday night and continues through Saturday. Since 1923, all that homegrown talent has wowed crowds at the relays.
Cunningham, who once held the U.S. record for the mile, won several distance events in the mid 1930s. Ryun set a meet record for the mile with a time of 3 minutes, 54 seconds.
- Santee and Greene's stories are the best to tell.
Fortunately for us, Neal Bascomb
wrote a wonderful book, "The Perfect Mile," that gives an in-depth look at Santee's life. The book chronicles Santee, John Landy and Roger Bannister's chase for the first sub-four-minute mile in the early 1950s.
BY MARK DENT
KANSAN SPORTS COLUMNIST
MDENT@KANSAN.COM
As a kid in Ashland, Santee ran. He ran to the barn. He ran to the grain silo. He ran five miles to school. He ran far away to the University of Kansas to escape his sometimes abusive father.
All of the running prepared him to take center stage in the race for the first 3:59 mile. After a few sub 4:06 times, Santee thought he was finally ready for the big one. Of course, he wanted to do it at the Kansas Relays.
A then record large crowd sat on the edge of their seats waiting for the mile race on April 18, 1954. A little before the race, a drop of rain fell from the sky. Then another. Soon, the cinder track turned into a Slip 'n Slide.
Crews finally cleared off the flooded track, but the conditions
were terrible. Standing puddles doted the outside lanes and a sharp wind blew. That didn't stop Santee. He ran the gutsiest race of his life. After three laps, he had the chance to be the first runner under four. Fifty-five seconds and 440 yards stood between him and immortality.
But it didn't quite work out. The wet surface and harsh winds were too tough to overcome. Santee finished with a 4:03.1 time, the second fastest U.S. mile at the time. It was also the best mile time at the Kansas Relays until Byun ran faster in '67.
After the eras of Santee and Ryun, something happened to track and field: Americans began preferring long home runs instead of long distance runs. They began watching cars zoom around a track, not people.
Apathy towards the sport also hurt the relays. Attendance lagged in the '80s. In 1998 and 1999, renovations to Memorial Stadium caused the event to be cancelled. By 2000, the Kansas Relays were in danger of extinction. That's when Kansas City, Kan., native Maurice Greene helped save it.
Thousands rushed to see the world's fastest human, who would win the gold medal in the 100-meter dash later that year at the Olympics. Spectators stood and cheered when he strutged along the track before his 4x100 meter race. They crammed into the front row on the stadium's west side to get the best view while he did his warm-ups. They flashed cameras when he received the baton in his anchor position.
Then, the commotion stopped. Everyone held their breath and admired Greene as he glided down
the homestretch, perfect stride all the way, for a first place finish. The Kansas Relays were back.
This year there are plenty of Kansas natives on the Jayhawk roster to carry on the tradition — Matt Baysinger, Lisa Morrisey and Josh Kirk.
To me, Paul Hefferon sticks out. Hefferon, who's from Overland Park, was an All-American in the 5,000 meter last year and placed sixth in the mile at the 2006 Kansas Relays.
He's probably not going to run a mile in less than four minutes or attract a record crowd. That doesn't mean he won't do something that will make people gasp with excitement.
After all, he's a Kansan. And Kansan know how to make the relays special.
Dent is an Overland Park sophomore in journalism.
— Edited by Jyl Unruh
Distance runners keep eyes on future, regionals
》 KANSAS RELAYS
thursday's kansas relays schedule
Noon
FIELD EVENTS
Men's hammer throw
4:30 p.m.
Women's hammer throw
5 p.m.
TRACK EVENTS
5:35 p.m.
Women's unseeded 800 meters
Men's unseeded 800 meters
5:45 p.m.
Women's unseeded 1,500 meters
5:55 p.m.
BY TAYLOR BERN
steeplechase
Men's unseeded 3,000 meter
Men's unseeded 1,500 meters
6:10 p.m.
Women's 3,000 meters
6:20 p.m.
Master's mile
7 p.m.
6:30 p.m.
Women's open 5,000 meters
7:30 p.m.
Men's open 5,000 meters
7:30 p.m.
Women's 5,000 meters
7:55 p.m.
7:55 p.m.
Men's 5,000 meters
8:35 p.m.
Women's 10,000 meters
9:20 p.m.
Men's 10,000 meters
Despite all the attention focused on the Kansas Relays, distance coach Doug Clark still has his mind set on what's best for his runners.
With that in mind, several Jayhawks will run in events in an effort to help them get ready for next week's meets.
"A lot of the races tonight are to prepare us for races later in the year," Clark said.
Clark said at next week's Drake Relays and Cardinal Invitational he expected his runners to go after regional qualifying times.
"The relays are great, but it's really serious training that will get us ready for what's coming up." Clark said.
Clark said less than stellar spring weather was one reason several athletes have been unable to make a legitimate run at a regional qualifying time. He said that's why he wanted to send runners out to Stanford,
"The relays are great, but it's really serious training that will get us ready for what's coming up."
DOUG CLARK Distance coach
where the weather was more pre dictable.
Junior Paul Hefferon, a 2006 outdoor All-American, will run in the unseeded 1,500-meter run tonight. He will then head out to Stanford next week for the 5,000 and 10,000 meters.
Hefferon holds the Big 12 Conference's fourth fastest time this outdoor season in the 5,000 meter with 14:03.50.
He also finished sixth in the mile a year ago at the Relays with a time of 4:12.70
Both junior Jason Schweitzer
and freshman Bret Imgrund will compete in tonight's 1,500. They will then travel to the Drake Relays to compete in the 5,000-meter run.
Junior Colby Wissel will run unattached in the seeded 1,500 at 2:35 p.m. Saturday. Wissel is seeded with the fourth fastest time. He will be joined by All-American Benson Chesang, a fifth seed.
Junior Alicia McGregor and sophomore Hayley Harbert are set to race in the 3,000-meter run tonight. Both will run in the Drake Relays next week for the 5,000.
The distance events start tonight at 5 p.m. in Memorial Stadium.
Kansan sportswriter Taylor Bern can be contacted at tbern@kansan.com.
— Edited by Mark Vierthaler
Top throwers likely to win Kansas Relays
BY TAYLOR BERN
Never in Kansas history has there been such a productive pair of hammer throwers competing at the same
Tarasova
A agafonov holds the Kansas men's record with a toss of 233 feet. Tarasova owns the women's record at 204-5.
time. On Friday fans will get a chance to see sophomores Egor Agafonov and Zlata Tarasova in the hammer throw at the Kansas Relays.
Agafonov
At last year's Kansas Relays, Agafonov finished in second place behind Nick Welihozkiy of Pac-Bay Track Club. This time around he has his eyes squarely on first.
"We're doing as much as we can in practice and both coach Andy (Kokhanovsky) and I hope to do better than we did last year," Agafonov said.
Agafonov won the weight throw at the 2007 NCAA Indoor National Championships, avenging his last year's second place finish.
"I think it's a little different than it was before," Agafonov said. "I understand what's happening and I know what I can do."
Agafonov already has a NCAA regional qualifying mark and leads the Big 12 Conference. He has won his two previous outdoor competitions this season at the Texas Relays and the John Jacobs Invitational.
Tarasova also finished second at last year's Relays, falling just three inches behind the record-setting throw of Kansas State's Laci Heller.
Senior Cody Roberts will also compete in the weight throw with Agafonov. Their competition starts at noon today. The women's hammer throw will follow at 4:30.
Kansan sportswriter Taylor Bern can be contacted at tbern@kansan.com.
Edited by Jyl Unruh
TRACK (CONTINUED FROM 1B)
points and finishing at fifth place at the end of the first day.
Along with victory in the 400, Breth finished the high jump with five and 10 inches, more than six inches higher than what he said he was hoping for.
"I'm completely satisfied with my performance," Breth said. "I was in seventh before the 400 so I jumped up two spots with that."
In the heptathlon, freshman Chelsea Helm garnered 2,282 points through four events, placing eighth after one day of competition.
Helm's time of 16.4 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles was a new personal best.
"There are things that I'm proud of and things that I need to work on." Helm said in a press release. "I think I did the best in the 100-meter
hurdles. I have had some trouble with those, and I got through the whole race, so I was proud of myself."
The first decathlon event begins at 8.30 a.m. today, which means that athletes need to be on the track around 7:15.
This may be a difficult task for someone like Kirk who, he said, struggles to get to sleep early.
"It's hard for me to go to bed by eight or nine o'clock because I'll be thinking about the events," Kirk said.
Kansan sportswriter Taylor Bern can be contacted at tbern@ kansan.com.
Edited by Mark Vierthaler
Anna Faltermeier/KANSAN
Senior Josh Kirk stretches before running the 400-meter dash during the Kansas Relays Wednesday afternoon. Kirk ended the day in first place of the decemphase with 3,686 points.
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