THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
KANSAS RELAYS
PAGE 1C
THURSDAY. APRIL 21, 2005
Relays renaissance
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Olympians highlight effort to return historic event to days at the top
BY FRANK TANKARD
ftankard@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTSWRIVER
Every year, Kansas Relays meet
Director Tim Weaver has to
answer the same question: Are the
Kansas Relays back on track?
After the meet was canceled in 1998 and 1999 because of track renovations and after two decades of mediocre competition and mostly empty stadiums, many wondered whether the meet would return.
Weaver was hired as the meet director and the Relays returned in 2000. Weaver said he was ready to stop answering the question of whether the meet was back.
"This will be the sixth Kansas Relays since the meet was canceled for two years and considered dead by most," Weaver said. "In my mind, the comeback is over."
In the past, the invitational races were more evenly distributed during the first two days of the three-day event.
The Kansas Athletics Department has been heavily promoting the Gold Zone, a new format for the meet in which the premier athletes compete from 2 to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
The caliber of athletes competing in the year's meet certainly seems to back Weaver up. Seven Olympic gold medalists, three silver medalists, 22 additional Olympic qualifiers and seven World Championship winners are all competing in the meet.
Local newspapers have reported that the Athletic Department has spent almost $100,000 to bring in the high-profile athletes, including Maurice Greene, Marion Jones, Stacy Dragia and Allen Johnson, four of the biggest stars in track and field.
won several outdoor championships during that time.
But how do these athletes compare to the greats of Kansas Relays lore from the 1950s through the early 1980s, when the meet was considered to be in its heyday? The Jayhawks
The meet has played host to many of the world's best athletes over the years, many of whom competed for Kansas. There was four-time Olympic champion Al Oerter, who won the shotput in 1956, '57, '59 and again in '81.
And, of course, there was distance prodigy and world-record holder Jim Ryun in the 1960s. In 1972 he came back to the meet, helping to draw a record of 32,000 fans in the stands. Twelve athletes from the Soviet Union came to the meet in the landmark year of 1983. They won nine events and set seven meet records.
Statistically speaking, this year's top competitors are as good as ever, and there are far more of them. When once Kansas athletes dominated the meet, now professionals are the main
attraction.
In the late 1980s, the Kansas track team fell from the top and has yet to climb back. The last time the Jayhawks won a conference championship was 1982. In 2004, the team finished last in the conference.
Top: The Kansas Relays are run on a dirt track in April, 1955. Those Relays took place before the Campanile was built. Bottom: Kansas Relay participants sprint around the track in April, 1956. Many changes have come to the Relays in its history, including the introduction of the Gold Zone this year.
But there are definitely some Kansas performers to watch this year. Senior Brooklyn Hann broke her own school record in the triple jump on Saturday at the Tom Botts
SEE RELAYS ON PAGE 3C
Kansas Relays
When Today-Saturday For a complete schedule, turn to page 2
Where
Memorial Stadium
How much Students get in free with a KUID. Non-students are $10, children and seniors are $5. A family pack for two adults and two children is $20. Tickets can be purchased at the box office throughout the event.
Highlight
This year's Relays will be the first to feature the Gold Zone. The Gold Zone, scheduled for Saturday from 2-5 p.m., will feature 39 Olympic athletes competing in events ranging from the high jump to sprints. Featured athletes include Kansas alumnus Charlie Gruber and Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones.
Inside
Profiles of selected Olympic athletes, a more detailed overview of the Gold Zone, a profile of a man who is a foundation of KU track and field, as well as more information on the events.
Friday and Saturday's games will be webcast from kuathletics.com.
Online
Students lead efforts to run meet smoothly
BY PATRICK SHEHAN
pshehan@hansan.com
KANAN SPORTWRITER
At the end of the 2004 Kansas Relays, Josh Meyers, Kelly Wilson and Lindsay Gurbacki rested, reflected and settled down. Another relay weekend in the books.
While some crack open the champagne, others get to work. That's what the three chairpersons of the student relays committee did.
been done differently. When every suggestion was in, the number one request was to bring in some big names.
They sent out surveys and got feedback on what could have
Along with meet director Tim Weaver, these three organized one of the most hyped events in Lawrence.
To say that big names will be at the Kansas Relays this year would be an understatement. Marion Jones, Maurice Greene, Stacy Dragila and 36 other Olympians will be competing in the Gold Zone on Saturday.
"It's a lot of work every year, the Gold Zone is just a new idea, a way to condense down the high-profile events. It's really a lot of work," Meyers said.
SEE COMMITTEE ON PAGE 3C
The Student Relays Committee tri-chairs fill coaches' envelopes for the Relays. Josh Meyers, Wichita senior, Lindsay Gurback, Atlanta junior and Kansan advertising staff member, and Kelly Wilson, Plainville senior, have committed nearly a year preparing for this weekend.
Brian Lewis/KANSAN
Jiles brings experience history into weekend
Jiles no stranger to success at KU
BY PATRICK SHEHAN
pshehan@kansan.com
KANSAN SPORTWRITER
Julius Jiles, freshman hurdler and sprinter, practices Monday afternoon at Memorial Stadium the for the Kansas Relays. Jiles was last year's Relays high school MVP.
Tulius Jiles is familiar with success at the Kansas Relays.
Stephanie Farley/KANSAN
One year ago, Jiles ran the meet of his life, winning the high school boy's 100- and 400-meter hurdles and earning Kansas Relays MVP honors. Jiles, a Kansas City, Mo., freshman, hails from the same high school as Olympian Muna Lee.
Lee traveled to Athens to compete in the 200-meter dash. She won two indoor national championships in the 60-meter dash.
From the moment Jiles entered the famous track program at Central High School, expectations were high.
"My freshman year coming in, their track program was so good," Jiles said. "Wherever Muna Lee left off, we had to continue that."
Jiles originally fell in love with football. Ranked No.15 in the nation, Jiles faced a promising pigskin career. An injury his senior year forced him to make changes.
"My senior year I was a free safety, I broke my hand in 23 different places in the first game," Jiles said. "I still tried to
play on it for four games, but I wasn't noticed."
Jiles focused primarily on track and hasn't looked back since. By the time he graduated, he had won the Missouri State championship six times, three state MVP's and three National Championships. Jiles was named a high school all-
By the time Jiles raced at the Kansas Relays, top-tier track programs were chomping at the bit to sign him.
American seven times.
Kentucky, Southern California, Louisiana State and Missouri all recruited him. When he ran the
SEE JILES ON PAGE 3C