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Monday, June 3, 2013
The University Daily Kansan
TRACK AND FIELD
Top-ranked women's team to compete at nationals
MAX GOODWIN
mgoodwin@kansan.com
The Kansas women's track and field team will compete at the NCAA track and field national championships as the top-ranked team in the nation by the Coaches Association. It is the eighth time this season that the Jayhawks have held the top spot in the USTFCCCA rankings. The national championship events are June 5-8.
The team brings 13 women to compete, and with seven seniors and three juniors, it is a mature and experienced group traveling to Eugene, Ore.
Coach Stanley Redwine said the team is ready to compete and isn't feeling the pressure of entering the championships with the target on them as the top-ranked team.
"The athletes are ready to go, but we have to compete as a team." Redwine said. "I think if we understand what we're in it for and how to compete, maturity is the thing that's on our side."
The coaches and athletes know that those past titles and the current ranking will mean nothing once the meet begins at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
Senior horizontal jumper Andrea Geubelle, junior sprinter Diamond Dixon and junior pole-vaulter Natalia Bartonovskaya have all won at least one individual event championship.
Together, the three athletes have combined for five individual national titles, giving Kansas more individual titles than any other team at the championships.
"On that day, they have to be better than everybody else," Redwine said. "That means stepping up in some cases. That means just doing what you did to get there in some cases."
Andrea Geubelle will compete in both the long jump and the triple jump events, which could end up gaining crucial team points for the Jayhawks.
Geubelle has won two indoor national titles, both in the triple jump,
Bergmann is the only senior with a top 10 ranking in the javelin throw going into the meet.
"The first time you go to national, you walk in and you're nervous and you don't know what to expect," Bergmann said. "You feel like you have to hit above your personal record. Having that experience, you go in like 'this is just another meet.'"
For the full version of this story and for information on the men's team, visit kansan.com
Senior javelin thrower Heather Bergmann will be throwing at her third national championship meet. She said the experience that she and many of her teammates have gained in past years allows them to focus on performing to the best of their abilities rather than trying to do more than they are capable of.
though she said an outdoor title would be more memorable.
Edited by Megan Hinman
TARA BRYANT/KANSAN
Senior sprinter Paris Daniels finishes the final leg of the women's 4x400 relay at the Kansas Relays on April 17 - 20. The relay team - comprised of senior Denesha Morris, junior Diamond Dixon, senior Taylor Washington and Daniels - ran the second fastest time in the event in Kansas Relays history with a time of 3:32.94.