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THURSDAY, MAY 9, 2013
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
TRACK AND FIELD
Jayhawks claim No.1 spot after this weekend
COLIN WRIGHT
cwright@kansan.com
After claiming their first outdoor conference championship in school history on Sunday, the Kansas women's track and field team reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the NCAA this week according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross County Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). The men's squad also made a splash after their performance over the weekend, moving into the top-25 for the first time this season and sit at No. 22 in the USTFCCCA rankings.
To go along with the team Big 12 Outdoor Championship, the women's team had a slew of athletes who claimed individual titles. Senior Paris Daniels led the way, being named the National Female Athlete of the Week by the USTFCCCA after picking up 23 points in the league meet in Waco, Texas. Her victory in the 200 meters and runner-up finish in the 100 meters was essential in separating the Jayhawks from the
University of Texas Longhorns, who were the defending Big 12 Outdoor Champions.
Senior horizontal jumpers Andrea Geubelle and Francine Simpson claimed titles in the triple jump and long jump, respectively. Geubelle has the longest triple jump mark in the NCAA this outdoor season, while Simpson holds the second best long jump in the nation. Sophomore Lindsay Vollmer won the Big 12 title in the heptathlon and currently has the eighth highest heptathlon point total in the nation. Junior Jessica Maroszek threw her personal best in the disc throw in winning the conference title and currently has the fifth best mark in the nation.
Olympic gold medalist and Kansas junior Diamond Dixon captured her third consecutive Big 12 Outdoor title in the 400 meters. Her time of 51.73 is the fastest time ran in that event in the outdoor season. Dixon and Daniels, with the help of senior Denesha Morris, freshman Tianna Valentine and senior Taylor Washington, also ran on the 4x100 and 4x400 teams that captured conference titles as well.
The layhawks are led on the men's side by sophomore Michael Stigler, who holds the fastest 400 meter hurdles time in the nation with a time of 49.42. Senior Kyle Clemons has the second fastest 400 meter time in the NCAA after running a 45,10 over the weekend. The duo both claimed Big 12 titles in those respective events last weekend in Waco.
Sophomores DeMario Johnson Kenneth McCuin helped Stigler and Clemons claim the league title in the 4x400 meter relay as well. Senior Jesse Vaughn won the Big 12 with a season-best javelin throw of 67.86 meters. Josh Munsch ran his fastest 1500-meter time of the year en route to a third-place finish last weekend. The junior now ranks No. 17 in the nation in that event. Sophomore Casey Brown achieved his personal best in the pole vault, claiming second place
with a vault of 5.19 meters.
With both the men and women reaching personal best marks on the track and in the field, the Jayhawks have plenty to be excited about. The women will have an opportunity to claim their first national championship in school history in less than a month at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in Eugene, Ore., and the men have a handful of athletes that will compete for a chance to win an individual national title.
This weekend, the Jayhawks have two tune-up meets to attend as they prepare for the NCAA meets. Many of the athletes will travel to Atlanta for the Georgia Tech Invitational, while a handful of athletes will make the short trip west to Manhattan for the Ward Haylett Invitational.
Edited by Elise Reuter
Paris Daniels, a senior from St. Louis, crosses the finish line during the women's preliminary 4x400-meter relay on friday at Memorial Stadium. Kansas took first place in the race qualifying them for the finals on Saturday.
ERIN BREFMER/KANSAN
BASEBALL
King Felix pitches well, lifts Mariners over Pittsburgh Pirates
ASSOCIATED PRESS
PITTSRURGH
PITTSBURGH — Felix Hernandez scattered six hits and Jesus Montero broke a tie with a solo home run in the seventh inning off A.J. Burnett to help the Seattle Mariners beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-1 Wednesday.
Hernandez (5-2) struck out five and walked one to improve to 4-0 in his last five starts while shaving his ERA to 1.53. The right-hander shook off a shaky first inning then settled down to allow four base
runners in his final seven innings of work. Tom Wilhelmsen worked the ninth for his ninth save.
Starling Marte had two hits for Pittsburgh and Andrew McCutchen added an RBI single but the Pirates couldn't sweep the brief two-game series.
Burnett (3-3) was almost as sharp, giving up just two hits over seven innings while striking out nine. Yet he also walked four batters and gave up Montero's third homer of the season with one out in the seventh.
The showdown between the
two staff aces lived up to its billing.' Hernandez entered the game ranked in the top five in the American League in ERA and strikeouts while Burnett came in unbeaten in nearly a month and second in the National League in strikeouts behind New York's Matt Harvey.
Hernandez's only miscue came in the first. Starling Marte led off with a double — his 17th lead-off hit this season — then came around to score when McCutchen singled up the middle with one out. Garrett Jones then walked,
but Pittsburgh's promising inning disappeared when Mike McKenry hit into a double-play.
It was the fourth straight game in which the Pirates let a potentially big first inning slip away.
Burnett cruised through the
And Hernandez didn't botch his reprieve. Pittsburgh only managed to get one runner to third the rest of the way. Jordy Mercer doubled leading off the fifth and advanced to third with one out. Burnett, however, couldn't square a sacrifice bunt and Marte struck out.
first three innings, needing an economical 32 pitches to retire the first nine batters. Yet his control briefly abandoned him in the fourth and his unfamiliarity with backup catcher McKenry may have cost the Pirates a run.
Michael Saunders and Jason Bay walked leading off the fourth and were on second and third with two outs when Burnett bounced a curveball to home plate that smacked off McKenry — who was catching Burnett for just the second time in the regular season due to an neck injury to starter
Russell Martin — and rolled away, allowing Saunders to race home and tie the game.
Burnett had little trouble with one of the worst offenses in the majors until the seventh, when Montero took a 91 mph fastball and put it in the first row of seats in center. Hernandez and Wilhelmsen took care of the rest as the Mariners improved to 8-4 in their last 12 games as they try to bounce back from a horrific start.
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