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/ SPORTS / FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Road to get tougher at Wisconsin Adidas Invitational
BY LAUREN NEWMAN
lnewman@kansan.com
The men's and women's cross country teams will travel to Madison, Wis., for the Wisconsin Adidas Invitational on Saturday. The Jayhawks will see a much higher level of competition, including a handful of nationally ranked teams, than in their past two meets.
two meetings.
Some of the Big 12 teams that will be competing against Kansas are Nebraska and Texas A&M. The men's 8K race will begin at 11 a.m. and the women's 5K race will begin shortly after 11:45 a.m.
Junior captain Donny Wasinger won't be too far from home when competing at the Invitational. His hometown of Wiona, Minn., is just three hours away, and he is excited to see his family and old high school track coaches that will be there to cheer him along.
Wasinger has confidence in the men's team this Saturday and doesn't think that its two-week break from competing will affect its performance.
Kansas runners Natalie Becker, Tessa Cole-Turcott, Kyra Kilwein and Cori Christensen lead the race approaching the one-mile marker of the 5K course at Rim Rock Farm during the Bob Timmons Classic last month. The teams' next meet will be in Madison, Wis., on Saturday.
its performance.
"This last two weeks have probably been the most difficult practices that we'll have all year," he said. "We've been steady during these two weeks in practices, remained healthy, and overall just made sure to take care of ourselves."
WISCONSIN ADIDAS INVITATIONAL
To remain this positive, Wasinger and the other captains on the men's team have been stressing teamwork during their practices.
"The workouts have been intense enough and we've been
WHEN: Sat. Oct. 2.
Time: Men at 11 a.m.
women at 11:45 a.m.
WHERE: Madison, Wis.
keeping the intensity up during the workouts," Wasinger said. "This has helped get through to the guys that this is college and we're ready to get serious."
Although confident, he knows that there will be some tough competition at this upcoming meet. The team's plan is to not focus on one team but to focus on feeding off each other.
"We know how to run together and everyone knows how to find one another during the race," Wasinger said." This and working together will play a big role in our team's success."
from meets. Stowe said her teammates have been trying to stick together on the course, and she thinks that they has been accomplishing that goal.
teams success. The women's team is anticipating this race because the whole team will finally be competing. Senior Amanda Miller and juniors Rebeka Stowe and Kara Windisch will be racing with the team for the first time this year after sitting out minor meets early in the season.
as many of us close together as possible." Stowe said. "There were five of us who worked together this past week and were really tight on all of our times. As a team we want to try and have our top five within a 45-second span of
"It's been a long time training without racing, and I'm really excited to get the whole team back together and see how we can compete as a team," Stowe said.
pete as a team. Show Just as the men team had its strenuous workouts, the women also stepped up their training. Both teams had more frequent and increasingly difficult workouts during their two-week break
pishing that good "Our strategy is probably pack running. We want to try and have
each other."
each other.
As a leader on the team, Stowe has tried to keep the momentum high and remain positive.
"We know we still need to stay focused and prepare, knowing that at the Wisconsin meet there will
be a lot of good teams there." Stowe said. "We also have been reiterating that we have expectations for ourselves and we need to step up and make it happen."
Edited By Joel Petterson
MLB
White Sox defeat Red Sox in Chicago
CHICAGO — Omar Vizquel hit a go-ahead single in Chicago's three-run seventh inning and the
White Sox backed Freddy Garcia in a 5-2 win over the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday night.
Sox on Wednesday in After Vizel's hit, the White Sox made it 4-1 on a throwing error by catcher Victor Martinez and a single by Alexei Ramirez
off Josh Beckett.
Beckett (6-6) went six innings for the Red Sox, who were eliminated from postseason contention on Tuesday.
Associated Press
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NBA
James sticks by comments on race
MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. — Miami Heat forward LeBron James didn't back away Thursday from comments he made during a CNN interview about race playing a factor in the backlash from his decision to leave Cleveland.
Speaking after Thursday's training camp practice, James said too much was being made of his comments to CNN during an interview that was conducted Monday during the Heat's media day at the University of Miami but aired Wednesday night.
James and longtime business manager Maverick Carter both said they believed race played a role in some of the apparent dislike for James in the aftermath of his move in free agency to the Heat. James announced the decision on a much criticized hour-long ESPN special July 8. James, an Akon, Ohio, native, spent his first seven NBA seasons in Cleveland, which chose him with the No.1 pick in 2003.
"I'm not going to go back on my words," James said Thursday before he attempted to dismiss the issue. "Sometimes (race) does play a part. People are looking too far into it. I said what I had to say (Monday) and I'll continue to move on."
CNN on Monday, James and Carter were asked if they thought race played a role in James' popularity taking a significant hit in the months since joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form arguably the league's most polarizing team.
the league James was later voted among one of the world's most disliked sports figures based on a poll by the Q Scores Company last month. According to the Q score, James' support drastically dwindled among white fans but only slightly dipped among African-American followers.
Neither James nor Carter suggested race was a significant factor, but did believe it played a role in how James recently has been perceived.
"I think so at times," James said during CNN's interview. "It's always, you know, a race factor."
Among some of the most vocal critics of James, however, have been African-American sports icons, including Charles Barkley, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who is white, was fined $100,000 by the NBA in July for offensive statements he made about James's departure.
departure. In the minutes after James made his announcement July 8, news cameras captured images of
some white fans burning replicas of James' No. 23 Cavs jerseys in Cleveland.
Cleveland. James initially took exception to the views of those three Hall of Fame players. But James also said Monday that he respects Jordan, Barkley and Johnson and credited them with paving the way for current players. James said he has not talked to Gilbert since signing with Miami.
Since training camp practices started Tuesday at the Hulburt Field's Air Force Base, James repeatedly has declined to talk about the events that played out in summer free agency. But he quickly addressed the CNN interview and shifted to other topics.
suffered to other teammates and coaches came to James' defense, but also made it clear that the issue hasn't been a distraction during training camp.
Asked about James' comments after Thursday's practice, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he couldn't imagine how James felt about the backlash.
"I don't walk in LeBron's shoes," Spoelstra said. "From our stand-point, we've moved on from the summer."
summar Bosh also made a bold decision to leave Toronto after seven seasons and was criticized by some team officials on his way to Miami.
The University of Kansas University Theatre Presents the winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Drama Desk and Tony Award
LOST IN YONKERS
Reserved seat tickets are on sale in the KU ticket offices. University Theatre, 864-3982; Lied Center, 864-AIRS, and online at www.kutheatre.com. Tickets are $18 for the public, $17 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff, and $10 for all students. All major credit cards are accepted. The University Theatre is partially funded by the KU Student Senate Activity Fee; funding is also provided by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a national agency. The University Theatre's 2010-11 season is sponsored by the KU Credit Union.
KU UNIVERSITY
THEATRE
The University of Kansas
7:30 p.m.
October 7,8,9,12,2010
2:30 p.m.
October 10,2010
Crafton-Preyer Theatre
KU CREDIT UNION
A LONDON OFFICE OF BETTERING CREDIT JURY
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