31 January 2023
LAWRENCE (KSNT) – KU track and field ran the table in this weekend’s Jayhawk Classic, marking the final home meet of the indoor season. The next time the Jayhawks return to Lawrence, they’ll compete in the 100th anniversary of the Kansas Relays April 13-15. Between now and then, KU has a busy schedule and a lot of traveling ahead of them.
KU begins a six-meet road trip at the Husker Invitational on Feb. 3-4, but the players are ready for a change of scenery. Getting on the road gives them a chance to compete against even more opponents, and prepare for Big 12’s and Nationals slated for the end of March.
“My season so far has been going really well,” Rylee Anderson said. “I started with a PR (personal record) which is super exciting, and the next few meets, I’ve been able to take advantage of multiple PR bars. And I’ve had, obviously not successful attempts, but obviously they’ve been pretty good, so I’m excited to get on the road and see some new facilities that are really nice tracks to see how I can do there.”
Anderson won the women’s high jump at the Classic with a 1.84m jump, and she has now jumped over six feet in all three of KU’s meets this season. She jumped 1.88m back in December, which not only set a KU school record, but currently ranks second in the country.
KU won a total of 19 events at the Jayhawk Classic, and the players plan to build off that momentum over the next few weeks.
“Just staying focused, training hard everyday, putting in the work, and the work will pay off” Michael Joseph said
“I think we’re going to peak at the right time,” sophomore Clayton Simms said. “I want to jump my highest marks at the biggest meets, so that’s what we train for really.”
Not only did Joseph win the men’s 600 yards in 1:19.50 at the Classic, but he also helped KU win the 4x400m relay. Simms also won his event, posting a personal record of 5.62m in the men’s pole vault, which ranks fifth nationally this year.
Even though they are constantly striving to break their own personal bests, the players attribute the main reason for their individual successes to the constant support from their teammates.
“They’re great supporters,” Anderson said of the team. “We love to have fun in practice and do little competitions and stuff like that. So, it’s always great because it just makes it more fun and we all get more out of it.”
“As the freshman came into they quickly joined into our culture, and I feel like all of us together will put together a great team to compete later on,” Joseph said.
“Our team is really interconnected,” Simms said. “I feel like we’ve got a really good system going. We all want each other to do well and we’re all rooting for each other, tackling each other on the pit when we PR and everything. We’re getting really excited. That’s a really good motivator just to have guys around you who want you to succeed and everybody wants each other to do well. It just makes it more of a fun atmosphere.”