FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The Kansas men’s and women’s track and field teams closed out a strong weekend at the John McDonnell Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Sunday, which included two top-10 KU performers and several lifetime bests.
Among the top performances from Fayetteville, Kansas freshman Victoria Gorlova became the No. 4 performer in KU outdoor history in the women’s triple jump, while freshman Lona Latema became the No. 7 performer in KU outdoor history in the women’s 5,000 meters.
Competing in just her second meet of the 2021 outdoor season, Gorlova got off to a strong start on Saturday, jumping 12.83m (42-1.25 ft.) on her second attempt. After Arkansas State’s Imani Uduomana outjumped Gorlova on her sixth attempt, Gorlova reached an impressive 13.01m (42-8.25 ft.) on her final attempt to win the event and become the No. 4 performer in KU outdoor history.
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Four Jayhawks earned NCAA All-American honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas on Friday, including junior Samantha Van Hoecke’s First Team honors in the women’s pole vault.
Competing in her first NCAA Championships, Van Hoecke placed seventh overall by clearing a personal best 4.36m (14-3.5 ft.), tying the sixth best performance in KU indoor history. Van Hoecke also became the first KU All-American in the women’s pole vault indoors since Laura Taylor in 2018.
Despite opening her day with a miss at the opening height of 4.16m (13-7.75 ft.), Van Hoecke bounced back and cleared on her second attempt. She would miss on her first two attempts at 4.26m (13-11.75 ft.), before making it over the bar on her final attempt.
LAWRENCE, Kan. – The Kansas men’s and women’s track and field teams are set to compete at the 2021 NCAA Indoor track & field championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas, which take place March 11-14.
Among the Jayhawks that qualified are Alexandra Emilianov (shot put), Honour Finley (400 meters), Samantha Van Hoecke (pole vault), Rylee Anderson (high jump) and Zach Bradford (pole vault).
Entering the NCAA Indoor Championships, Bradford ranks as the No. 3 individual in the men’s pole vault, clearing a season best 5.75m (18-10.25 ft.) at the Texas Tech Invitational on January 29. Throughout the season, Bradford has set numerous meet records while owning eight of the top 10 jumps in KU indoor history.
The NCAA Division I men’s and women’s track & field and cross-country committee announced the 2021 NCAA Indoor track & field championship participants on Tuesday, including five Jayhawks who will compete in the meet from March 11-14 in Fayetteville, Ark.