Two Kansas University women turned in medal performances at the Kansas Relays on Thursday at Memorial Stadium.
KU’s Sarah Heeb won the women’s collegiate 10,000 in 36:44.15, while teammate Sandy Wilder notched third in the heptathlon with a score of 4,465.
Heeb didn’t suffer through the brisk evening air to win the 10,000. She enjoyed the cold.
“Actually, I like it because it is ideal running weather,” Heeb said. “Sprinters like hot weather because their muscles are all warmed-up, but when you’re going for long distances, you like the cold weather.”
Heeb, a senior from Topeka, finished behind Amber Anderson, an unattached competitor who had a time of 34:41.33, but Heeb beat all other collegiate competitors.
Wilder set her sights on a top-three finish in her last Kansas Relays heptathlon — and she did just that. Although the senior from Montevallo, Ala., was fifth entering Thursday’s events, she made up enough ground on the final day to earn third.
“This is the first time that I’ve ever gotten a medal at Kansas Relays, so I was excited,” Wilder said. “And it was my senior year, so I went out with a bang.”
In the women’s 5,000, KU’s Emily Miles and Lynn Lopresti finished 10th and 11th, respectively. Miles had a time of 19:01.32, while Lopresti clocked in at 19:15.65. The winning time was 17:28.14, run by Amy Marx of Kansas State.
On the men’s side, three Kansas runners placed in the top 10 in the 5,000. Joshua Weber placed seventh with a time of 15:55.64; Clifton Railsback ran a 16:04.79 to earn eighth; and Eric Richard came in ninth at 16:19.66. Emporia State’s Jurmain Mitchell won the event in an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time of 14:44.66.
Cleophas Boor of Barton County Community College won the men’s 10,000 in 30:04.52. No Kansas runners participated in that event.
