Kansas University’s track teams will be hoping to improve on last year’s second-division placings when they compete in the Big 12 Indoor championships this weekend in Lincoln, Neb.
KU’s women finished seventh and the men ninth at the 2004 league indoor championships.
This year’s meet is scheduled today and Saturday at the Devaney Center. Most of today’s competition will be preliminaries.
“Every year at this time, your team has to get 15 to 20 percent better for this meet,” KU coach Stanley Redwine said. “I hope everyone is going into the championships with the attitude to win every event.”
Junior Benson Chesang may be KU’s best hope of winning an individual title. Chesang broke one of the oldest records in the KU books when he ran the 3,000 in 7:59.46 at the Tyson Invitational. That clocking eclipsed the school record established by Jim Ryun in 1968.
Junior Sheldon Battle also is a potential gold medalist in the league meet. Battle, a transfer from Mesa (Ariz.) CC, ranks first in the Big 12 in the shot put (63-31/4) and second in the weight throw (68-11).
Among the KU women, two newcomers have sparkled in the pole vault.
Senior Amy Linnen, a transfer from Arizona, broke the KU record in the pole vault at the Tyson Invitational, posting a leap of 13-111/4. That height is the best in the Big 12 and second-best in the nation this season.
KU freshman Ekaterina Sultanova ranks third in the Big 12 after posting a best vault of 13-73/4.
Senior Brooklyn Hann also looms as a potential medalist. Hann already has broken her own school record in the triple jump after a leap of 42-41/4.
Kansas University outscored Tulsa and Toledo by a combined score of 84-17 as the Jayhawks opened the football season with back-to-back victories at Memorial Stadium.
KU will try to make it to 3-0 — something it hasn’t done since 1997 — in a 1 p.m. game Saturday at Northwestern.
“This is a good test for our guys, and I really believe our kids are ready to play on the road,” KU coach Mark Mangino said Tuesday at his weekly news conference. “They really want to start 2004 on the road on a good note.”
The road hasn’t been kind to the Jayhawks in recent seasons. Since winning three of six road games in 1996, the Jayhawks have lost 30 of their last 35 regular-season games away from Memorial Stadium.
Throw in last year’s neutral-site loss to North Carolina State in the Tangerine Bowl, and that record slips to 5-31.
“I believe that in the past we just have not executed like we should have,” said KU safety Tony Stubbs, who leads the Big 12 Conference with 21 tackles. “I believe that we have the mentality that we are going to execute, and we have the confidence and the mentality now to be successful. In the past, I think we lacked that and it kept us from getting over the hump.”
The Jayhawks are playing with plenty of confidence after shutting down Tulsa, 21-3, and trouncing Toledo, 63-14. Those foes each won eight games last season.
Kansas started 4-1 last season when it played four of its first five games at home, but after winning at Wyoming the Jayhawks stumbled at Colorado, Kansas State, Texas A&M and Missouri.
Of KU’s other four road victories in the past seven seasons, two were in overtime — 2001 at Texas Tech and 1998 at Alabama-Birmingham.
Since the Tech victory, KU has lost 10 straight conference road games.
The Jayhawks’ two other recent road wins were against a Tulsa team that finished 1-11 in 2002, and a Missouri squad that finished 3-8 in 2000, coach Larry Smith’s final season at Mizzou.
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“Any time you go on the road, it’s going to be difficult,” KU quarterback Adam Barmann said, “especially against a Big Ten school like Northwestern.”
Actually, Northwestern might be a good place for the Jayhawks to cure their road ills. The Evanston, Ill., college doesn’t start classes until Monday, so many students aren’t on campus.
Northwestern assistant athletic director Mike Wolf said a crowd of 20,000 to 25,000 was expected for Saturday’s game at Ryan Field, which seats 47,130.
The Wildcats defeated Kansas, 28-20, in last year’s season opener, but they know the Jayhawks have improved since then.
“They have a defense that has been very opportunistic and taken the ball away from people at a very high rate,” coach Randy Walker said. “They are only averaging about 380 yards of total offense because they only have to go about 20 yards every time because their defense gives them turnovers.”
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Forecast: Kansas lost five turnovers to Northwestern in last year’s loss, which was played in constant rain. According to weather.com, Saturday’s forecast in Evanston is a high of 79 with a 20 percent chance of rain.
Mangino said his team would be prepared.
“I know we’re going to throw wet balls Thursday even if it’s 110 and dry in Evanston,” he said of his practice plans. “I guarantee you that.”
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Players of the week: Barmann and John Randle were named KU’s offensive players of the week. Barmann passed for 310 yards and four touchdowns against Toledo, while Randle rushed for 104 yards and two TDs and caught three passes for 79 yards and a score.
Junior linebacker Nick Reid received defensive honors after notching 10 tackles, a forced fumble and an interception.
Freshman kicker Scott Webb earned special-team honors after setting a KU record in his debut by making nine extra-point attempts.
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Coker question: Mangino said he was confident senior guard Tony Coker would be ready for the Big 12 opener Sept. 25 against Texas Tech. Coker, who started 21 games the past two seasons, suffered an undisclosed injury Aug. 14 and has missed KU’s first two games. Mangino said he should know by Thursday whether Coker would be available against Northwestern.
Bill Self has heard plenty about “The Streak” in his nine months at Kansas University.
“It’s been brought to my attention more than once,” Self, KU’s first-year basketball coach, said with a smile.
KU’s 26-game win streak over Kansas State is on the line tonight at Allen Fieldhouse. Tipoff for the Big 12 Conference battle between No. 14-ranked KU (9-2, 1-0) and unranked K-State (8-3, 0-0) is 7:05 p.m., with a live telecast on channels 4 and 13.
A replay will be aired at 10:30 p.m. on Sunflower Broadband Channel 6.
“The streak I guess is great if you are a KU fan, for bragging rights, those sorts of things,” Self said. “The players (juniors) here have had something to do with four of them. I’ve had actually nothing to do with any of them. It’s a lot of games in a row — probably a lot of good teams and a lot of good fortune.”
The Jayhawks, who last fell to KSU, 68-64, Jan. 17, 1994 in Lawrence, have won nine straight in the series at Allen Fieldhouse and 20 straight in Manhattan.
Junior forward Wayne Simien, who is 4-0 versus the ‘Cats, takes nothing for granted when the rivals meet.
“It’s always tough,” Simien said. “Look what happened to us last year in Colorado. They were so hyped about that. Nobody wants that to be on their time.”
Colorado snapped a similarly unsightly 27-game losing streak to KU last season in Boulder, Colo., where Buffs fans celebrated by storming the court.
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“Streaks are irrelevant,” KU junior guard Aaron Miles said. “I wasn’t a part of all those victories against K-State. The freshmen haven’t ever played against them. The streak … I don’t even want to know what it is. It does nothing for this team.”
Kansas State coach Jim Wooldridge, who is 0-6 versus KU, also downplays the streak.
“We have so many new guys on the team I don’t know they know anything about it,” Wooldridge said. “They see Kansas on TV and know they are one of the better teams in country. I’m sure they are just excited about the opportunity to play the game. I don’t think the past has a lot to do with this current team.”
KU coach Self is a fan of the current KSU team.
“Certainly K-State’s talent level is better than what it’s been in recent years,” Self said. “Jim has done a good job of bringing in some good guys. You look at their team … take away one game and they could be undefeated.”
UMKC clobbered KSU, 93-52, Dec. 30 in Kansas City, Mo. The Wildcats’ other losses were 65-64 at St. Louis and 87-82 in triple overtime at Oregon State.
“They play as good of defense as anyone we have played this year,” Self said.
KSU boasts double-digit scorers in Jeremiah Massey (14.5 ppg), Tim Ellis (13.2) and Marques Hayden (10.5).
“They’re good. They’ve got good players and anytime they play us they’ll give it their all. They’ll have great energy,” Miles said.
KSU’s Dez Willingham and Cartier Martin will not play tonight because of injuries. However, Dramane Diarra, a 6-8 junior whose eligibility was restored by the NCAA this week, could log as many as 15 minutes in his debut.
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Miles probable: Miles, who is listed as probable for tonight’s game, sat out Tuesday’s practice because of a right ankle sprain. KU coach Self said he hoped Miles’ ankle would respond to treatment and he’d be ready to go. Freshman David Padgett will miss the game as he rests the slight stress fracture in his left foot.
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Rivalry talk: Leavenworth native Simien says the KU-KSU rivalry hasn’t lost its luster. “I think the guys that have definitely played know already about this game,” he said. “Some of the younger guys that aren’t from around here don’t know the magnitude necessarily. They’ll see K-State’s not ranked, and hasn’t played higher-ranked teams. But in a game like this, it doesn’t matter who you play because they are always going to step up and give you their best shot.”
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Gas leak affects future Jayhawk: KU signee Russell Robinson, a 6-2 guard from Rice High in New York, has had a tough semester.
“I’ve been to the doctor four times since September,” Robinson told the New York Post. “They could never tell me what’s wrong.”
Robinson had suffered from dizziness and fatigue, and a gas leak was discovered in Robinson’s Bronx apartment. Saturday, he was taken to the emergency room.
“They gave me oxygen and I felt better right away,” Robinson told the Post.
Seems his mother had been on Robinson to call the gas company to check for a problem.
“When the guy finally came and tested the air near the stove, the machine he had went crazy,” Robinson said.
Sunday, Self was in New York to watch Robinson play, but Robinson was unable to play in the Gauchos’ game.
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Once an MU candidate: Self on his Hawk Talk radio show Monday was asked about Missouri contacting him about its coaching vacancy five seasons ago.
“I talked to the people there. I certainly was interested in it when I was at Tulsa. They chose to go a different direction,” he said of MU officials, who hired Quin Snyder. “Whether that would have played out or not … I had a chance to coach an Elite Eight team at Tulsa the following year, and coach at Illinois and now Kansas. It certainly has worked out well on our end. It was a possibility, but that was many years ago.”
Bill Young has waited nearly six months to see Kansas University’s newcomers on a football field.
He’ll finally get the chance today when the Jayhawks begin preseason practices.
“We’re really excited to see them,” said Young, KU’s defensive coordinator. “It’s a little bit of an unknown.”
What is known is that Kansas had the worst defense in the Big 12 Conference last year in head coach Mark Mangino’s first season. The staff attempted to improve their returning players during spring drills and summer conditioning.
They also sent a clear signal to the veterans during recruiting. Despite having three returning starters on the defensive line and three more in the secondary, Mangino’s staff brought in nine junior-college transfers on defense — three linemen, three linebackers and three defensive backs.
“We need help in all areas,” Young said. “We have people coming in all areas. We recruited to our needs. We have to see how it pans out.”
The newcomers should provide plenty of incentive to veterans during preseason camp.
“Even if the guys we recruited don’t come in and start, they’ll push those guys and make them better,” Young said.
Transfers being counted on to make an immediate impact include defensive ends Chuck Jones (6-4, 275) and Monroe Weekley (6-4, 256), nose tackle Phil Tuihalamaka (6-3, 323) and linebacker Gabe Toomey (6-4, 235).
“It’s hard to project,” Young said. “We think we’ve done a good job recruiting, but until you get out on the field there’s always questions.”
The secondary could get a boost from the arrival of sophomore Nick Reid (6-4, 220). KU’s fourth-leading tackler and top returning tackler was moved from linebacker to safety to make room for sophomore linebacker Banks Floodman (6-3, 230).
“Nick Reid is too good a player to be in a backup role,” Young said. “We’re trying to find ways to feature Nick and allow him to be where the ball is. He’s probably more suited to linebacker, but he’s an outstanding athlete. He might not be the strongest or the fastest, but he’s always aware of what the offense is trying to do. We’re very impressed with his knowledge of the game.”
Kansas opens Aug. 30 with a home game against Northwestern.