Four share award as most outstanding

By Gary Bedore Apr 18, 2004

Richard Gwin/Journal-World Photo

Joe Douglas, from Smokey Hill High in Aurora, Colo., warms up for the discus. Douglas got loose around 7:30 a.m. Saturday outside of Memorial Stadium.

Sixteen records were broken or tied during three days of competition at the 77th Relays.

Nathan Leeper and Austra Skujyte were named most outstanding performers of the meet. Leeper won the men’s high jump in 7-53/4, which stands as the second-best in the world this year. Skujyte won the women’s long jump with a mark of 20-41/4 and the shot put in 52-11/4.

Fort Collins (Colo.) high school senior Sarah Stevens and Kansas City (Mo.) Central senior Julius Jiles were named most outstanding high school performers.

Stevens set Relays records in the shot and discus with marks of 48-81/4 and 156-6, respectively. Jiles tied the Relays record in the 300 hurdles in 37.42 and won the 110 hurdles in 14.23.

“We had a meet full of amazing performances. So many, in fact, that the only reasonable choice was to name four athletes as our outstanding performers,” meet director Tim Weaver said. “Both on the track and in the field, they have helped make the 2004 Kansas Relays a success.”

After the meet KU head coach Stanley Redwine announced that Jiles has signed and will be a part of the track and field program next year at KU.

KU junior Jeremy Mims won the 800 Saturday in 1:50.82.

“I don’t think my time was very fast because there was a lot of wind,” Mims said. “It’s always nice to win in front of the home crowd. It’s the first chance a lot of our friends get to see us run. It means a lot to have all these people out here.”

KU junior Brooklyn Hann won the triple jump in 42-03/4. North Dakota State’s Amanda Thieschafer was second in 42-01/2.

“It’s an honor to participate at the Kansas Relays and more of an honor to win,” Hann said. “This is the one meet I wanted to win.”

Andrea Dutoit, assistant coach at Johnson County Community College, won the women’s pole vault for the second straight year in a Relays-record 14-31/4.

Redwine on the meet: “I think we had some really good performances today. I was proud of how we did as a team. It was a great weekend, and I want to thank the fans for coming out, because that’s what it’s all about.”