Sacramento, Calif. ? Two Kansas University track and field athletes earned All-America honors at the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Thursday.
Eric Babb and Barrett Saunders finished fourth and fifth in the men’s long jump to become All-Americans.
Also Thursday, KU junior Ashley Brown qualified for the semifinals in the women’s 400-meter hurdles and broke the school record in the process.
On his first jump, Babb cleared 24-feet, 101â2 inches to claim fourth place. Saunders’ best jump also came on his first attempt, when he leapt 24-7.
“It feels pretty good. It was nice after these four years to make it this far, become an All-American,” Babb said.
The pair earned nine valuable points for the Jayhawks with their effort and are the first KU jumpers to receive the distinction of Outdoor All-American since 1975. They are also the first pair of Jayhawks ever to earn top-eight finishes at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the event.
“It is a good ending to a great season,” Saunders said.
Brown broke her own record in the 400-meter hurdles with a third-place finish in her preliminary heat in a time of 57.15 seconds.
Senior Janiece Gatson placed fifth in her preliminary heat of the 400-meter finals in 1:01.20 and did not qualify for the event’s semifinals.
Sophomore Victoria Howard raced to a fifth-place finish in her preliminary heat of the 200-meter dash in 23.81 seconds.
Junior Josh Kirk placed 22nd in the decathlon with 6,910 points.
