Austin, Texas ? Kansas University’s Mason Finley and Brian Bishop placed second and fourth in the discus at Saturday’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field West Preliminary.
Finley, a freshman who had his best toss of 191-2 on his fifth of six throws, and Bishop, a senior who threw a personal-best 189-8, advance to the NCAA Outdoor, June 9-12, in Eugene, Ore.
Finley also has qualified in the shot put.
Senior Lauren Bonds advanced to the NCAAs by winning the 1,500 in a KU-record time of 4:15.98.
“My mind-set was definitely survive-and-advance entering the race,” said Bonds, a Hutchinson senior who simply had to finish in the top 12 to move on. “I knew there were a lot of great runners in my heat, so I just tried to finish as well as I could.”
Freshman Alena Krechyk also advanced easily by placing second in the hammer with a throw of 206-5.
Freshman Andrea Geubelle joined Finley as a two-event qualifier by placing third in the triple jump. Earlier, she’d qualified in the long jump. Her final triple jump (43-01/4) attempt pushed her from 14th to third overall.
The men’s 4×400 relay team of Reggie Carter, Kyle Clemons, Keith Hayes and Keron Toussaint placed eighth, qualifying for the NCAAs in in 3:05.98. The women’s 4×400 relay team of Kendra Bradley, Taylor Washington, Taissa Washington and Denesha Morris qualified by placing 11th in 3:37.04.
In all, 18 KU athletes will compete in Eugene in a total of 12 events. In addition to Saturday’s qualifiers, Jordan Scott (pole vault), Kyle Clemons (400 meters) and Eric Fattig (long jump) will compete for the KU men, while Rebeka Stowe (3,000-meter steeplechase) will compete for the Jayhawk women.