Kansas track & field opened the 2019 outdoor season at the Emporia State Spring Invitational on Saturday, with Jayhawks picking up five wins on the day. On top of the five wins, KU sophomore discus throwers Alexandra Emilianov and George Evans each posted NCAA top-10 marks.
Senior Courtney Griffiths earned the first outdoor win of the season for the Jayhawks, clocking in at 4:47.76 in the women’s 1,500-meter run, and senior teammate Hannah Driscoll took the second spot in the event with a time of 4:48.05.
Three Kansas freshmen also posted wins on the day. Jana Shawver recorded the top time in the women’s 800-meter run, finishing in 2:18.23 for the win. Saudia Heard won her outdoor debut in the triple jump, notching a wind-aided mark of 11.90 meters (29-0.5 feet) on her first attempt of the day and Jake Ralston won the men’s 5,000-meter run with a time of 14:54.05.
Kansas track & field will split up for meets all across the country next weekend. The Jayhawks are planned to have entries at the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, the Florida Relays in Gainesville, Fla., the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif. and the Oral Roberts Invitational in Tulsa, Okla.