To begin the 2020 campaign, the Kansas track and field team placed third out of as many squads in a triangular at Wichita State.
Kansas State scored the most combined points between the men and the women, compiling 254.5 points. Wichita State came in second with 221 points, while Kansas finished third with 191.5 points. KU senior Jedah Caldwell earned high-point honors, scoring 14 points behind victories in the 60 meters and 200 meters.
In total, the Jayhawks secured 10 event wins, including victories from Tyler Pride (long jump), Zach Bradford (pole vault), Ivan Henry (200 meters), Chandler Gibbens (3,000 meters), Samantha Van Hoecke (pole vault), Mariah Kuykendoll (400 meters), Honour Finley (600 yards), Caldwell (60 meters, 200 meters) and the mixed 4×400-meter relay.
In the men’s pole vault, the KU trio of Bradford, Kyle Rogers and Paulo Benavides took the top-three spots in the event, with Bradford winning with a vault of 5.60 meters (18-4.5 feet). Bradford’s clearance marked a new NCAA lead in the event, while breaking the meet record of 5.51 meters (18-1 feet) set by Pat Manson in 1990.
Kuykendoll ran a personal-best time of 53.74 in the women’s 400 meters. The mark also ranks third in the NCAA entering this weekend, while besting the meet record of 55.23 set by Finley in 2019.
Kansas will return home to compete in the Jayhawk Classic on Thursday and Friday.
