The Kansas men’s track and field team tied for 10th among 71 scoring schools at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, with four athletes picking up first-team All-American nods as top-eight finishers.
Pole vaulter Clayton Simms, a junior, was KU’s top performer, as he became the national runner-up on Wednesday by clearing 5.62 meters, just short of Kentucky senior Keaton Daniel’s title-winning mark of 5.67.
“Honestly, I would say it means everything to me to be consistently moving up, consistently getting better every year, even after a tough season,” he said in a video posted on social media. “To come here and perform on the day — I mean, this is the highest I’ve jumped at a national championship since I’ve been in college … I came to Kansas for a reason and it’s paying off.”
The ever-consistent Dimitrios Pavlidis was next-highest on the list, as he took bronze in the discus on Friday with a throw of 60.97 meters.
Distance runner Chandler Gibbens capped off his decorated career with the Jayhawks by competing in two events, earning a fifth-place mark of 28:10.87 in the 10,000 meters on Wednesday, which was a personal best, and 15th in the 5,000 meters at 14:04.20 on Friday.
“Hayward (Field) is kind of the center of the running world in the U.S., so to come in and get to compete against the best guys and kind of measure myself against them feels great, and to come away with fifth place and a new PR, there’s nothing like racing at Hayward,” he said in a video. “This is my first time and it was special.”
High jumper Devin Loudermilk matched Gibbens’ fifth-place showing, jumping 2.20 meters in the high jump on Friday night to earn an All-American nod.
KU’s decathlete pair of Tayton Klein and Alexander Jung finished 14th and 23rd, respectively. Klein also came in 22nd in the standalone long jump event.
“I had a couple of good PRs in the high jump and one in the pole vault as well, but I struggled in some areas that I really should have performed better in,” Klein said in a video. “But it was a mental battle for me, and I’m hoping I can come out of this stronger and more prepared for next time.”
Jung, the reigning Big 12 Conference championship, explained in another video that he twisted his ankle by landing on the track during the pole vault and tried to push through the pain during the pole vault and javelin. He did not finish in the 1,500-meter portion of the decathlon.
“I talked to a doctor and so I tore a ligament, broke some part of my bone with it,” he said. “I already started my recovery, going to start my recovery tomorrow, I’m getting back on the track as fast as possible and I’m hungry for more. That’s all I can say.”
As for the women’s team, Yoveinny Mota, who had set a school record and qualified to represent Venezuela at the Olympics when she ran the 100-meter hurdles in 12.66 seconds at NCAA regionals, finished this time in 12.97 in the preliminary round, which put her in 14th place and did not earn her a spot in Saturday’s final.
Mason Meinershagen, the lone KU freshman competing at nationals, cleared 4.15 meters in the women’s pole vault and finished 16th.
Lona Latema came in 19th with her result of 10:08.31 in the prelims for the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
Aaliyah Moore, who competed in the 800 meters in her debut at nationals, came in 21st in the preliminary round with a time of 2:04.61.
Elicia Castillo/Kansas Athletics
