Lawrence, Kansas-- A select few made the cut to compete at the 91st Kansas University Relays on April 19-21st. The field sizes were limited to 20-45 athletes, depending upon the event. The Warrior men were fortunate to be represented by three field events, six running events and two relays over the course of the three day meet.
Day one of the Kansas Relays was comprised of field and distance events. Chris Kubli continued to shave time off of his school record time in the 800m. After a brisk opening lap, Kubli held on to finish in 1:57.19 to better his previous school record time of 1:57.39. This is the fifth consecutive meet that Kubli has broken the outdoor 800m school record. Nathan Winters competed in the shot put on day one, finishing fourth with a toss of 16.19m. Winters was less than a meter away from second place. Colton Lanman took park in the men's high jump. Lanman and six others were unable to make the opening height of 1.95 meters.
Day two in the Sunflower State consisted of sprint and relay prelims. Deterio Newman continued to make the most of his first collegiate season. Newman placed tenth overall in the 200m prelims, running his second fastest time ever (21.96), missing finals by one place. The 200m and 400m school record holder bounced back in the 400m prelims, finishing 9th (49.84). This earned him a spot in the 400m finals on day three. Brieon Randle also competed in the 400m prelims, crossing the line in 17th with a time of 50.81 seconds. Joshua Raphael made his 100m collegiate debut, running 11.09 in the prelims. This was the Florid native's first race in five weeks after nursing a hamstring injury. The men's 4x400m relay was the last event on the track during day two of the relays.The quartet of Bernard McCann, Jeremy Leath, Rahman Burton and Chris Kubli ran 3:22.76 to place twelfth overall.
Deterio Newman was the only Warrior to qualify for finals on day three, drawing lane one in the 400m finals. An impressive finish garnered Newman a third place finish, despite being ranked ninth. The Sikeston, Missouri native ran the second fastest time in school history, clocking in at 48.74. Newman was the second collegiate finisher in the race. With two weeks left until post season, the Warrior track and field teams will head to Drake University for the Drake Relays (April 27-28th) and Simpson College for the Kip Janvrin Open (April 26-27th). The Region XI Championships will be contested the following weekend, May 4-5th in Council Bluffs, Iowa.