SEASON PREVIEW men’s preview
Middle Distance/Distance Vertical Jumps The middle distance/distance squad is looking to continue its rise to national There is perhaps no other group on the men’s team with more promise than prominence as coach Michael Whittlesey helps lead a strong group of both the vertical jumps squad. Even with the loss of seven-time Big 12 Champion Jordan Scott, the team may actually be more of a scoring threat this year, under veterans and young talent into 2012. Coach Tom Hays. The middle distances will be led by a young group of up-and-comers who turned some heads last year in their freshman or sophomore campaigns. Sopho- The pole vaulters are a young but confident group. With only one up uppermores Dominique Manley and Dalen Fink not only saw action in the confer- classman among them, the young vaulters will be forced to mature quickly if ence meets as freshmen, but were also members of the NCAA West Preliminary they hope to make a splash this year. Sophomore Alex Bishop is coming off an qualifying 4x400-meter relay team that ranked in the top 25 in the NCAA for impressive freshman campaign where he was one of only two freshman scorers much of the outdoor season. With Manley and Fink leading the way in the at the Big 12 indoor and outdoor meets and earned his way to the NCAA West Preliminary where he went on to finish in the top 30. 400 meters, 600 yards and 800 meters, some other Jayhawks will need to step up and help add some depth to the group. Sophomore Nick Seckfort ran two The Jayhawks will see a quartet of freshmen jump onto the squad, two from sub-1:54 800 meters in 2011, while junior Sam Jones returns after seeing action Kansas and two from Texas. The Texas duo, Regan Gilbert and Greg Lupton, as a member of the men’s distance medley relay as well as a top-25 finisher in each boast clearances of over 16 feet from their high school days, with the the 800 meters at the Big 12 Championships. Brendan Soucie and Sean Proehl Kansas natives, Aaron Blevins and Casey Bowen, claiming a pair of state chamalso came onto the scene strong a year ago, and added with an impressive off pionships. season working out with the cross country team, makes them dual threats in the middle and longer distance events. Junior Kevin Hays rounds out the pole vaulting group as the veteran. The transfer from Northwest Missouri State has seen more collegiate meet experiThe only true freshman of the middle distance crew is Kenneth McCuin, who ence than the majority of the other six vaulters combined and adds valuable can already boast an 800 meter gold medal, which he earned at the 2010 Junior experience to the young group. Olympic games. McCuin, as well as underclassmen Patrick Helmick and Kellum Schneider, will each be looked upon to make their mark as they kick-off The high jumpers saw an incredible amount of improvement in 2011 and will their careers as Jayhawks. be looked upon as high scorers in the conference and national meets. Senior Nick Canton will try to end his KU career on a high note. The Fowler, Kan., The distance crew sees the return of All-American Donny Wasinger, who is native was a outdoor national preliminary qualifier a season ago and will look hoping to bounce back strong after injury cut his cross country season short. to break through to the national meet this year. Nick Giancana has the coaches Wasinger will be joined by other key pieces in the longer distances. Upper- excited for his future in Lawrence, as he collected top-15 finishes at both the classmen who return with a wealth of experience are Josh Baden, Austin Bus- indoor and outdoor Big 12 Championships last season as a freshman. Canton sing, and Zach Zarda who have each seen competition in multiple conference and Giancana are joined by freshman Austin Hoag. The Lawrence native is the reigning Kansas state champion in the event and hopes to win similar titles as meets. a Jayhawk. Josh Munsch, Jose Muñoz and James Wilson are coming off strong cross country seasons and are ready to become cores to the success of the distance team. Horizontal Jumps Even though they are limited in numbers, the two-man horizontal jumps group is hoping to make waves this season, with a senior veteran in Darryl Coach Whittlesey has continued to bring in top talent from across the counTrotter and a highly anticipated freshman in Brian Katzfey. Entering his final try, and this season is no different. Several freshmen made immediate impacts season as a Jayhawk, Trotter is hitting his best jumps at the right time. He was during cross country and are expected to do the same on the track. Reid Bua West Region national qualifier in the triple jump last season and eclipsed the chanan, Evan Landes and Logan Sloan are Kansas natives, and add out-of-state 50-foot mark in the event at the Kansas Relays. As he winds down his career in supplements Phillip Freeman, Alex Galli and Gabe Gonzalez and you get run- Lawrence, Trotter will be charged with mentoring Katzfey has he gets his first ners who have amassed some impressive high school accolades. collegiate meets under his belt. Katzfey is a phenomenal athlete who participated in football, basketball and track in high school but his bread-and-butter was the horizontal jumps, where he garnered all-region honors. As he always does, Coach Wayne Pate is sure to do a masterful job of coaching this group, which will be key to the Jayhawks’ scoring efforts as the Jayhawks move into the postseason. Throws Coach Andy Kohkanovsky’s throwers feature perhaps one of the strongest lineups on the men’s team. Mason Finley returns for his junior season and in just two years has already collected multiple Big 12 and All-American honors. The one milestone he has yet to attain is a national championship, which he has his eyesights set on this season. Senior Joel Krause ended his season strong last year and added two appearances in Big 12 Championship competition. Krause and Finley are joined by freshmen Taylor Dawson and Jonathan Miller, each of whom have collected state titles in the discus during their high school days. Under the tutelage of the veterans, Dawson and Miller are in position for a productive 2012 season. The javelin group returns three who competed at the NCAA West Preliminary in 2011, including First Team All-American Johann Swanepoel who finished fifth at the NCAA Championships last year. Juniors Iain Trimble and Jesse Vaughn had breakthrough seasons and could complete a lineup that may see three KU javelin throwers at the NCAA meet come June.
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