Following her eighth place finish at the Pre-National Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky, on Oct. 14, junior Sharon Lokedi was named the Big 12 Female Cross Country Runner of the Week on Tuesday.
It is her second time receiving the honor, and the two-time All American made her season debut last week after sitting out both the Bob Timmons Dual Classic and Rim Rock Classic last month.
During last year’s race in Terre Haute, Indiana, Lokedi finished 10th at a time of 20:26 in the 6,000 meter run. She moved up two spots with a 25.4-second improvement this past weekend in Louisville.
Kansas cross country runner Sharon Lokedi shares her story of fleeing her hometown in Kenya to how she trained to become the runner she is today.
With conference competition approaching, Lokedi and the Jayhawks will next race in the Big 12 Championship at Old Settlers Park in Round Rock, Texas, where Lokedi placed first with a 20:18 finish last season, leading the Jayhawks to a sixth place team finish in the 6k.
The men will be racing in the 8k meet, where they finished fourth as a team last season. Then-sophomore Michael Melgares earned 19th place and had the best finish time for a current Jayhawk at 26:06.
http://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.png00Staffhttp://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.pngStaff2017-10-18 13:05:482017-10-18 13:05:48Sharon Lokedi named Big 12 Female Runner of the Week after making season debut
When you have a massive brain fart and forget one of KU’s best big men of all time for no reason other than you just scrolled past his name, you have to improvise. Withey maybe doesn’t belong quite this high given that he really only had two seasons in a KU uniform, but he was so good in those two seasons that I think he deserves to be in this area.
An Arizona transfer, Withey sat behind the Morris twins and Thomas Robinson in his first year at Kansas. Still, with a 12.5 percent block percentage, you could see that he had a lot of ability as a defender.
And boy did he show it. As a junior, Withey led the nation in block percentage, and almost won the 2012 national title game by himself, limiting Anthony Davis to just one field goal, which was a foot on the line jumper.
As a senior, Withey ranked 5th nationally in block percentage, but he also totally improved as an offensive player. He scored mostly on put backs and easy layups as a junior, but as a senior Kansas dumped it to him in the post a little more often and let him create his own offense a bit. He responded by finishing 3rd in the Big 12 in effective field goal percentage.
Withey’s legacy will be as a defender, though. He’s the only Jayhawk with 100 blocks in a season twice (except Wilt I’m sure), and he’s the Jayhawks all time blocked shots leader by roughly 50 blocks despite playing just two years in Lawrence.
https://i1.wp.com/www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/670036330.jpg?fit=1200%2C6286281200Staffhttp://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.pngStaff2017-10-18 10:19:022017-10-18 10:19:02#KU50: Also 24 Jeff Withey
To help bring in the new B-Dubs Collegiate Collection, we teamed up with our friends at Buffalo Wild Wings to give away a set of 4 of these awesome pint glasses and a $5 e-gift card to the lucky winner who can guess the total points scored by Big 12 Football teams this weekend.
The Glasses
Beginning today, fans can purchase a 4-pack pint glass set featuring the University of Kansas logo on the front, and Buffalo Wild Wings on the back, for $34.99 (includes shipping). Every order will also include a $5 e-gift card that can be used at a Buffalo Wild Wings. And, if fans are members of the Blazin’ Rewards loyalty program, they’ll also earn 300 points that can be redeemed for menu item purchases during future visits.
Did you not come close guessing the West Virginia attendance? Fear not. The lucky person who can most closely guess the total points scored by all ten Big 12 teams this weekend will win this great prize. Simply comment below with your guess and the score of the Kansas/TCU game (will be used in the unlikely event of a tie). Submissions will be closed before the start of the first game on Saturday. We will announce the winner on Sunday.
https://i0.wp.com/www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/BWW_CCSS_Facebook_1200x900_Kansas.jpg?fit=1200%2C6286281200Staffhttp://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.pngStaff2017-10-18 10:00:012017-10-18 10:00:01Win a Set of Jayhawk Pint Glasses from Buffalo Wild Wings!
Kansas football is working on keeping the locker rooms clean, parking the right spots, and running off the field at the end of practice. No, seriously you guys, no joke.
https://i0.wp.com/www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/usa_today_10352202.jpg?fit=1200%2C6286281200Staffhttp://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.pngStaff2017-10-18 09:27:412017-10-18 09:27:41Notebook: Kansas football continues its march into obscurity
One of my first basketball memories growing up was watching the Bulls and the Jazz in the NBA finals. This was before I became a Kansas fan so I didn’t gravitate towards Ostertag by any means, but after I found out he went to Kansas I remember thinking how cool it was he was on the floor with guys like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. I also always used to get him confused with Eric Montross but that’s for another day.
Before he was an average NBA big man, Ostertag was an exceptional college center. He was only a two-year starter for the Jayhawks, but he made those two years count big time. Ostertag led the Big 8 in blocks as a junior and senior, and finished as the all-time career leader for the conference.
Far from being just a defender, Ostertag finished just shy of 1,000 points for his career, averaged 19 points per 40 minutes for his career, and led the conference in 2-point shooting as a senior.
But it is fair to say Ostertag is mostly known for his defense. He’s one of just two Jayhawks to record 100 blocks in a season (although this is in the modern era of course, Wilt Chamberlain no doubt did it as well), and his defense was the backbone of a team that was a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, as well as a Final Four team.
Aaron Miles is generally brought up first when best pure point guards of the Self era discussions come up, and for good reason. He had three seasons with an assist rate over 30 percent, and ranked 14th in the stat as a junior and 13th as a senior. It’s no surprise then that Miles has dished out more assists than anyone in Kansas history, 954, at an average of 6.9 per game (nice).
Miles had a bit of a run as a scorer as well. As a senior he posted a 56.4 percent eFG (thanks mostly to shooting 40-80 from three while shooting just 42 percent from two), and currently ranks 39th among KU’s all time leading scorers (although his 8.6 career ppg is the lowest of anyone ranked in the top 40). Of KU’s 1,000 point scorers, he has 150 more assists than the 2nd place player on the list (Jacque Vaughn).
Defensively, Miles led the Big 12 in steals per game in 2003, and was on the win shares leaderboard as well.
That’s not to say he didn’t have his drawbacks. Miles only had a turnover rate under 25 percent once, which is problematic, and he wasn’t a very good shooter, making only 43 percent of his twos for his career (doubly problematic considering he wasn’t exactly a volume shooter) and only a what has to be considered lucky 40-80 run as a senior saved his three point percentage from being in the low 30s.
Still, you’d have to say the good outweighed the bad. He was one of the leaders of the transition from the Roy to Self era, ranks 20th all-time in games played for a Big 12 player, and I think it’s worth reiterating has more assists than anyone to ever put on a KU uniform. Some of that is the pace of play in his first couple years, but he was just that good of a passer. Add in his defensive value and you have a top 25 KU player ever.
I guess I didn’t really think it was possible, but here we are. Kansas football is actually getting worse.
Worse than an 18-point loss to a bad MAC team.
Worse than a 46-point loss on Homecoming.
I mean, at least KU scored points in those games. But here we are in the middle of October coming off a 45-0 shutout against Iowa State.
Let’s do a thought experiment real quick. Raise your hand if you have a second-grader in your house. Now, those of you who have kids younger than second grade, raise your hands.
You guys see all those hands up? Kansas has not won a road game in that kid’s entire life.
Seriously, think about that.
The road streak is up to 43-games in a row. Kansas hasn’t won a road game since 2009, and hasn’t won a conference road game since 2008. This clip pretty much summarizes it:
Welcome to our new feature, the Zenger Watch:
Zenger Football Hires: 10-56
David Beaty: 3-27 overall, 1-26 vs FBS
It’s been 1,074 days since Kansas beat an FBS team not named Texas.
Um, hmm, let’s see what stats can we look at. Well, for once the defense wasn’t terrible. It reminded me a lot of the Memphis game last year, where the defense actually played pretty well. It’s just difficult to keep the opponent from scoring when they start with the ball in plus territory six times.
But the offense. My word the offense was atrocious. It had at least been “not atrocious” for most of the season, but wow. Kansas had five first downs – in the entire game. Total offense was just 106 yards. KU only ran 59 plays, so that’s 1.8 yards per play.
KU didn’t cross it’s own 35-yard line until the fourth quarter.
THINK ABOUT THAT LAST SENTENCE.
Although I’m not even really sure that counts because KU didn’t “cross” the 35-yard line there, they received a punt on their own 39 and gained 8 yards on the return to start on their own 47. So yeah.
KU didn’t even cross midfield until after ISU had pulled most of its starters.
I just… ugh.
Officially Kansas had two turnovers, but a muffed punt should count and would make that three. Also, it should be noted that Peyton Bender tried really really hard to get that INT number up, but the ISU d-backs couldn’t hang on to all of his passes.
And speaking of punts, KU punted 13 times. Well that is to say, KU lined up in punt formation 13 times. Three of those resulted in the ball not crossing the line of scrimmage.
Kansas was just 2-17 on third down while Iowa State converted 6-18.
KU went 0-2 on fourth down, doubling down from the Texas Tech game with some more questionable playcalling in those situations.
The Good
The defense held Iowa State to 318 yards of total offense at 4.4 yards per play. So that actually wasn’t terrible.
The Bad
Eight penalties for 75 yards. I mean, come on.
The Ugly
::Ben Stein voice:: Offense? Offense? Offense?
The Stats
Peyton Bender was once again completely ineffective, completing 8-19 passes for 18 yards and somehow just 1 INT.
Carter Stanley didn’t see much action until the fourth quarter and finished 3-7 for 26 yards, adding in 19 rush yards on 7 carries to be KU’s second-leading rusher on the day.
Taylor Martin was KU’s leading rusher with Khalil Herbert out with a hamstring injury. Martin gained 59 yards on 17 carries.
Steven Sims had one catch for six yards.
Wow.
I mean, wow.
Ryan Schadler caught three balls for 16 yards.
Quan Hampton had two receptions for nine yards.
This is pathetic.
Joe Dineen had 16 tackles including 2 TFLs.
Osaze Ogbebor added 8 tackles.
Daniel Wise had just 3 tackles but 1.5 TFLs and a sack.
Dorance Armstrong had four tackles and was credited with two pass breakups and a quarterback hurry.
Mike Lee had five tackles.
Cole Moos “punted” 13 times for a 38.1 average.
KU kicked off one time, with Liam Jones. No touchback this time though.
https://i0.wp.com/www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/usa_today_10345813.jpg?fit=1200%2C6286281200Staffhttp://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.pngStaff2017-10-17 09:55:012017-10-17 09:55:01A (Semi) Statistical Recap of Iowa State
https://i1.wp.com/www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/usa_today_9852933.jpg?fit=1200%2C6286281200Staffhttp://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.pngStaff2017-10-17 08:15:022017-10-17 08:15:02Kansas to conduct internal review of basketball program
After a 0-0 home tie with Houston Dynamo on Sunday evening, Sporting Kansas City extended its winless streak to four games, its longest of the season.
With the result, Kansas City clinched a spot in the 2017 playoffs, but dropped from second to fourth place in the Western Conference.
Late substitute Latif Blessing whiffing the ball two yards out from an empty net in the 95th minute summed up what was a fruitless night for Kansas City.
“Dominated. Didn’t give anything away. Should have scored,” said Kansas City head coach Peter Vermes, summing up the game bluntly.
Despite having 27 shots on goal, including hitting the bar twice and a saved header on the Houston goal line, along with Blessing’s miskick deep into stoppage time, Kansas City could not put the game to bed.
“If you’re two yards away from goal, goalkeeper is to your left, you’ve got ten feet of the goal in front of you, you’ve got to stick it into the back of the net,” Vermes said. “Unfortunately, I can’t get my foot on the field right now.”
“We’ve put ourselves in a difficult position again, after getting two points in the last four games, which hasn’t been good enough,” said Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber. “So now we have a similar position we’ve put ourselves in in the last three years.”
Kansas City made a habit of finishing regular seasons on a poor streak, only gaining two points from their past four games, with only one game left ahead of them, on the road against Real Salt Lake on Oct. 22.
In 2016, Kansas City managed to gather eight of its last 15 available points, seven points out of 15 in 2015, and just four points in 2014.
Feilhaber acknowledged that Kansas City must get a road win against Salt Lake City to secure home field advantage in the first round of the MLS playoffs, despite Kansas City having won just two of its 16 road games this season.
With a win, Kansas City could vault back up to second place, guaranteeing a bye through the first round of the playoffs. Even if second place does not fall in Kansas City’s hands, it will least guarantee home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
A tie could potentially set up Kansas City with the third seed in the West and a home game against the sixth seed, currently San Jose Earthquakes, or drop them down to fifth, forcing an away game against the four seed.
A loss will possibly drop Kansas City to fifth place if Houston Dynamo win at home to Chicago Fire, which would then set up a road game against either the Houston Dynamo or the Seattle Sounders.
“It’s a much more difficult task right now than it was four games ago,” Feilhaber said.
Kansas City’s final regular game of the season is set for a 3 p.m. kickoff in Real Salt Lakes Rio Tinto stadium on Sunday, Oct. 22.
http://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.png00Staffhttp://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.pngStaff2017-10-16 17:17:202017-10-16 17:17:20Sporting Kansas City clinches playoff berth but continues to struggle
Sunday afternoon’s game between Kansas and Baylor soccer saw just two registered shots on target the whole game, including a meaningless shot by Baylor with three seconds left on the clock from 30 yards out. The other shot on target was a goal, by Baylor’s Aline De Lima in the 79th minute.
It was the third time in program history that the Jayhawks failed to record a shot on target for an entire 90 minute game. The first came in 1997 in a 4-0 loss at Virginia, while the second was in 2013 in a 3-0 loss to West Virginia in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.
“We were flat in the first half for sure,” said Kansas head coach Mark Francis. “Baylor did a good job coming out in the first half and pressing us, and we didn’t handle that pressure very well.”
The Jayhawks recorded just four shots in the first half, compared to Baylor’s eight, but neither goalkeeper was forced into a save heading into the locker room for half time.
Coming out into the second half, Kansas seemed more settled and calm on the ball, something it discussed at half time, according to junior midfielder Alex Schweitzer.
“We talked about it in the locker room, about how we just need to calm the game down and get back to our one and two touch,” Schweitzer said. “We did that in the second half, we just didn’t get the result that we wanted.”
Kansas looked most likely to break the deadlock in the second half, with senior forward Lois Heuchan missing two chances in the 69th and 70th minutes. Her first attempt was a shot with her back to goal from six yards out that bobbled wide of the left post, while the second was a header which also flew past the left post.
While many of the 546 in attendance had begun to lose hope in seeing a shot on goal, including a group of young Kansas fans with pom-poms behind the Baylor bench that had slowly quieted down as the game went on, Baylor’s De Lima had a different mindset.
Although Baylor hardly threatened from outside the box, inside the Kansas box they had looked to threaten the Kansas goal several times. The breakthrough finally came in the 79th minute, when Baylor’s Raegan Padgett headed onwards for De Lima. Taking the ball down with her chest, she poked the ball past senior goalkeeper Maddie Dobyns from six yards out and into the bottom left corner of the Kansas net.
Although Kansas could not muster a comeback in the final ten minutes remaining, the game still held significance for many of the players on the team. Playing in pink jerseys, the game was dedicated to breast cancer awareness, with the jerseys being auctioned off for money after the game.
“I think it’s really important. We had a girl a girl last year who was my roommate, Aurelie Gagnet, and I play for her mom, she’s the closest person I know,” Schweitzer said. “And some people in high school, their parents passed away from breast cancer, so this is a huge thing for me.”
Francis recognized the significance of the game, acknowledging the work that Kansas Athletics puts into raising awareness for breast cancer.
With the loss, Kansas fall to an overall record of 7-7-2 and a conference record of 2-3-1. The Jayhawks travel to the red plains of Oklahoma next weekend to face Oklahoma on Friday at 7 p.m., and Oklahoma State on Sunday at 7 p.m.
Kansas will return to Rock Chalk Park for its final home game of the season, before the Big 12 Championships. The game, against five-time Big 12 reigning champions West Virginia, could be crucial in deciding where the 2017 Big 12 title will be heading this year.
http://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.png00Staffhttp://www.big12blognetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/big12-logo.pngStaff2017-10-16 17:17:142017-10-16 17:17:14Kansas soccer fails to record a shot on goal in loss to Baylor
