[ Rain, lightning force meet to be canceled after 25 events... ]

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Apr 21, 2002 by Ric Anderson

Rain, lightning force meet to be canceled after 25 events, stop Greene from putting on show

Lawrence High School distance runner Dylan McClain helped his Lion teammates as they disassembled their tent upon word that the remainder of the Kansas Relays had been canceled because of rain Saturday. The Lions claimed the unofficial title of "tent champions" because their tent was the last one standing at Lawrence's Memorial Stadium.

Topeka West's Jenise Brown soared to a third-place finish in the girls' high jump with a leap of 5 feet 4 1/4 inches.

Topeka High's Crystal Kemp finished fourth in the girls' discus with a throw of 124-11.

Washburn Rural's Ryan Koontz soared in the boys long jump on Saturday, but he failed to reach the finals.

Photographs by Earl Richardson

The Capital-Journal

By Ric Anderson and Rick Peterson

The Capital-Journal

LAWRENCE --- Kansas Relays director Tim Weaver came into Saturday believing the event might finally return to the prominence it enjoyed during its hey-days of the 1960s.

Instead, he wound up experiencing the wrong kind of history.

For the first time in recent memory, the meet was canceled when a long line of thunderstorms hit Lawrence.

"We had a buildup for a really tremendous event, and everybody knew it," Weaver said. "We've taken little steps these past couple of years, and I was hoping for a triple jump. I was hoping for a leaps- and-bounds type of year."

With Olympic gold medalist and 100-meter world record holder Maurice Greene scheduled to compete at 7:15 p.m., Weaver and other officials were hoping for a repeat of Greene's last appearance in Lawrence. That came during the 2000 relays, when 12,000 people came to Memorial Stadium on a clear and warm Saturday afternoon to watch him run in the final day of competition.

Instead, the day broke cloudy and cold, with a good chance of showers in the forecast. At 2:20 p.m., a nearby lightning strike prompted a halt in the action.

The meet never resumed. It was canceled at 4:15 p.m.

"That's a heartbreaker for everybody who loves this meet," Weaver said.

While bad weather in previous years had prompted officials to move some events to indoor venues, contingency planning proved hopeless on Saturday because of lightning and persistent rain. Under KU Athletic Corporation policy, he said, no competition is allowed within a half- hour after a nearby lightning strike.

"I was really looking forward to a nice competition, and it's regretful that the weather condition wouldn't allow us to continue," KU athletic director Al Bohl said. "I think it's a great athletic event, and we're going to continue to work on it and support it."

Twenty-five high school and college events were completed before the relays were scrubbed with 45 events remaining on the schedule.

Missouri shot putter Christian Cantwell was named most outstanding male performer after a put of 70 feet, 1 1/2 inches, the fourth-best international throw of the season.

Among female competitors, Trecia Smith of Jamaica won most outstanding athlete honors after setting a Kansas Relays record of 45- 7 3/4 in the triple jump on Friday and beating Kansas State's Austra Skujyte in the long jump Saturday with a leap of 21-2 3/4.

In high school competition, Seaman notched a second-place finish in the boys sprint medley relay with a foursome of Lewis Hutfles, Ryan Irvin, Brandon Adams and Doug Boleski clocking a time of 3:35.76.

Edmond, Okla., Santa Fe won the event in 3:33.69.

Topeka West's Jenise Brown flirted with a win in the girls' high jump before finishing third. Salina Central's Jessica Jones won the event at 5-5 1/4, while Brown and Eudora's Jenny Durkin both cleared 5-4 1/4. Durkin finished second by virtue of fewer misses.

Topeka High's Crystal Kemp took fourth in the girls discus with a throw of 124-11, finishing behind Manhattan's Araele Hanks, who was third at 130-1.

Weaver said Friday's competition drew 8,000 fans, competitors and coaches to the stadium, an encouraging number.

"We had the largest attendance we'd had on a Friday in a long, long time," he said, adding that the crowd figure was believed to be the biggest since 1983. "And that tells you something. That's the Kansas Relays. That wasn't any one athlete or any one person. That really means that things are back on the right track."

After routinely drawing crowds of at least 20,000 people in the 1960s and early '70s, attendance dwindled for years before the relays were canceled in 1998 and 1999 due to renovation on Memorial Stadium.

With no guarantee that Greene will return in future years, Weaver was left hoping that the relays made enough progress this year to ensure future success.

"It'll take me a couple of days to really figure out what strides we made and what ones are left incomplete," he said. "But over time, I'll look back on this as one of the steps towards where the meet's going. And it's going in the right direction."

Kansas Relays

HIGH SCHOOL RESULTS