photo by: Kahner Sampson/Special to the Journal-World

Kansas' Aaliyah Moore runs the 800 meters at the Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championship at Rock Chalk Park on Friday, May 16, 2025.

A total of 11 Kansas track and field athletes are headed to the outdoor national meet in Eugene, Oregon, following the weekend’s results in NCAA preliminary competition.

Joining decathletes Alexander Jung and Tayton Klein, who had already qualified by virtue of their scores earlier in the season, were Ashton and Bryce Barkdull (men’s pole vault), Jacob Cookinham (men’s shot put), Ebba Cronholm (women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase), Erica Ellis (women’s pole vault), Bryce Foster (men’s shot put), Aaliyah Moore (women’s 800-meter race), Dimitrios Pavlidis (men’s discus) and Sofia Sluchaninova (women’s discus).

“It was a great weekend for most, and exciting to see those who qualified today,” KU coach Stanley Redwine said in a press release on Saturday. “I’m looking forward to (seeing) those who are going to Nationals compete.”

The Barkdull brothers each cleared 5.42 meters in one of the first events of the preliminary meet in College Station, Texas, on Wednesday, with the freshman Bryce placing third and the junior Ashton fourth. Fellow junior Anthony Meacham was one spot away from qualification as he came in 13th.

KU’s early success continued in the shot put with Foster in sixth after throwing 19.20 meters, his best mark since joining KU, and Cookinham, another freshman, in 10th at 18.93.

Tanner Talley advanced past the first round in the men’s 1,500 meters but ultimately finished 0.27 seconds short of a qualifying spot in his heat in the quarterfinal round. TJ Robinson also made it through the first round in the 800 meters but didn’t end up earning a spot in Eugene.

KU’s high-ranking women’s pole vault squad sent just one athlete to nationals in the veteran Ellis, who cleared 4.42 meters on Thursday and finished ninth.

In the women’s 1,500 meters, record-setting sophomore Emmaculate Jemutai moved on from Thursday but not from Saturday’s quarterfinals; Pearl Awanya did the same in the 400 meters despite matching a personal best in first-round competition.

Moore, however, clinched a return trip to nationals even as she entered ranked just No. 87 in the 800 meters.

Her season-best time of two minutes, 3.94 seconds in Thursday’s first-round ranked in the top three in her heat, sending her through to Saturday, where she did even better with a time of 2:02.87 that was second in her heat and 10th overall. She will make her second straight trip to outdoor nationals.

Pavlidis was the only Jayhawk to qualify on Friday. Last year’s national bronze medalist, he came in third with a throw of 62.00 meters.

“He stayed composed, executed the plan from the first throw, and very easily put himself in the position to advance and be seeded in the top flight in Eugene,” KU throws coach Doug Reynolds said in a release. “It was exactly what you want to do in a qualifying round.”

Then, in the women’s event on Saturday, Sluchaninova posted the fourth-best result at 58.22 meters to punch her own ticket to Eugene.

Sophomore Mason Meinershagen, who also missed out on pole-vault qualification by a narrow margin, was a few places short in the high jump despite her personal-best result of 1.81.

Cronholm posted a time of 10:01.90 in the steeplechase, which was good enough for third place in her heat and a berth at nationals to wrap up her freshman season.

The outdoor nationals begin on June 11 at Hayward Field.