A look at 2016 Olympians with Kansas ties
The roster of Kansans heading to Rio de Janeiro for the Summer Olympics is deep and diverse.
Twenty-four athletes with ties to the state have qualified on rosters representing the United States and 10 other countries. All but seven are track and field athletes.
Here’s a look at Kansans to watch for beginning Saturday:
Representing the United States
Kyle Clemons
KU
Track and Field
The former Jayhawk sprinter (2009-13) qualified for the 1600-meter relay team. Clemons, whose hometown is Rowlett, Texas, is a two-time Big 12 champion in the 400.
Amy Cragg
Leavenworth
Track and Field
Cragg, 32, won the Olympic Trials marathon to guarantee a return to the Olympics, where she ran the 10,000 meters in 2012. Cragg won the Class 6A 3200 meters while at Leavenworth High and was a 10-time All-American at Arizona State.
Mason Finley
KU
Track and field
Finley, from Kansas City, Mo., threw the discus and shot put for KU, where he was a four-time Big 12 champ and eight-time All-American before transferring for his final season at Wyoming in 2013. Finley won the discus at the Olympic Trials.
Tyson Gay
Barton CC
Track and Field
Gay, 33, will be a part of the 400-meter relay team after finishing fifth in the Trials’ 100 and sixth in the 200. He tested positive for doping in 2013, which led to the vacating of the Americans’ silver medal in the 2012 Olympics’ 400 relay.
Andrea Geubelle
KU
Track and Field
Geubelle is a three-time NCAA triple jump/long jump champion for KU and originally from University Place, Wash. Geubelle qualified for the triple jump in Rio by finishing third at the Olympic Trials.
Nico Hernandez
Wichita
Boxing
The 20-year-old North High alum qualified for the light flyweight (108 pounds) division in Rio by winning a March qualifying bout in Argentina. He is Wichita’s 14th Olympian to compete for the United States.
Erik Kynard
K-State
Track and Field
Kynard, originally from Toledo, Ohio, won the Olympic Trials high jump this month and won silver in the 2012 London Games.
Lydia Paterson
Kansas City, Kan.
Shooting
Paterson, a 19-year-old graduate of KC Piper and a student at Saint Mary, qualified in June for the 10-meter air pistol competition. She finished eighth in the World Cup last year.
Jack Sock
Kansas City, Kan.
Tennis
Sock, originally from Nebraska, moved to the Kansas City area at 12 to train at the Mike Wolf Tennis Academy. He won four consecutive Class 6A singles titles for Blue Valley North and is now ranked in the top 25 men’s players in the world.
Representing other countries
Balazs Baji
Hungary
K-State
Track and Field
Baji will compete in his second Olympics, running the 110 hurdles. He was second in this summer’s European championships.
Veronica Campbell Brown
Jamaica
Barton CC
Track and Field
Campbell-Brown, 34, will be in her fifth Olympics, competing in the 200. She has won seven medals, including two golds in the 200.
Andre de Grasse
Canada
Coffeyville CC
Track and Field
De Grasse, originally from Markham, Ontario, is a medal hopeful in the 100 and 200 meters. He’ll also likely run the 400 relay. He won five NJCAA sprint titles while at Coffeyville in 2013 and 2014.
Antwon Hicks
Nigeria
Neosho CC (assistant coach)
Track and Field
Hicks is 33 and qualified for the Nigerian team in the 110-meter hurdles. His 13.27-second time is Nigeria’s national record. Hicks is Neosho’s assistant track coach.
Akela Jones
Barbados
K-State
Track and Field
Jones will compete in the heptathlon and high jump. She won NCAA titles for K-State in both events.
Jeffrey Julmis
Haiti
K-State
Track and Field
Julmis was born in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and will run the 110 hurdles for Haiti for the second time in the Olympics.
Antanas Kavaliauskas
Lithuania
Barton CC
Basketball
Kavaliauskas, 31, plays professionally in Lithuania after an American collegiate career at Barton and Texas A&M. He completed his ninth pro season.
Shadae Lawrence
Jamaica
K-State
Track and Field
A discus thrower from St. Catherine, Jamaica, Lawrence was named Big 12 outstanding freshman in track in the spring.
Daina Levy
Jamaica
KU
Track and Field
A hammer thrower from Mississauga, Ontario, Levy attended high school in Georgia before enrolling at KU. Her parents are of Jamaican descent.
Beverly Ramos
Puerto Rico
K-State
Track and Field
Ramos, who’ll run the marathon, competed in the 3000-meter steeplechase at the 2012 Games.
Liana Salazar
Colombia
KU
Soccer
Salazar played for KU from 2011-15, scoring 28 goals. She’s played for the Colombian national team in three world tournaments.
Zainab Sanni
Nigeria
KU
Track and Field
Sanni finished sixth in the Nigerian trials’ 100 meters to earn a spot on the 400 relay team. Sanni will be a senior at KU this fall.
Florian Skilang Temengil
Palau
Newman
Freestyle wrestling
Temegil, 29, will compete in the Olympics for the second time (2008) as a heavyweight. He wrestled collegiately at Newman, helping the Jets to a second-place national finish in 2008.
Alyx Treasure
Canada
K-State
Track and Field
Treasure won the Canadian trials’ high jump. She had already met the qualifying standard at a K-State meet in May.
Miles Ukaoma
Nigeria
Wichita
Track and Field
A 400 hurdler, Ukaoma attended Maize High and was a four-time NCAA All-American at Nebraska, winning the 400 hurdles in 2014. At Maize, he was a two-time state champ in the 400 meters.
Ingrid Vidal
Colombia
KU
Soccer
Vidal spent the 2011-12 year at KU, scoring 11 goals with six assists. She’ll be in her fourth FIFA competition.
This story was originally published July 29, 2016 at 5:08 PM with the headline "A look at 2016 Olympians with Kansas ties."