LAWRENCE — Former KU track and field athlete Bryce Hoppel qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics, a little more than a week ago, with his performance at the U.S. Olympic team trials.

Hoppel earned gold in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:42.77 in the men’s final, setting a new event record in the process. He’s coached by Kansas Jayhawks distance coach Michael Whittlesey, and the pair will be at the Olympics later this month with KU track and field head coach Stanley Redwine. Redwine is the head coach for Team USA’s men’s track and field team.

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Here’s more that’s happened in recent weeks around Kansas Athletics:

Kansas men’s basketball makes final four of 5-star recruit Darius Acuff Jr.

Darius Acuff Jr., a 247Sports Composite five-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, revealed Kansas men’s basketball is in his top four. Acuff listed the Jayhawks alongside Arkansas, UConn and Michigan. Acuff is also the top point guard in his class, and the eighth player overall in the nation.

Kansas football coach Lance Leipold named to preseason watch list for 2024 Dodd Trophy

Kansas football head coach Lance Leipold has received some preseason recognition, as he’s on the watch list for the 2024 Dodd Trophy. There are 21 total coaches on the list. According to a KU release, it’s given to the “head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity — the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy.”

Kansas baseball’s Dominic Voegele earns multiple freshman All-America honors

Dominic Voegele’s freshman year with Kansas baseball saw him finish with a 7-2 record and 3.89 ERA across 15 starts. It led him to be named the Big 12 Conference’s freshman of the year. And both D1Baseball (first team) and Baseball America (first team) have named him a freshman All-American — which neither publication has done before for a Jayhawks player.

Kansas women’s golf’s Lily Hirst wins English Women's Open Championship

Lily Hirst, who’ll be a senior for Kansas women’s golf this upcoming season, will return to Lawrence after winning the English Women's Open Championship at Stoneham Golf Club. Hirst is from Huddersfield, United Kingdom. According to a KU release, she captured a victory “with a 72-hole score of 71-75-74-70—290 (-6).”

Kansas Sports Hall of Fame announces 2024 class

The Kansas Sports Hall of Fame’s 2024 class will be inducted in October, and it includes multiple people with significant KU connections. Among those, are Dave Bingham, Mark Mangino, Ron Neugent, Kelly Rankin, Scott Russell and Mark Turgeon. Mangino served as Kansas football’s head coach when the Jayhawks won the Orange Bowl a bit more than a decade ago.

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: KU track and field's Bryce Hoppel qualifies for 2024 Paris Olympics