MANHATTAN, Kan. – A year removed from winning five individual conference titles in Fort Worth, Texas, the Kansas State track and field team will look to equal its success from 2016 as it makes the short drive to Lawrence, Kansas, for the 2017 Big 12 Championship this weekend at Rock Chalk Park.

Riding conference titles by former Wildcats Dani Winters (shot put), Akela Jones (long jump) and Kim Williamson (high jump), as well as current Wildcats Shadae Lawrence (discus) and Shardia Lawrence (triple jump), the women went on to claim third place in 2016 with a final score of 112 points. The men took fifth place with 94 points.

“We are really looking forward to this year’s Big 12 Conference Championship,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. “It appears we are going to be blessed with good conditions and we get to compete close to home. The athletes that are competing this weekend have been competing well recently, so it should be a good meet.”

The 12^th-ranked women are primed for a big performance over the course of the three-day competition, entering the meet with a lot of young talent. The Lawrence twins, who lead the conference in both the triple jump and the discus throw, enter the meet hoping to defend their titles in their respective events. School-record holder and Big 12 leader Janee’ Kassanavoid looks to be the favorite to claim the first hammer throw championship of her career after breaking the record with a toss of 66.97m/219-08 at this season’s Texas Invitational.

Newcomers Nina Schultz and Wurrie Njadoe also look to provide strong results for the Wildcat women. Schultz, who holds the best score in the conference in the heptathlon, enters the weekend with the fourth-best high jump (1.75m/5-08.75), the eighth-farthest javelin throw (46.09m/151-02) and the 15^th-farthest mark in shot put (12.19m/40-00). Njadoe boasts the third-farthest long jump (6.36m/20-10.50) in the conference this season, as well as the ninth-fastest 100-meter dash time (11.50).

Senior Morgan Wedekind holds the fourth-best time in the Big 12 in the 3000-meter steeplechase, running 10:24.24 at the John McDonnell Invitational. Sophomore Ranae McKenzie ranks third in the Big 12 in the 400-meter hurdles heading into the weekend after posting a time of 57.98 at the Sun Angel Classic.

“The women should battle towards the top of the conference standings,” Rovelto said about his top-25 women’s program. “We have a young team, but many of the younger athletes have adjusted to this level of competition quickly and are doing a very good job.”

On the men’s side, sophomore Brett Neelly boasts the top mark in the Big 12 in shot put (18.43m/60-05.75) and will look to win the first conference title of his career after finishing in fourth place last season. Junior Christoff Bryan is also in the hunt for a conference title as he currently holds the second-best mark in the Big 12 in high jump (2.18m/7-01.75).

Another bright spot for the Wildcat men this season has come from its men’s hammer throwers, who all surpassed the school record this season in the event. The crew, comprised of Mitch Dixon, Kyle Smith and Brady Grunder, currently holds the second-, third- and fourth-best marks in the Big 12.

“Unfortunately, a significant portion of our men’s team is red shirting,” Rovelto added about his men’s side. “We just have too many holes right now to meet our level of expectation with respect to conference team placing. The guys who will compete will do a great job and that is all we can ask of them.”

Friday’s action is slated to begin at 11 a.m., with the decathlon 100-meter dash, while the decathlon 110-meter hurdles kicks off Saturday’scompetition beginning at 10 a.m. Sunday’s action will begin at 2:30 p.m., with the women’s high jump.

Tickets for the Big 12 Championship meet will be available on a single-session basis and can be purchased at the door for $10 for adults and $5 for youth. Fans who cannot travel to Lawrence and have a FloTrack subscription can watch the meet live via the track organization’s live stream, which can be found here, while live results for both days of competition will be provided by Delta Timing and can be accessed here.

More information on the meet, including ticket information, heat sheets and full schedule, can be found on Kansas’ Big 12 Championship home page, which can be found here, as well as the Big 12 Conference’s meet home page, which is located here.

For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

—www.kstatesports.com—

 
Josh Brunner
Graduate Assistant | Athletics Communications

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off an exciting high jump victory at the Ward Haylett Invitational, junior Miles Bearden has been honored for his efforts by being named Big 12 Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced on Wednesday.

Bearden cleared 2.15m/7-00.50 to win the men’s high jump at the Wildcats’ lone home meet of the outdoor season to become the ninth male in program history to win the weekly award in the Big 12 era and the first since Christoff Bryan won it on May 11, 2016. This is the first time that Bearden has been named Athlete of the Week.

“This is a tremendous honor for Miles,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said about his high jumper. “He has had to deal with chronic shin issues and occasional hip issues. However, he does the work and has persevered. We are glad his body is now letting him do his thing.”

The Cartersville, Georgia, native opened competition at 1.96m/6-05 and recorded just one miss through his first four bars. When he got to 2.15m/7-00.50, he narrowly missed his first two attempts before recording his winning mark on his final try. He went on to post three solid attempts at 2.18m/7-01.75, but he could not get over the bar.

Bearden now holds the third-best mark in the Big 12 and is tied for the 16th-best mark in the West Region heading into the Big 12 Championship.

“I am very honored to receive the Big 12 Athlete of the Week award,” Bearden said. “After a long season of struggles, I was finally able to bring it all together just before the Big 12 Championship. I jumped a personal best of 2.15m/7-00.50 at last weekend’s home meet, which puts me in a great position going forward into conference and regionals. I want to thank my coaches and teammates for all of the support this year. I am confident and excited about what the rest of the season will bring.”

K-State returns to action on May 12-14 at Rock Chalk Park in Lawrence, Kansas for the Big 12 Championship. More information on the meet can be found by visiting the tournament central page here.

For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

Clint Merrit, USD 473 Athletic Director, has announced the hiring of a new Head Girls Tennis Coach and a new Head Dance Coach.

“Chapman High School has hired Christal Ade for the Head Girls Tennis position. Christal would like to implement summer skills and youth camps for all ages to introduce kids to tennis,” said Merrit. “She has a good relationship with our players and their parents and hopes to build on the successful history of Lady Irish Tennis.”

“Chapman High School has hired Tricia Stalder for the Head Dance position,” said Merrit.”Tricia is excited about the opportunity to work with the young ladies in our program!”

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Highlighted by Big 12-leading marks from the men’s golf and women’s cross country programs, all of Kansas State’s athletic teams met and exceeded the NCAA’s Academic Progress Rate multi-year standard for the sixth straight year as the NCAA released its latest Division I APR data from the 2015-16 academic year.

Also, the men’s golf and women’s cross country programs were awarded APR Public Recognition distinction for the fourth straight year after posting multi-year APRs in the top 10 percent of all squads in each sport.
“We are proud of our student-athletes, coaches, support staff and faculty for their commitment to being successful both on the field and in the classroom,” said Jill Shields, Executive Associate AD for Student Services/SWA. “This cumulative report is further proof of our dedication to across-the-board academic success, and we are very pleased with the performance of all of our athletic programs.”

Kansas State’s highest ratings came from the two programs that earned Public Recognition Awards as they scored perfect 1000 marks to lead the Big 12, while the women’s basketball (.996), women’s golf (.992), volleyball (.990), women’s track and field (.984), women’s rowing (.979), women’s tennis (.977) and football (.975) teams were all near the top among their Big 12 counterparts.

Also of note, a total of six programs recorded perfect current year marks as the men’s golf, women’s basketball, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s tennis and women’s track and field teams had perfect 1000 marks.

Other four-year scores included: baseball (.947), men’s basketball (.965), men’s cross country (.958) and men’s track and field (.957).

The Academic Progress Rate measures the eligibility, retention and graduation of student-athletes competing on every Division I sports team and also serves as a predictor of graduation success. Each year, the NCAA tracks the classroom performance of student-athletes on every Division I team through the annual scorecard of academic achievement, known as APR. The score measures eligibility and retention each semester or quarter and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport. The most recent APRs are multi-year rates based on scores from the 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years.

For more information on the Academic Progress Rate, please visit the NCAA website at www.ncaa.org.

K-State, a Tier 1 Carnegie Foundation institution, has had another outstanding academic year in 2016-17. To date, Wildcat student-athletes have earned the following recognitions for their work in the classroom: 122 Academic All-Big 12 recipients, Kersten Kober (volleyball) and Katie Brand (volleyball), Austin Budke (men’s basketball) and Shaelyn Martin (women’s basketball) were named CoSIDA Academic All-District 7 selections. Brand was a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award, while Breanna Lewis and Wesemann were each among the 30 candidates for the women’s basketball Senior CLASS Award.

Kansas State also had a total of 263 K-State student-athletes named to the Fall 2016 Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. The 263 student-athletes to earn the honor marked the 18th straight semester K-State has placed 200 or more student-athletes on the honor roll.

– k-statesports.com –

KENNY LANNOU

Associate A.D. for Communications | K-State Athletics