MANHATTAN, Kan. – Senior Akela Jones fell short of breaking the collegiate heptathlon record but still recorded a noteworthy mark as she closed out competition at the Mt. SAC Relays with a score of 6,307 to win the heptathlon on Thursday afternoon.

 

The mark gives Jones a share of the sixth-best score in collegiate history in the heptathlon and is tied for the best score in the world this year in the event. Her effort also marks the seventh 6,300+ point effort in college history and just the third 6,300+ point effort recorded before the NCAA Championships.

 

“Akela’s score for this time of year is impressive but honestly it could have been better,” head coach Cliff Rovelto said of Jones’ performance. “There is still so much work to get done.”

 

The senior opened the second day of action in long jump, winning the event with a leap of 6.12m/20-01.00 to earn 887 points in the first event of the day. Jones then recorded a personal best in the javelin throw with a toss of 38.97m/127-10 to finish in 11^th place and earn 648 points.

 

“The javelin throw was obviously a personal best,” Rovelto added. “Her long jump mark does not reflect how far she has been jumping.”

 

In order to break the 6,400 point mark, Jones needed to run her PR time of 2:21.62. A time of 2:25.1 would have earned the best-ever regular-season score of 6,354. Jones would finish with a time of 2:28.70 to earn 709 points and finish the heptathlon with a final score of 6,307.

 

During the first day of competition, she set a collegiate record-breaking first-day score of 4,063 points. She set personal bests in the 200 meter dash with a time of 23.28 and in the high jump with a mark of 1.95m/6-04.75. Her high jump mark also set a new school record, topping Gwen Wentland’s leap of 1.93m/6-04.00 in 1995.

 

The full team begins competition tomorrow at the KT Woodman Invitational in Wichita, Kansas. Friday’s events are slated for a noon CT with field events. Running events begin 6 p.m. CT start with the women’s 1500 meter run on the track and women’s javelin throw in the field.

 

Competition resumes on Saturday with the women’s hammer throw and men’s discus throw at 11 a.m. CT. Track events will begin at 12:30 p.m. CT on the final day of the meet with the 100 meter dash prelims.

 

 

 –www.kstatesports.com–

 

————
Josh Brunner
Graduate Assistant | Athletics Communications

HOUSTON (AP) – Ian Kennedy threw seven strong innings, Eric Hosmer hit a two-run double during a five-run sixth and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 6-2 on Thursday night.

Kennedy (2-0) started with five hitless innings and retired 14 straight before Carlos Gomez’s leadoff single to center in the sixth. Kennedy struck out seven and allowed a run on two hits and two walks.

Mike Moustakas hit a solo homer in the first and went 2 for 4 with a walk.

Hosmer, Lorenzo Cain, Alex Gordon and Omar Infante each had two hits and the Royals set a season high with 13 hits. The defending World Series champs are 7-2 after winning the final three games of the four-game set with the Astros.

Doug Fister (1-1) pitched well until the sixth. He allowed six runs over 5 2/3 innings.

Wade Davis got two outs for his fourth save.

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Opening the outdoor season with meets in Texas, California and Louisiana, the Kansas State track and field team return to Kansas as it travels to Wichita, Kansas to compete in the KT Woodman Invitational on Friday and Saturday.

 

The Wildcats return to Wichita for the first time since 2013 when it competed in the then KT Woodman Classic, earning seven first-place finishes at the meet.

 

The field consists of teams from across the region, including Emporia State, Fort Hays State, Oklahoma Baptist, North Texas and hosts Wichita State, as well as numerous other community colleges.

 

At last weekend’s LSU Battle on the Bayou in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, K-State saw numerous first-place finishes and had multiple athletes record personal bests.

 

Sophomore A’Keyla Mitchell highlighted the meet, setting a new school record in the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.94, breaking the previous top mark of 22.96 which she set at the 2015 NCAA West Preliminary.

 

Juniors Morgan Wedekind and Jeff Bachman also set meet records during the Wildcats’ last meet. Wedekind finished in first place in the 5000 meter run with a personal best time of 17:28.79, while Bachman set the meet record in the 10,000 meter run with a personal best time of 31:22.66.

 

Friday’s events are slated for a noon CT with field events. Running events begin 6 p.m. CT start with the women’s 1500 meter run on the track and women’s javelin throw in the field.

 

Competition resumes on Saturday with the women’s hammer throw and men’s discus throw at 11 a.m. CT. Track events will begin at 12:30 p.m. CT on the final day of the meet with the 100 meter dash prelims.

 

 

 –www.kstatesports.com–

 

 

————
Josh Brunner
Graduate Assistant | Athletics Communications

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Senior Akela Jones opened the first day of competition at the Mt. SAC Relays in style, breaking multiple records and setting two new personal bests to set a collegiate record-breaking first-day score of 4,063 points in the heptathlon on Wednesday evening.

 

Jones is off to an even better start than her performance at last year’s NCAA Outdoor Championships where she set the NCAA first day record with 4,023 points en route to winning the 2015 National Championship in the heptathlon.

 

The product of St. Michael, Barbados, opened the competition with a third-place finish in the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 13.36 for 1,071 points. The time is the same she recorded at the UCLA Legends Invitational two weeks ago.

 

She then dominated the field in the high jump, setting a new school record and collegiate heptathlon high jump record with a personal best leap of 1.95m/6-04.75 to earn 1,171 points. The previous school record was set byGwen Wentland in 1995 after a leap of 1.93m/6-04.00 at the College Station Multis.

 

In shot put, Jones racked up 770 points with a throw of 13.64m/44-09.00 to finish in fourth place. Her mark is good for fourth on the school’s all-time best list.

 

The senior closed out day one with a bang, winning the 200 meter dash and earning 1,051 points with a personal best time of 23.28, which is tied for second on the school’s all-time list.

 

Jones will begin Thursday’s competition 373 points ahead of Jessica Flax, who sits in second place with 3,690 points. The final three events of the heptathlon resume at 3 p.m. CT with the long jump.

 

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

 

————
Josh Brunner
Graduate Assistant | Athletics Communications

HOUSTON (AP) – Salvador Perez tagged Houston reliever Ken Giles for a tiebreaking two-run homer in the eighth inning, lifting the Kansas City Royals over the Houston Astros 4-2 Wednesday night.

The World Series champion Royals have taken two of the three from the team they beat in the decisive Game 5 of the AL Division Series last October. This four-game set wraps up Thursday.

Giles (0-1) retired the first two batters in the eighth before walking Alex Gordon on a full count. Perez followed with a drive off the facade above the Crawford Boxes in left field.

Giles has given up three home runs in four games, and flung his glove in the dugout after this latest shot. He was acquired from Philadelphia in the offseason after giving up a total of three homers in 113 games over the past two years.

Written by Tiffany Roney on ksu.edu.

MANHATTAN — Fort Riley’s institutional partnership with Kansas State University has extended to K-State’s club sports teams, as evidenced by the 37th annual K-State Ed Chartrand Memorial Soccer Tournament.

The men’s and women’s club soccer tournament will be on campus April 15-17, during the university’s open house weekend, at Memorial Stadium.

“Our club sports students have truly reached out in partnerships to soldiers and their families,” said Art DeGroat, executive director of military and veterans’ affairs for Kansas State University. “This mutually beneficial relationship has helped members of the military to be a part of the K-State club sports experience and the K-State family.”

In addition to soccer, the military-university partnership includes several other sports-centric activities, such as the K-State-Fort Riley Rugby Club, which hosts annual clinics for soldiers who are new to rugby, and a nationally competitive inline hockey team, which scrimmages with soldiers and even purchased additional equipment to do so. All the clubs host games, matches and special events with alumni and military partners.

Transient military families receive the opportunity to root for a home team, while students develop a deeper appreciation for the military through an interpersonal perspective, DeGroat said.

“The sporting venue is a great place for mutual understanding of the different life courses each has chosen to pursue,” DeGroat said. “It reinforces our overarching commitment to be a military-inclusive university.”

DeGroat would like to leverage the program to increase the success of Kansas State University’s club sports program, expand interactions between soldiers and students, and grow event attendance to include additional students and community members.

“The success and vitality of this program is fully attributed to the club sport student-athlete team leaders, their coaches and Fort Riley unit leaders that make this all work in a truly authentic way,” DeGroat said. “This is not just a fan experience, but an enriching, engaged and mutual relationship.”

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bruce Weberannounced the signing of high school guard Cartier Diarra (Florence, S.C./West Florence) on the first day of the Spring National Signing Period on Wednesday.

 

A 6-foot-4, 185-pound point guard, Diarra is highly-regarded among the recruiting services, ranking as the No. 54 point guard in the nation by247Sports and rated the fourth-best player in the state of South Carolina. He ranked No. 11 on a list of the Top 25 players in South Carolina by theCharlotte Observer.

 

“It’s great to welcome Cartier and his family to K-State and our basketball family,” said Weber. “When we were evaluating our needs for the coming year and our available scholarships, we knew that we needed depth in our backcourt – someone who could give us some point guard play but also play some at the two. Cartier’s name came up many times in recruiting circles and we were able to jump in at the right time and get him on a visit.

 

“Cartier is a versatile combo guard who has exceptional athleticism and strong basketball IQ. He is great in the transition game and has a unique ability to get to the basket to score or to drop it to a teammate. He’s only seriously been playing basketball since his sophomore year and has skill development has just gotten better and better. That’s credit to not only his work ethic but to his high school coaches and mentors. He’s very committed and hungry to improving his game.”

 

Diarra helped West Florence to consecutive 19-win seasons the past two seasons, including a 19-6 overall record and a trip to the Class 4A State Tournament as a senior in 2015-16. He was named to the Class 4A All-State team by the South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association (SCBCA) and was selected as the Region 6-4A and Florence (S.C.) Morning News Player of the Year. He recently posted a team-high 15 points and 7 rebounds to help South Carolina beat North Carolina, 114-91, in the annual Carolinas All-Star Basketball Classic on March 19.

 

During his 3-year varsity career at West Florence, Diarra scored in double figures 50 times with 16 20-point games, while he tallied 27 career double-doubles and eight triple-doubles (points/rebounds/assists). He posted a 3.14 career assist-to-turnover ratio (330 assists to 105 turnovers). In all, he averaged 13.4 points on 55.3 percent shooting (311-of-562), including 35.6 percent (47-of-132) from 3-point range, with 7.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in 69 career games played.

 

Originally from Manhattan, N.Y., Diarra moved to Florence, S.C., during high school where Sharone Wright served as a mentor. Wright played at Clemson (1991-94) and was the No. 6 overall pick in the 1994 NBA Draft.

 

Diarra is the fourth member of the 2016 Signing Class, joining the earlier announcement of Brian Patrick (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Boyd Anderson)as well as James Love III (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./American Heritage)and Xavier Sneed (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central) who signed in November.

 

Cartier Diarra

6-4 // 185 // PG

Florence, S.C. // Originally from Manhattan, N.Y.

High School: West Florence (coached by Peter Ellis)

AAU: Flight 22 (coached by Nathan Faulk)

Primary Recruiter: Chester Frazier

 

Bio:

• A highly-regarded prospect by the recruiting services, ranking as the No. 54 point guard in the nation according to 247Sports, including the fourth-best player in the state of South Carolina… He was rated as the No. 11 player on the list of the Top 25 players in South Carolina by theCharlotte Observer.
• Led West Florence to back-to-back 19-win seasons as a junior and senior, including a 19-6 overall record and a trip to the Class 4A State Tournament in 2015-16.
• Selected to the 2016 South Carolina Basketball Coaches Association (SCBCA) Class 4A All-State team as a senior… Also named the Region 6-4A and Florence (S.C.) Morning News Player of the Year.
• Named MVP of the Gatorade Turkey Shootout and Pepsi Carolina Classic.
• Invited to play in the Carolinas All-Star Basketball Classic on March 19, which annually pits the top seniors from both North and South Carolina… Posted a team-high 15 points and 7 rebounds in helping South Carolina defeat North Carolina, 114-91.
• Averaged 13.4 points in his 3-year varsity career on 55.3 percent shooting (311-of-562), including 35.6 percent (47-of-132) from 3-point range, with 7.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in 69 games played… Connected on 69.5 percent (257-of-370) from the free throw line.
• Totaled 926 points, 535 rebounds, 330 assists, 175 steals and 92 blocks in his career.
• Scored in double figures 50 times in his career, including 16 20-point games.
• Tallied 27 career double-double with 8 triple-doubles (points/rebounds/assists).
• Posted a 3.14 career assist-to-turnover ratio (330 assists to 105 turnovers).
• Averaged 18.8 points on 62.7 percent shooting (158-of-252), including 32.7 percent (17-of-52) from 3-point range, to go with 11.0 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 3.6 steals and 2.1 blocks as a senior in 2015-16… Also connected on 77.4 percent (137-of-177) from the free throw line… Shot 70.5 percent (141-of-200) from inside 3-point range… Played in all 25 games.
• Led the Knights in rebounding, assists and steals and was second in scoring and blocks as a senior.
• Scored in double figures in 24 of 25 games played with 12 20-point games… Scored a season-high 26 points on 10-of-11 field goals vs. Wilson (1/5/16).
• Tallied 22 double-doubles (21 points/rebounds and 1 points/assists) in 25 games.
• Collected seven triple-doubles (points/rebounds/assists), including a stretch of three in a row.
• Registered double-digit rebounds 21 times, including a season-high 15 vs. Socastee (1/29/16).
• Dished out double-digit assists 8 times, including a season-high 13 vs. Lake City (12/29/15).
• Grabbed at least 2 steals in every game, including a season-high 7 done 3 times.
• Posted at least 1 block in every game, including a season-high 4 vs. Hartsville (12/5/15).
• Had his best all-around game as a senior vs. Hartsville (12/5/15) with 23 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 7 steals and 4 blocks.
• Averaged 12.9 points on 52.6 percent shooting (110-of-209), including 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from 3-point range, to go with 7.6 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 1.2 blocks per game as a junior in 2014-15.

 

West Florence Head Coach Peter Ellis:

“Over the years, I think the most impressive thing about Cartier (Diarra) has been his rate of improvement. It has been staggering. He didn’t even play as a ninth grader so to see how much better he has gotten from his 10^th grade year and on is a credit to his tremendous work ethic. He’s like a sponge. The more coaching he gets the better he wants to become. Obviously, he’s a physically gifted player with all the tools but also a very heady player who just makes his team better. I call him a ‘Jack of all trades’ – he can handle the ball, score it, rebound and defend – he is just fundamentally sound. But I think his greatest strength is his ability to get to the rim. He can finish at the basket, but also dish to a teammate. He is just so creative at getting to the rim. I think K-State got a steal with Cartier.  Coaches (Bruce) Weber and (Chester) Frazier were some of the first coaches to recruit him and he has just blown up since then. I think his ceiling is high at K-State.”

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

————
TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

 

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State head coach Bruce Weber announced the signing of high school guard Brian Patrick (Fort Lauderdale, Fla./Boyd Anderson)on the first day of the Spring National Signing Period on Wednesday.

 

A 6-foot-5, 180-pound shooting guard, Patrick comes to K-State from Boyd Anderson High School, where he led the Cobras to an 18-10 overall record and a berth in the 2016 FHSAA Class 6A State Championship. He averaged 17.8 points on 51.8 percent shooting (175-of-338), including 42.1 percent (59-of-140) from 3-point range, to go with averages of 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.9 steals per game. He was named Second Team All-Broward County among 8A-7A-6A programs by the Florida Sun-Sentinel.

 

Patrick is the second prep player from the Fort Lauderdale area to sign with the Wildcats, joining big man James Love III (American Heritage) who signed during the Fall National Signing Period in November.

 

“We are excited to welcome Brian and his family to K-State and our basketball family,” said Weber. “One of our recruiting priorities was getting better from the 3-point line. (Former K-State player) Martavious (Irving) came to us and told us about a kid from his high school (Boyd Anderson) who was having a breakout senior year. After doing some research, (assistant coach) Chester and I made a number of trips to Fort Lauderdale to see Brian and we knew that he would be a great fit for our shooting needs and for the team.

 

“Brian give us a big-time perimeter shooter with tremendous range who has legitimate size (6-foot-5). He connected on better than 42 percent from long range as a senior, averaging over two made 3-pointers per game. He also has tremendous athleticism and a great jumping ability. He comes from a high school program with great tradition who always turn out tough players. He broke his leg as a junior and missed out on some time to get exposure in the summer, but he’s made the most of his senior season.”

 

Boyd Anderson is the famed high school alma mater of Naismith Hall of Famer and K-State alumnus Mitch Richmond (1986-88) as well as Irving (2009-13), who is part of the winningest senior class in school history.

 

Patrick transferred to Boyd Anderson for his senior season after playing two varsity seasons (2013-15) at Cardinal Gibbons High School where he helped the Chiefs to a 56-7 overall record as a sophomore and junior. As a reserve, he helped the squad to a 32-1 overall record in 2014-15 en route to the 5A District 16 title and the Class 5A State Championship. In the championship run, the Chiefs knocked off current Wildcat Barry Brown and Gibbs High School in the state semifinals to advance to the title game.

 

Patrick is the third member of the 2016 Signing Class, joining the earlier announcement of Love and Xavier Sneed (Florissant, Mo./Hazelwood Central)who inked with the Wildcats during the Fall National Signing Period in November.

 

Brian Patrick

6-5 // 180 // SG

Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

High School: Boyd Anderson (coached by Eugene Richardson)

AAU: South Florida Elite (coached by Cedric Smith)

Primary Recruiter: Chester Frazier

 

Bio:

• Spent his senior season at Boyd Anderson, where he helped the Cobras to a 5-win improvement to an 18-10 overall record and a trip to the Regional Semifinals of the 2016 FHSAA Class 6A State Championship… The squad lost to rival and eventual state champion Dillard, 55-52, on Feb. 16.
• Named Second Team All-Broward County 8A-7A-6A by the Florida Sun-Sentinel as a senior… Also selected to the preseason All-Broward County team by the Sun-Sentinel.
• Averaged 17.8 points on 51.8 percent shooting (175-of-338), including 42.1 percent (59-of-140) from 3-point range, to go with 6.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks as a senior in 2015-16… Also connected on 72.7 percent (72-of-99) from the free throw line… Shot 58.6 percent (116-of-198) from inside the 3-point line… Played in all 27 games.
• Led the Cobras in scoring, field goals made and attempted, 3-point field goals made and attempted, rebounding, offensive and defensive rebounds, while he was second in steals and blocks.
• Scored in double figures in 25 of 27 games played with 9 20-point games… Scored a season-high 29 points on 10-of-16 field goals vs. Stranahan (1/7/16).
• Tallied 7 double-doubles (points/rebounds), grabbing a season-best 13 rebounds vs. Pembroke Pines Charter (12/10/15).
• Recorded at least one 3-point field goal in 25 of 27 games, including 2 or more 18 times… Knocked down a season-high 4 3-pointers on six occasions.
• Played two varsity seasons at Class 5A power Cardinal Gibbons, where he helped the Chiefs to a 56-7 overall record from 2013-15, including a 32-1 mark and the Class 5A state title as a junior in 2014-15.

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

————
TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Freshman guard Ron Freeman has elected to transfer from the Kansas State men’s basketball, head coach Bruce Weber announced Tuesday.

 

“Ron has made the decision to transfer from Kansas State,” said Weber. “We wish him the best as he moves forward in his college career.”

 

A 6-foot-5, 185-pound guard from Los Angeles, California, Freeman saw action in 11 games this season, averaging 0.6 points and 0.1 rebounds in 1.7 minutes per game.

 

Freeman leaves K-State with three years of eligibility remaining in his career, including a redshirt season. He has committed to Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Fla., and expected to sign a Letter of Intent during the Spring Signing Period.

 

–www.kstatesports.com–

————
TOM GILBERT
Associate Director for Athletics Communications | K-State Athletics

Head Coach Bill Snyder
On the players’ energy level…

“I would say it is positive. I have had absolutely no complaints with the effort level of our players. I think that is a very positive thing. The execution has been up and down. I think our spring practices have been inconsistent, performance-wise, at best. But as far as the effort and attitude are concerned, I think that has been extremely good.”

 

On defensive issues last season…

“I think we had a lot of issues. I think the biggest one was losing Dante (Barnett), who is the leader of our defense and plays a prominent role in other areas as well. That created some issues for us. As I said before, he is back and he is playing well. He has great anticipation, a great insight about the game itself and is a good leader on the field. Depth is probably going to be a bit of an issue. It is something that we are working on right now to try to develop a more significant two-deep. In some cases, we are in pretty good shape there. We probably have five or six guys in the linebacker group right now that fit in quite well. They are very competitive with each other. We will probably need another defensive end to step up, another defensive lineman to step up and another defensive back to step up to give us the kind of depth that we need. The simple thing is the hardest to do, but the easiest to say. We have to defend better against the pass. We have got to be a better first down team on defense. Our third down conversion rate, defensively, is not where I would like it. ”

 

On Tom Hayes’ motivation…

“Tom is a very fine coach – as all the defensive coaches are – and he works diligently. He would not work any differently. Collectively, a 6-6 regular season or a 6-7 complete season did not sit well with anybody. Across the board, we have to get better. Statistically, we were quite a ways down the list defensively in the significant statistical analysis. By the same token, we were likewise on offense as well. It is a shared responsibility, I think. From Tom’s standpoint, he is an experienced coach and coaches have feelings like players do and nobody likes to lose. Everybody likes to win for the most part and I do not think he is any different from the rest of us.”

 

On injured players staying involved during the season…

“They do everything that everybody else does. Jesse (Ertz) was a little more removed from it because of what the rehab entailed. Any time we have an injury, whether it’s at quarterback or any other position, they go to the same meetings. When they can be on the field, we put them with their group and they walk through anything and everything that is being done. They take every rep that is on the field with their position. If they can walk through it, they walk through it. If they can run through it, they run through it. They stay mentally active in every snap that is taken. Like I said, that is all positions, not just quarterback.”

Linebacker Will Davis

On the motivation after bowl game loss…

“We are extremely motivated, not just the guys that played in that game but everyone that was on the sideline that witnessed it; the young guys who are now having to step up. Everyone is extremely motivated. We have been motivated all offseason. It was kind of our defensive mantra throughout the winter conditioning just to be the best, not better than last year, but the best and doing everything 100 percent. That is kind of the idea we have taken into spring ball.”

 

On having players healthy…

“Having guys back is not only a boost from a player’s perspective but from a leadership perspective, especially having Dante (Barnett) back. No one can replace his leadership.”

 

Running Back Justin Silmon

On Winston Dimel stepping up…

“Everybody has to step up. We lost guys across the board at many other positions too. So someone has to step up each time someone goes away.”

 

On the running back competition…

“Everyone is still competing and we are all trying our hardest. We are trying to compete and make each other better.”

 

Linebacker Charmeachealle Moore
On spring practice…

“It is going good. It feels good to be back in pads and being with my teammates, building chemistry with the defense and seeing what the offense has.”

 

On improving during spring practices…

“I am trying to get better than when I ended (last season). Like Coach Snyder says, you are 1-0 everyday, 1-0 every play. That is what we are trying to keep in mind and get better.”

————
RYAN LACKEY
Assistant Director | Athletics Communications