Kansas State Wildcat Track & Field: 10 Top Marks in Lawrence

Kansas State Wildcats athletes were back in Lawrence Friday and took home some hardware.

While Bruce Weber’s basketball team prepared for their battle and win over Oklahoma and Wildcat football player Elijah Lee decided to make his announcement to enter the NFL draft, The Kansas State Track and field team was on the road down Interstate 70 competing at the Bill Easton Classic.

They won ten events during the competition at the Anschutz Sports Pavilion.

In the overall standings, both the Kansas State men and the women’s teams finished in fourth place, according to a media release from KSU Athletics

The men scored 121 points and the women120 points.

K-State got off to a strong start, taking the top two spots in the women’s weight throw led by senior Janee’ Kassanavoid, who used a personal best throw of 20.84m/68-04.50 to claim first in the event and move her to third on the school’s all-time list.

Freshman Helene Ingvaldsen took second place in the event with a mark of 18.47m/60-07.25.

The men also took the top spots in the weight throw as senior Brady Grunder won the event with a throw of 19.78m/64-10.75.

Junior Mitchell Dixon and senior Kyle Smith finished in second and third place with marks of 19.24m/63-01.50 and 18.79m/61-07.75, respectively.

Sophomore Brett Neelly won his second-straight event in as many meets in shot put as he posted a mark of 17.90m/58-08.75.

Fellow sophomore Jayce Brack finished in the top five in the same event, claiming fourth place after a throw of 16.53m/54-02.75.

Freshman Morgan Coffman put on a show in the women’s high jump, using a personal best mark of 1.80m/5-10.75 to win the event. Fellow freshman Nina Schultz also set a new personal best in the meet, posting a jump of 1.72m/5-07.75 to finish in third place.

The impact of new Kansas State Assistant Track Coach Erik Kynard must be having an impact on the team.

On the track, Senior Marija Stambolic won the women’s 800 meter run in impressive fashion, holding off Cowley County’s Courtney Griffiths on the final lap to win her first event of the season with a time of 2:17.26. Freshman Paityn Howat took fourth in the first collegiate event of her career with a time of 2:22.05.

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The Wildcats dominated the women’s 60 meter hurdles, placing four hurdlers into the finals of the event. Schultz won the event, posting a personal best time of 8.55 in both the final and prelims, good for seventh on the school’s all-time list. Okorie won the prelim with a personal best time of 8.51, tied for sixth on the school’s all-time list, before taking second in the finals after crossing the finish line in 8.67.

Junior Claudette Allen and freshman Lauren Taubert also recorded personal best times in the prelims, posting times of 8.93 and 8.94, respectively. Allen went on to finish sixth in the final with a time of 8.99, while Taubert took eighth with a time of 9.09. Sophomore Ranae McKenzie also set a new personal best with a final time of 9.07 to finish in 11th place.

The meet concluded with the relay events, where the Wildcats put up strong marks. The women’s squad of Wedekind, Stambolic, Lee and Wren posted a time of 12:14.53 to finish in second place, while the men’s squad, comprised of Brett Bachman, Sam Oxandale, Koch and Jeff Bachman, took third place with a time of 10:19.90.

Barton County Community College won the men’s team title. Kansas won the women’s team