Wildcats Compete at Nebraska Invite

LINCOLN, Neb. – Kansas State tuned up for next weekend’s Big 12 Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Ed Weir Stadium, with six event titles at the Nebraska Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

Leading the way on Saturday was Liliani Mendez in the women’s 1500. The sophomore from Dorado, Puerto Rico won her first career title at the distance with a new personal-best time of 4:23.86. The time ranks seventh in school history.

Her previous career-best came at the 2006 Big 12 Championships with a clocking of 4:24.97. Mendez had recorded a regional-qualifying effort of 4:26.38 during the Jim Click Shootout on March 24; entering the weekend she ranked 14^th in the region with that clocking.

Other event winners on Saturday were: junior Donniece Parrish in the women’s 200-meter dash with a wind-aided time of 23.21, junior Marnyka Honeycutt in the women’s 100-meter dash with a wind-aided mark of 11.71, freshman Sam James in the men’s 800-meter run with a career-best time of 1:52.58, junior Kyle Seiler in the men’s javelin with a toss of 206-03 and senior TJ Staab in the men’s shot put with a distance of 54-04.00.

Improving her regional distance in the women’s hammer throw was junior Laci Heller. The Meriden, Kan., product recorded a season-best mark of 201-01 for a third-place finish. Heller has a career-best of 202-01 during the 2006 Texas Relays, which ranks second in school history. She had registered her previous season-best of 200-00 last Sunday at the Nebraska Open.

Also improving on a regional mark was sophomore Mike Myer in the men’s 200-meter dash. The native of Lenexa, Kan., took advantage of a break in the wind in the third heat to finish in 20.91 for a fourth-place effort. The time is the second-fastest in school history, trailing only Ray Hill’s record of 20.76 from the 1989 Big Eight Championships.

His previous regional mark and season-best was 21.16 at the Jim Click Shootout. That time, entering the weekend, ranked 11^th in the Big 12 and 15^th in the Midwest region.