K-State Hosts Kansas, Wichita State in Fourth Annual KU-KSU-WSU Triangular

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Kansas State and Ahearn Fieldhouse will play host to the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular Meet on Saturday for the second time in the meet's four-year history, as the Wildcats prepare for their fourth meet of the 2017-18 indoor season, and their first shot at in-state foes, Kansas and Wichita State.

The meet begins on Saturday with the field events starting at 10:00 a.m., and the track events beginning at 1:00 p.m. Admission to the event is free.

"We're entering the meet the best we can, to try to win the meet as a team," Head Coach Cliff Rovelto said of his goals for Saturday's Triangular. "It's kind of a unique format, it's a total-team effort, and we're trying to do well as a team."

In the triangular, the men's and women's performances are scored collectively to determine a team winner of the meet. Only the top-two finishers from each school in each event are awarded points, with the winner earning seven points, five points to the runner-up and 4-3-2-1 points until all schools in the event are represented.

In addition to the combined scoring, the meet will feature a mixed 4x400m relay to conclude the triangular. The relay event will feature two men's runners and two women's runners for each team, in an event that helps evolve track and field.

"I am looking for people to have fun, I think it is something that the fans and the student-athletes will enjoy," Meet Director and Assistant Coach Vincent Johnson said of the mixed-relay event. "In future years, the meet can continue to grow and be exciting for track and field fans. I do not think there is a better way to cap the meet off with a total team effort."

The mixed relay has gained notoriety across the globe, being used in several international competitions in recent years, including the IAAF World Relays in 2017, and will be making an appearance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Saturday marks the fourth annual KU-KSU-WSU Triangular meet, with the tradition stemming from the annual Triangular between K-State, Kansas and Missouri from 1989-2006. During that span, the Wildcats won 15 of 17 meets in the series, including eight-straight before the meet was discontinued in 2006.

In 2015, Ahearn Fieldhouse hosted the inaugural K-State, Kansas, and Wichita State Triangular, in which the Wildcats claimed the first Triangular trophy by scoring 261 points in the meet, behind a strong showing from High Point Award Winner Akela Jones. Since its inception in 2015, the meet has traveled throughout the state of Kansas, including stops in Lawrence in 2016 and Wichita in 2017.

Last season, the Wildcats placed second overall as a team, as Wurrie Njadoe earned High Point Award Honors for accounting for 22.25 of the 231 K-State points, including first-place finishes in the 60-meter dash, 200-meter dash and the long jump. Since 2015, A Wildcat has won the meet's High Point Award each year, including Njadoe in 2017 and Jones in 2016 and 2015.

K-State is coming off a dominant performance at the Wildcat Invitational on January 6, where the Wildcats won 22 individual events, including 11 in field and 11 on the track, and set numerous personal records. Of the outstanding performances, senior Mitch Dixon set a new personal best of 20.83m/68-04.50 in the men's weight throw, while seniors Rhizlane Siba and Jess St. John cracked the K-State Top 10 all-time performance list in the high jump and shot put.

On the track, the Wildcats are coming off an impressive effort at the Wildcat Invitational, including four performances that earned USTFCCCA recognition for top-10 performances of the week. Freshmen Kassidy Johnson and Cayli Hume both paired up in the women's 600-yard run, cracking the national top-10 board from last week, while junior Kurt Loevenstein and Ranae McKenzie made appearances on the list in the men's 800 meter run and the women's 300-meter dash.

For a full schedule of events for the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular, click here. Live results for the meet will be provided by Heartland Timing and can be found here.

The K-State Track and Field team is also collecting non-perishable food items for the Flint Hills Breadbasket – Community Food Network, public donations are welcome.

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

K-State Hosts Kansas, Wichita State in Fourth Annual KU-KSU-WSU Triangular

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Players Mentioned

Mitch Dixon

Cayli Hume

Kassidy Johnson

Kurt Loevenstein

Ranae McKenzie

Wurrie Njadoe

Rhizlane Siba

Jess St. John

Kansas State University Athletics