Distance Medley Squad Honored by Track Program
May 02, 2002 | Track & Field
May 2, 2002
Manhattan, Kan. - The women's distance medley relay squad, freshman Kendra Wecker and sophomore thrower Adam Walker were among the honorees in the track and field program as K-State announced its athletes of the week for April 29.
Austra Skujyte, Nicole Grose, Amy Mortimer and Shauna Burrell combined to carry Kansas State to victory in the women's distance medley relay at the Drake Relays last weekend. The foursome went 11:27.52 to win the event and were named K-State's Female Track Athletes of the Week.
"It was an exciting race that came down to the wire," said assistant coach Randy Cole. "All four relay team members dug down and commpeted well. The victory couldn't have happened to a more dedicated group of athletes than these four."
Wecker and sophomore hammer thrower Amanda Riffel shared the Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor.
Wecker, a freshman from Marysville, Kan., hit an automatic-qualifying mark by winning the Drake Relays women's javelin at 169-7. "Winning a prestigious meet like Drake as a freshman is a significant accomplishment," said head coach Cliff Rovelto. To automatically qualify for NCAA Nationals as a true freshman is uncommon and special considering lack of background."
Riffel went 156-11 in the women's hammer at the UMKC Invitational last Friday, far improving her previous mark and moving into seventh on the Wildcats' all-time list.
"Amanda had a huge breakthrough in the hammer, improving more than eight feet and solidifying herself as a conference finalist," said assistant coach Steve Fritz.
Walker hads a similar effort in the men's hammer, adding more than six feet to his previous best to finish third at the UMKC Invitational and become the Wildcats' Male Field Athlete of the Week.
"Adam finally broke out of his outdoor slump, having several throws over his previous outdoor-best and nearly setting a new PR," said Fritz.
Senior distance runner Shadrack Kimeli was the Male Track Athlete of the Week after cutting more than four seconds off his previous season-best in the men's 1,500 to place fourth at the Drake Relays at 3:49.95.
"Shadrack showed signs of improvement in his form and his rhythm and is coming along," said Cole. "We look for him to be sharp and ready to roll at Big 12's."
On Saturday, Kansas State has its last tuneup of the regular season before the Big 12 Conference Championships when it travels to Nebraska for a quadrangular meet with the Huskers, Oregon and Wyoming.
The Big 12 Conference meet is May 17-19 at the University of Missouri.
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