`Cats Hit the Road for Lawrence and Albuquerque
Jan 28, 2015 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State Track and Field kicks off its road trip with stops in Lawrence, Kansas for the Jayhawk Classic and Albuquerque, New Mexico for the New Mexico Team Invitational. In Lawrence, the Wildcat multis will compete from Jan. 29-30, starting with the men’s heptathlon this Thursday, while the rest of the Wildcats will face off against DI competition at the Albuquerque Convention Center on Saturday, Jan. 31.
Action for the men’s heptathlon starts Thursday, Jan. 29, at 2 p.m. and will continue Friday, Jan. 30, with the multi’s final three events, while the women’s pentathlon will take place entirely on Friday, starting at 9 a.m. Competition in Albuquerque on Saturday, Jan. 31, begins at 9:30 a.m. with the women’s weight throw and will conclude with the women’s 4x400 relay in the early evening. Both meets will have live results available at the host schools’, Kansas and New Mexico, meet central pages. For up-to-the-minute results on everything K-State, follow @kstate_gameday under #KStateTF.
What to Watch For – Jayhawk Classic
The men’s multis will get their first taste of heptathlon action this season with Reinis Kregers, Adam Deterding and freshman Max Estill all expected to make their season debuts in the multi-event. Kregers, the conference runner-up in the event last season as well as second team All-American in the decathlon, has already notched PRs in the 60-meter hurdles and shot put this year and will look to improve upon a career-best score of 5,534 points. Also of note, Deterding, who recorded scoring performances in both the Big 12 heptathlon and decathlon last year, appears primed to continue what has been a stellar sophomore campaign. The Hays, Kansas native already has marked career bests in the 60H, long jump and shot put and opened the 14-15 indoor season with a convincing victory in the men’s portion of the Carol Robinson Winter Pentathlon.
On the women’s side, Joslyn Barnes and Sarah Kolmer will look to improve upon their scores from the season-opening Carol Robinson, while junior-transfer Akela Jones is expected to make her Wildcat debut in the pentathlon. Jones, who has excelled in single event competition this season holding top-10 Division I marks in two events (60H and long jump), was dominant in the multi-event during her time at NAIA school, Oklahoma Baptist. In her final season with the Lady Bison, Jones won the NAIA pentathlon, scoring a championship record 4,153 points en route to the title. For Barnes and Kolmer, the duo scored 3,582 and 3,495 points to finish second and third, respectively, at this season’s winter pentathlon.
What to Watch For – New Mexico Team Invitational
After getting this past week off from competition, several Wildcats on both the men’s and women’s squads appear primed to secure top marks at the national level. Sprinters Terrell Smith and Carlos Rodriguez have both seen their fair share of success so far this season, with the freshman Smith ranking 16th in Division I in the 200m. Also expected to compete are men’s high jumpers Christoff Bryan, Nate Gipson and Miles Bearden. All three jumpers have cleared the bar past seven feet this season, as well as rank within the national top-12 of the event.
Meanwhile, for the women, the group as a whole will continue to build off an early start that has garnered them plenty of attention in the national rankings. The women’s squad has been impressively balanced with A'Keyla Mitchell, Tia' Gamble and Sonia Gaskin leading a strong group on the track, while a bevy of Wildcats have shined in the field events, including the throws trio of Sara Savatovic, Dani Winters and Janee' Kassanavoid. Those athletes, along with returning All-Americans Alyx Treasure and Erica Twiss, are all expected to be in action this coming Saturday.
Hosted by the University of New Mexico, the Wildcats are among the nine teams invited, including Big 12 foe TCU, as well as Air Force, Alabama, Arizona State, California, UCLA, Utah State and UTEP.
#KStateTF Quick Hits
• As mentioned before, the Wildcat women’s fast start has garnered them early recognition in the USTFCCCA Division I Team Rankings. The latest edition, which was announced this past Monday, slotted the women at the No. 12 spot, their highest indoor ranking ever since the USTFCCCA began generating computer rankings in 2008. They are the second-highest ranked Big 12 school in the top-25, behind only No. 7 Texas, with the conference as a whole ranking No. 3 overall in the power index. Further information on both the women’s and men’s standing in the latest national rankings can be found here.
• In the week two edition of Track and Field News’ dual meet rankings, the K-State women took the top spot, while the men moved from No. 10 to No. 7 in the country. The Wildcat women leapfrogged both Arkansas and Texas A&M to earn No. 1 and are 4-0 in dual meet competition thanks to victories over Kansas, Oklahoma State, Tulsa and Wichita State. The men are 5-0 on the season and are one of four Big 12 schools in the TFN top-25. Further information can be found here.
Rankings N’at
(Please Note: Only marks in the Top-50 DI and Top-20 Big 12 are displayed according to TFRRS – converted marks are not used)
Men
| Event | Athlete | Mark | Division I | Big 12 |
| 60m | Terrell Smith | 6.76 | 48th | 6th |
| 200m | Terrell Smith | 21.57 | 16th | 3rd |
| Carlos Rodriguez | 21.81 | 46th | 7th | |
| 4x400 | 3:16.23 | 44th | 5th | |
| High Jump | Christoff Bryan | 2.25m/7-04.50 | 2nd | 2nd |
| Nate Gipson | 2.19m/7-02.25 | 6th | 3rd | |
| Miles Bearden | 2.16m/7-01 | 12th | 5th | |
| Thilina Karunaratne | 2.10m/6-10.75 | 41st | T-8th | |
| Long Jump | Devin Field | 7.48m/24-06.50 | 21st | 1st |
| Triple Jump | Devin Field | 15.43m/50-07.50 | 23rd | 2nd |
Women
| Event | Athlete | Mark | Division I | Big 12 |
| 60m | A'Keyla Mitchell | 7.40 | 23rd | 3rd |
| Akela Jones | 7.47 | 41st | 5th | |
| 200m | A'Keyla Mitchell | 23.96 | 7th | 1st |
| 400m | Tia' Gamble | 55.72 | 38th | 3rd |
| 800m | Sonia Gaskin | 2:08.12 | 4th | 1st |
| 60H | Akela Jones | 8.17 | 3rd | 1st |
| Erica Twiss | 8.31 | 14th | 3rd | |
| 4x400 | 3:37.98 | 5th | 1st | |
| High Jump | Rhizlane Siba | 1.81m/5-11.25 | 13th | 1st |
| Akela Jones | 1.80m/5-10.75 | 15th | 2nd | |
| Kim Williamson | 1.78m/5-10 | 21st | 3rd | |
| Long Jump | Akela Jones | 6.33m/20-09.25 | 6th | 1st |
| Erica Twiss | 5.99m/19-08 | 36th | 2nd | |
| Triple Jump | Alyssa Kelly | 12.46m/40-10.50 | 31st | 1st |
| Shot Put | Dani Winters | 16.52m/54-02.50 | 10th | 2nd |
| Weight Throw | Sara Savatovic | 19.59m/64-03.25 | 25th | 1st |
| Janee' Kassanavoid | 18.72m/61-05 | 49th | 4th | |
| Pentathlon | Erica Twiss | 4114 | 5th | 1st |
| Joslyn Barnes | 3582 | 27th | 2nd | |
| Sarah Kolmer | 3495 | 36th | 3rd |
What’s Next?
K-State continues its road slate with the two-day Sevigne Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Nebraska from Feb. 6-7. Last season’s Husker Invitational was highlighted by former Wildcat Martina Tresch taking first in the 5K with an indoor personal best and program fourth-fastest time of 16:42.53.
