Wildcats Primed For Strong Showing at the Big 12 Championship

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

MANHATTAN, Kan. – It will be hard to top a 2016 Big 12 Championship effort that saw former Wildcat Akela Jones earn high-point scorer honors while claiming three individual titles while helping the women’s team to a third-place finish, but a deep K-State team will nonetheless look to match the placing on the women’s side and finish in the top half of the men’s competition at this weekend’s league indoor finale at Iowa State’s Lied Recreation Center.

Jones’ performance helped spark a season that ultimately ended with a trip to Rio for the Olympic Games, but it’s been a wider base of contributors in 2017 leading to the team’s No. 12 ranking headed into the weekend. Senior Janee' Kassanavoid and freshman Nina Schultz have both earned Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors this season, while school-record breaker Shardia Lawrence and Wurrie Njadoe have also provided meet highlights, among other top women’s efforts.

K-State’s men are ranked No. 57 and return a pair of defending league champs in senior Brady Grunder and junior Christoff Bryan, who would like to replicate last season’s individual and team results – the men also finished third – when championship competition begins Friday in Ames, Iowa, for the fifth-straight season.

“This will be a very competitive meet,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. “I believe the women have a shot at finishing in the top-three, while the men, with a good meet, could finish in the top half of the competition as well.”

In last year’s pair of third place team finishes, the K-State men (98.50 pts.) and women (107.42 pts) saw five athletes win a total of seven individual conference titles, including Jones’ high jump, long jump and 60-meter hurdles titles. Grunder, a native of Durant, Iowa, won his first conference crown with a weight toss of 20.49m/67-02.75 on his fifth attempt in the series, while Bryan used a clearance of 2.22m/7-03.25, to also claim the first conference title of his career in the high jump.

The Wildcats have plenty of momentum to build on heading into the weekend after an uber-successful Steve Miller Open. The team matched its season-best 17 first-place finishes, highlighted by Kassanavoid’s meet and school record toss in the weight throw (21.81m/71-06.75). That mark, along with fellow thrower Brett Neelly’s toss of 18.58m/60-11.50 in shot put, helped the Cats sweep the last indoor regular-season Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors.

In all, K-State has 25 performances in the top eight of the conference rankings on the women’s side and 17 among the top eight of the league charts on the men’s side.

The Big 12 Championship will also be the last chance for seven Wildcats to improve their seeding at the NCAA Championship on March 10-11 in College Station, Texas. Grunder and 200-meter dash runner Terrell Smith sit just inside the top-16 at No. 16 and No. 15, respectively. Jumpers Kim Williamson and Lawrence, as well as Schultz in multi-events, all hold the third-best marks in Division I in their respective events.

Competition begins on Friday at 10 a.m., with the pentathlon 60 meter hurdles and continues at 3 p.m. with the women’s weight throw and pole vault, as well as the beginning of track events. Action resumes on Saturday at 11 a.m. with the first of three final heptathlon events.

Tickets for the Big 12 Championship meet will be available on a single-session basis and can be purchased at the door for $7 for adults and $5 for youth. Fans who cannot travel to Ames and have a FloTrack subscription can watch the meet live via the track organization’s live stream, which can be found here, while live results for both days of competition will be provided by Delta Timing and can be accessed here.

More information on the meet, including ticket information, heat sheets and full schedule, can be found on Iowa State’s Big 12 Championship home page, which can be found here, as well as the Big 12 Conference’s meet home page, which is located here.

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

Schedule