Kassanavoid’s Big 12 Title Highlights Day One in Ames

Feb 25, 2017 | Track & Field

BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP

AMES, Iowa – The school record and a pair of meet records over the course of the 2017 indoor season just was not enough for Janee' Kassanavoid. K-State's senior thrower added to a scrapbook season of memories with the 10th weight throw conference championship in school history and the third in the last four years for the Wildcats on the first day of the Big 12 Championship at the Lied Recreation Center.

After the first day of action the 12th-ranked Wildcat women sat in second place with 36 team points, while the No. 57 men closed out day one in a tie for fourth place with Texas Tech with 21.5 points. Baylor's women (38 pts.) and Kansas' men (54.5 pts.) led the overall competition.

"There were some rough things that happened early, but for the most part I think we finished strong today," Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. For the most part, I think we scored most of the points that I thought we would score on the first day. The kids did a good job of picking it up in the latter part of the day."

Kassanavoid, who entered the meet with the fourth-best mark in Division I and was the clear favorite to win the conference title in weight throw, fouled her first attempt of the series to build pressure. She rebounded in a huge way, though, recording what finished to be her winning mark of 21.32m/65-02.75 on her next attempt in the series.

"It is a perfect end to the regular season and my senior year," Kassanavoid said about her performance. "I ended up making Coach [Greg] Watson proud and my family proud. I am proud of myself. It has been a long process and I have trusted that process since August. I have not had much time off, but it has really been rewarding in the end."

On the track, five individual Wildcats qualified for running finals on Saturday. Two notable performances came in the men's and women's 1,000-meter run, where senior Morgan Wedekind set the bar high, qualifying for Saturday's final by finishing fourth overall in the prelims of the event with a time of 2:49.05. That shattered her previous personal-best time of 2:53.53 by just under five seconds.

Not to be outdone, fellow senior Kain Ellis had an equally outstanding performance, finishing second in the men's 1,000-meter run after crossing the finish line in 2:28.16 to qualify on place in the event.

Sophomore Kurt Loevenstein provided another talking point for the Wildcats, qualifying for the 800-meter run finals on Saturday in a very strong field by finishing fourth in heat two and eighth overall with a time of 1:50.92. In the mile run, junior Lukas Koch continued his excellence on the track, qualifying for the finals in the event by posting a time of 4:14.43.

Junior Terrell Smith also put in solid work on the track, posting a sub-21 time in the 200-meter dash with a season-best time of 20.99 to take fourth overall in the race. The final Wildcat to qualify for Saturday's track finals was freshman Nina Schultz, who ran a time of 8.42, qualifying for the first final of her career.

K-State had a strong showing of scoring performances throughout the day.

Freshman Helene Ingvaldsen, competing in her first Big 12 Championship, finished in second place in the women's weight throw with a toss of 19.88m/65-02.75. The men's weight throw also provided three conference scorers, paced by a second-place finish by Brady Grunder, who tossed 21.01m/68-11.25. Junior Mitchell Dixon (20.31m/66-07.75) and senior Kyle Smith (18.01m/59-01.25) also scored in weight throw, finishing in third place and seventh place, respectively.

Women's long also provided two impressive scoring performances, led by junior Claudette Allen, whose personal-best leap of 6.28m/20-07.25 was good for fourth place and moved her to third place on the school's all-time list. Schultz also recorded a personal best in the event, leaping 6.12m/20-01 to finish in fifth place and move to eighth on the school's all-time top-10.

In his final indoor competition of his career, pole vaulter Zack Supple recorded a strong scoring performance, finishing in a tie for seventh place with a final mark of 4.92m/16-01.75.

Competition in Iowa got started with the pentathlon, which produced three top-10 performances, including scoring performances by freshmen Ariel Okorie and Morgan Coffman, who finished in fourth place and seventh place, respectively. Okorie's top performances came in the 60-meter hurdles and down the stretch in the long jump, where she finished third with a leap of 5.74m/18-10.

Coffman struggled in the opening event, but a huge win in the high jump, where she finished first with a clearance of 1.76m/5-09.25, moved her back into scoring contention. Strong marks in the shot put and the 800-meter run, where she finished in third place, helped her solidify her seventh-place finished.

After one day of action, sophomore Simone Fassina was in position to record a scoring performance in the heptathlon, sitting in fifth place with 2,941 points after the first day of action. Fassina's performance was highlighted by his performance in the high jump, his final event of the day, where he finished in second place with a mark of 1.94m/6-04.25.

"Every qualifier in this meet is huge, especially on the women's side," Rovelto added. "I think the men had a good day. I thought we had a shot of getting fifth place and I still do. With this team, there are not a lot of superstars. Rather, we have good, solid athletes that compete hard and give themselves a chance to compete with the best teams in the conference."

Action resumes on Saturday at 11 a.m. with the completion of the heptathlon, while field events begin at noon and running events are slated for a 1:30 p.m., start time. 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.

Big 12 Championship Day 1

Lied Recreation Center

Ames, Iowa

Men's 60 Meter Dash

10. Terrell Smith – 6.83

22. Nick Albus – 7.06

Men's 200 Meter Dash

4. Terrell Smith – 20.99Q

Women's 200 Meter Dash

17. Akia Guerrier – 24.81

Women's 400 Meter Dash

12. Ranae McKenzie – 55.52

Men's 600 Yard Run

17. Rene Perla – 1:13.28 (PR)

Men's 800 Meter Run

8. Kurt Loevenstein – 1:50.92q

Women's 800 Meter Run

9. Marija Stambolic – 2:11.38

Men's 1000 Meter Run

2. Kain Ellis – 2:28.16Q

Women's 1000 Meter Run

4. Morgan Wedekind – 2:49.05Q (PR)

Men's Mile Run Prelims

6. Lukas Koch – 4:14.43Q

Women's 60 Meter Hurdles Prelims

6. Nina Schultz – 8.42Q

11. Claudette Allen – 8.61

15. Ariel Okorie – 8.84

Men's DMR

5. Stevenson-Harrison-Hodge-Oxandale – 10:01.89

Women's DMR

7. Wren-Parks-Stratioti-Doll – 11:45.35

Men's Pole Vault
T7. Zack Supple - 4.92m/16-01.75

Women's Pole Vault
-- Megan Vanderpool - NH

Men's Long Jump

14. Angelo Gordon – 6.53m/21-05.25

Women's Long Jump

4. Claudette Allen – 6.28m/20-07.25 (PR)

5. Nina Schultz – 6.12m/20-01 (PR)

13. Konstantina Romaiou – 5.70m/18-08.50

14. Zanri Van der Merwe – 5.68m/18-07.75

19. Ariel Okorie – 5.58m/18-03.75

Men's Weight Throw

2. Brady Grunder – 21.01m/68-11.25

3. Mitch Dixon – 20.31m/66-07.75

7. Kyle Smith – 18.01m/59-01.25

Women's Weight Throw

1. Janee' Kassanavoid – 21.32m/69-11.50

2. Helene Ingvaldsen – 19.88m/65-02.75

Pentathlon Final Scores

4. Ariel Okorie – 3,758 pts.

7. Morgan Coffman – 3,700 pts.

9. Lauren Taubert – 3,620 pts.

Pentathlon 60 Meter Hurdles

2. Ariel Okorie - 8.59 (997 pts.)

5. Lauren Taubert - 8.81 (950 pts.)

16. Morgan Coffman - 9.56 (796 pts.)

Pentathlon High Jump

1. Morgan Coffman – 1.76m/5-09.25 (928 pts.)

6. Ariel Okorie – 1.64m/5-04.50 (783 pts.)

T10. Lauren Taubert – 1.58m/5-02.25 (712 pts.)

Pentathlon Shot Put

5. Morgan Coffman – 10.78m/35-04.25 (581 pts.)

8. Lauren Taubert – 10.34m/33-11.25 (552 pts.)

13. Ariel Okorie – 9.38m/30-09.25 (489 pts.)

Pentathlon Long Jump

3. Ariel Okorie – 5.74m/18-10 (771 pts.)

13. Lauren Taubert – 5.05m/16-07 (573 pts.)

15. Morgan Coffman – 5.01m/16-05.25 (562 pts.)

Pentathlon 800 Meter Run

2. Lauren Taubert – 2:19.27 (833 pts.)

3. Morgan Coffman – 2:19.31 (833 pts.)

9. Ariel Okorie – 2:28.03 (718 pts.)

Heptathlon Day One Scores

5. Simone Fassina – 2,941 pts.

11. Max Estill – 2,675 pts.

Heptathlon 60 Meter Dash

10. Max Estill – 7.22 (PR)(806 pts.)

T13. Simone Fassina – 7.34 (PR)(765 pts.)

Heptathlon Long Jump

6. Simone Fassina – 6.75m/22-01.75 (755 pts.)

11. Max Estill – 6.37m/20-10.75 (668 pts.)

Heptathlon Shot Put

8. Simone Fassina – 13.07m/42-10.75 (672 pts.)

13. Max Estill – 10.32m/33-10.25 (505 pts.)

Heptathlon High Jump

2. Simone Fassina – 1.94m/6-04.25 (749 pts.)

T6. Max Estill – 1.88m/6-02 (696 pts.)

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