Kansas State University Athletics
K-State’s Dixon Tosses School Record in Outdoor Opener
Mar 25, 2017 | Track & Field
HURRICANE COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
MANHATTAN, Kan. – It took just one meet for the first record of the 2017 outdoor season to fall as junior Mitch Dixon broke the one-year-old school record in the men’s hammer throw as the Kansas State track and field team opened its outdoor campaign on Saturday at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational in Coral Gables, Florida.
The junior’s record-setting effort paced an overall stellar performance by the Wildcats, who finished the competition with a total of six first-place finishes to go along multiple athletes recording personal bests in their respective events.
“It was a great start to the outdoor season,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said about his team’s efforts. “The performance by our female throwers was very encouraging. As a whole, we saw a number of personal bests and we got some good work in with most of the team.”
Dixon, a four-time All-American at Saddleback College who was competing in his first outdoor meet as a Wildcat, posted his record-setting mark of 64.12m/210-04 on his second attempt in the series. He chucked the hammer more than 60 meters on five of his six throws. The previous school record of 63.99m/209-11 was set at last season’s Rock Chalk Classic by Tyler Merkley.
K-State’s female throwers picked up where they left off during the indoor season, led by junior Janee' Kassanavoid, who claimed the top spot in her first hammer throw competition of the season with a personal-best toss of 63.54m/208-05. The mark moved her to fourth on the program’s all-time list after leap-frogging Laci Heller’s mark of 63.47m/208-03 that was set in 2008. Freshman Helene Ingvaldsen claimed second place in the event with a career-best toss of 61.58m/202-00 to move to sixth on the school’s all-time list..
That dominance in throws was also exerted in women’s javelin, as the Wildcats claimed the top two spots in the competition. Sophomore Ally Zerbe finished in first place, recording a throw of 49.62m/162-09 in her first action since last season’s NCAA West Preliminary in Lawrence, Kansas. Senior Haley Pitko used a personal-best effort to claim second place behind her teammate, throwing 47.73m/156-07, a mark which moves her to ninth all-time in the event over Tabra Alpers.
K-State’s final female thrower of the day, sophomore Shadae Lawrence, continued where she left off after last season’s outdoor campaign, winning the discus throw with a toss of 58.44m/191-09. The school-record holder in the event left no doubt in the season-opening meet, topping the second-place finisher, Florida’s Lloydricia Cameron, by almost four meters.
All-American Brett Neelly also had a strong start to his outdoor season, recording two second-place finishes in two different events on Saturday. Neelly opened the day with a second-place finish in shot put, posting a mark of 17.74m/58-02.50. He closed out the day in second-place in the discus throw with a personal-best toss of 53.03m/174-00.
Action on the track got off to a fast start, led by the Wildcats’ women’s 4x100 meter relay squad of Akia Guerrier, A'Keyla Mitchell, Ranae McKenzie and Wurrie Njadoe, who posted a time of 45.03, the eighth-fastest time in program history, in the first 4x100 relay of the season to claim fourth place in the competition.
McKenzie then recorded a personal-best effort in the 200-meter dash, recording a time of 23.61 (1.4) to finish in fourth place overall. The time ties Donna King, who also recorded that time at the Texas Invitational in 1984, for sixth place on the program’s all-time list.
Sophomore Emma Wren recorded the K-State’s first top finish of the season, winning the women’s 1,500 meter run with a massive personal-best time of 4:37.97, topping her previous personal best of 4:42.43, which she set at last season’s Rock Chalk Classic, by almost five seconds. Fellow 1,500-meter runner Kain Ellis matched Wren’s top finish in the event, winning the men’s race after crossing the finish line in a personal-best 3:50.99.
Two male distance runners also shined during Saturday’s action, as juniors Lukas Koch and Colton Donahue took the top-two spots in the men’s 3000-meter run. Koch won the event, crossing the finish line in a personal-best time of 8:26.66, followed by Donahue, whose personal-best mark of 8:27.82 saw him finish runner-up behind his teammate.
K-State returns to action on April 1 as the team competes in its first outdoor meet of the season in the state of Kansas at the ESU Relays in Emporia, Kansas. More information on the meet can be found on the Emporia State website.
For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.
Hurricane Collegiate Invitational
Cobb Stadium
Coral Gables, Fla.
Men’s 200 Meter Dash
14. Devie Freeman II – 21.79 (1.5)
Women’s 200 Meter Dash
4. Ranae McKenzie – 23.61 (1.4)(PR)
Women’s 800 Meter Run
11. Paige Stratioti – 2:13.72
18. Emma Wren – 2:17.01 (PR)
Men’s 1500 Meter Run
1. Kain Ellis – 3:50.99 (PR)
8. Travis Hodge – 3:59.40 (PR)
15. Kurt Loevenstein – 4:19.01
Women’s 1500 Meter Run
1. Emma Wren – 4:37.97 (PR)
8. Marija Stambolic – 4:43.55
Men’s 3000 Meter Run
1. Lukas Koch – 8:26.66 (PR)
2. Colton Donahue – 8:27.82 (PR)
Women’s 3000 Meter Run
3. Morgan Wedekind – 9:43.28 (PR)
4. Kayla Doll – 10:04.54 (PR)
Women’s 100 Meter Hurdles
11. Ariel Okorie – 13.97 (-0.6)(PR)
17. Nina Schultz – 14.35 (-0.6)(PR)
19. Claudette Allen – 14.49 (-0.6)(PR)
23. Lauren Taubert – 15.05 (-0.6)(PR)
Men’s 110 Meter Hurdles
8. Simone Fassina – 15.91 (-2.2)(PR)
Men’s 4x100 Meter Relay
5. Albus-T. Smith-Davis-Harrison – 41.36
Women’s 4x100 Meter Relay
4. Guerrier-Mitchell-R. McKenzie-Njadoe – 45.03
Men’s 4x400 Meter Relay
6. Harrison-Davis-Freeman II-Ellis – 3:17.76
9. T. Smith-Albus-Hodge-Loevenstein – 3:24.23
Women’s 4x400 Meter Relay
3. R. McKenzie-Mitchell-Schultz-Njadoe – 3:41.52
11. Taubert-Stratioti-Guerrier-Van der Merwe – 3:53.39
-- Stambolic-Okorie-S. McKenzie-Coffman – DNF
Men’s High Jump
3. Miles Bearden – 2.05m/6-08.75
Women’s High Jump
2. Rhizlane Siba – 1.75m/5-08.75
4. Shanae McKenzie – 1.70m/5-07
Men’s Pole Vault
10. Zack Supple – 4.75m/15-07
Women’s Pole Vault
13. Megan Vanderpool – 3.30m/10-10
Men’s Long Jump
4. Javier Lowe – 6.84m/22-05.25 (2.7)
Women’s Long Jump
4. Zanri Van der Merwe – 6.01m/19-08.75 (-2.0)
12. Shardia Lawrence – 5.56m/18-03 (-1.6)
13. Konstantina Romaiou – 5.55m/18-02.50 (1.0)(PR)
Men’s Shot Put
2. Brett Neelly – 17.74m/58-02.50
Women’s Shot Put
5. Jess St. John – 14.98m/49-01.75
Men’s Discus Throw
2. Brett Neelly – 53.03m/174-00 (PR)
6. Colin Echols – 48.58m/159-04 (PR)
12. Simone Fassina – 39.38m/129-02 (PR)
Women’s Discus Throw
1. Shadae Lawrence – 58.44m/191-09
Women’s Javelin Throw
1. Ally Zerbe – 49.62m/162-09
2. Haley Pitko – 47.73m/156-07 (PR)
9. Nina Schultz – 39.64m/130-01 (PR)
11. Ariel Okorie – 36.28m/119-00 (PR)
14. Lauren Taubert – 30.86m/101-03 (PR)
Men’s Hammer Throw
4. Mitch Dixon - 64.12m/210-04 (PR)(School Record)
6. Kyle Smith - 61.80m/202-09
7. Brady Grunder - 61.35m/201-03
Women’s Hammer Throw
1. Janee’ Kassanavoid – 63.54m/208-05 (PR)
2. Helene Ingvaldsen – 61.58m/202-00 (PR)