K-State’s Schultz Named Big 12 Athlete of the Week
Apr 12, 2017 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. – There have only been three better performances in the world this year and none better in the Big 12 than Nina Schultz's record-setting heptathlon. After setting a new Canadian U20 national record and recording the program’s fourth-highest point total (6,021) at the Jim Click Combined Events, the Kansas State freshman was named Big 12 Athlete of the Week Wednesday.
The award makes Schultz the seventh Wildcat to earn Big 12 Outdoor Athlete of the Week honors and the first since Akela Jones on April 20, 2016. This is the second time that Schultz has been named Big 12 Athlete of the Week this year after earning the award during the indoor season after a dominant performance in the pentathlon at the Sevigne Husker Invitational.
“Nina set her national junior record at the Jim Click Combined Events, so that is pretty special,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said about the freshman, who was an All-American during indoor season. “Any freshman that is scoring 6,000-plus points is doing great.”
Schultz got off to a quick start in the heptathlon, recording a first-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles after crossing the finish line in a lifetime-best time of 13.83, the fifth-fastest heptathlon 100-meter hurdles time in program history. She then won the high jump with ease, topping Wildcat teammate Ariel Okorie by 11 centimeters with a final mark of 1.75m/5-08.75, a mark that ranks ninth all-time in the heptathlon high jump at K-State.
The New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada, native finished in second place in the shot put with a toss of 12.19m/39-11.75, good for ninth on the school’s all-time heptathlon list, before closing out day one with her third first-place finish of the day and third life-time best mark with a final time of 24.43 in the 200 meter dash.
The freshman continued where she left off on day one, recording a first-place finish in the heptathlon long jump with a leap of 6.04m/19-09.75, the fifth-farthest heptathlon long jump mark in program history. She followed up that performance by posting the second-farthest javelin throw by a Wildcat in a heptathlon with a toss of 46.09m/151-02.50 to finish in second place. By the end of both events, the freshman had eclipsed the 5,000-point mark and had built a sizable lead.
She capped off her stellar heptathlon performance with a program-best time in the 800-meter run, taking second-place in the race with a time of 2:18.75. Her time is the seventh-fastest run in a heptathlon in program history and solidified her victory in the heptathlon with a final score of 6,021 points, 642 points better than runner-up Kara Hallock of Oregon State.
Schultz’s final score is the fourth-best point total in program history, as well as the third-best mark in Division I this season behind defending national champion Kendell Williams (6,345) and Arkansas’ Taliyah Brooks (6,075). Her score is currently the fourth-best heptathlon score in the world behind Williams, Erica Bougard (6,246) and Brooks.
“Overall, I think it was a pretty good meet,” Schultz said about her performance. “I had some sloppy events, but I was able to pick up the slack elsewhere. I am definitely still in the process of transitioning from a long indoor season. In the end, though, I was happy to get over 6,000 points. I feel that is a barrier that a lot of younger heptathletes aim to break. Being able to do that in my first heptathlon of the season is fulfilling.”
Schultz and the rest of the K-State track and field team travel to Austin, Texas, for their next meet, the Texas Invitational on April 14-15. More information on the meet can be found on the Texas track and field website, 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.
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