K-State’s Lawrence Wins Discus Throw on Day Two of Drake Relays

DRAKE RELAYS | KIP JANVRIN OPEN

DES MOINES, Iowa – Shadae Lawrence once again saw her name at the top of the leaderboard in the discus throw as the All-American recorded the Kansas State track and field team’s lone first-place finish of Friday’s competition in front of 16,628 fans at the Drake Relays.

The St. Catherine, Jamaica, native has now won eight discus competitions in her collegiate career, three of which have come this season.

“Unfortunately, the weather was once again cold and rainy,” Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. “For the most part, the athletes did a pretty good job of handling the elements. Shadae got the win in pretty bad conditions. That was good to see. The girls in the 4x200 meter relay and the guys in the 4x800 meter relay all ran pretty well.”

Lawrence took home the Wildcats’ first first-place finish of the weekend with her toss of 54.09m/177-05. After fouling the first attempt, she came back to record her winning mark on the next attempt. Holding a three-meter lead over North Dakota State’s Katelyn Weimerskirch, the sophomore was able to pass on all three attempts in the finals to preserve the victory.

Two other Wildcat throwers were able to punch impressive results in the field on day two of the Drake Relays. All-American Brett Neelly claimed the bronze medal in the shot put, recording a throw of 17.83m/58-06 on his third attempt of the series. The sophomore has now finished in the top three in all four shot put competitions he has competed in this season.

Senior Haley Pitko also took home a bronze medal on Friday, taking third place in the women’s javelin throw after hurling the implement 43.31m/142-01. Similar to Lawrence, Pitko recorded her final mark on her second attempt in the series to solidify her position on the medal stand.

On the track, K-State’s best performance came from the women’s 4x100 meter relay team. Made up of Akia Guerrier, Claudette Allen, Ranae McKenzie and Wurrie Njadoe, the quartet recorded the fourth-fastest qualifying time in the race with a mark of 45.92 to earn a place in Saturday’s finals.

Njadoe, McKenzie, Guerrier and Nina Schultz came back later in the day in the 4x200 meter relay and continued K-State’s relay success, finishing runner-up with a time of 1:35.99, 62-hundreths of a second behind first-place finishers Purdue (1:35.37).

Not to be outdone in the relays, the men’s 4x800 meter relay squad of Kain Ellis, Kurt Loevenstein, Travis Hodge and Lukas Koch, recorded a bronze-medal finish with a time of 7:26.11. Hodge, a true freshman, recorded the fastest split of the relay after finishing his 800 meters in 1:50.09.

“While all of the guys in the relay ran well, I was particularly impressed with Travis,” Rovelto noted about his freshman middle-distance runner. “He ran well and competed exceptionally well. It was a great effort for a freshman.”

K-State also saw a handful of athletes in action at the Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola, Iowa, on Friday. Senior Blake Goodin finished in the top-five in the men’s 800-meter run, taking fourth place with a time of 1:54.91. All three of the men in the 1,500-meter run recorded personal bests in the race, paced by freshman Keegan Donahue's eighth-place finish after running a time of 4:00.78.

Fellow distance runner Bryan Zack also had an outstanding day on the track, recording a personal-best time in the 5,000-meter run after crossing the finish line in 14:53.96 to finish in fourth place.

Sophomore Emma Wren recorded the most impressive women’s result at the meet, taking fourth place in the 1,500-meter run after crossing the finish line in 4:43.29. Wren also finished in top-10 in the 800-meter run, taking 10th place with a time of 2:18.33.

The final day of action at the Drake Relays resumes at 9:00 a.m., with the women’s hammer throw and men’s discus throw. More information on this season’s Drake Relays, including a complete schedule and start lists, can be found on the meet’s homepage here. Live results will also be provided throughout the entire meet and can be found 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.

Drake Relays

Drake Stadium

Des Moines, Iowa

Men’s 100-Meter Dash

16. Terrell Smith – 10.74

Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles Prelims

10. Ariel Okorie – 13.96 (0.0)

Women’s 400-Meter Hurdles Final

5. Ranae McKenzie – 1:00.73

14. Lauren Taubert – 1:03.20

Women’s 4x100 Meter Relay

4. Guerrier-Allen-R. McKenzie-Njadoe – 45.92q

Women’s 4x200 Meter Relay

2. Njadoe-R. McKenzie-Guerrier-Schultz – 1:35.99

Men’s 4x400 Meter Relay

13. Freeman II-Davis-Harrison-Ellis – 3:18.25

Women’s 4x400 Meter Relay

12. Njadoe-Schultz-Guerrier-Taubert – 3:51.60

Men’s 4x800 Meter Relay

3. Ellis-Loevenstein-Hodge-Koch – 7:26.11

Men’s Pole Vault

T10. Zack Supple – 4.90m/16-00.75

Men’s Shot Put

3. Brett Neelly – 17.83m/58-06

Women’s Discus Throw

1. Shadae Lawrence – 54.09m/177-05

Women’s Javelin Throw

3. Haley Pitko – 43.31m/142-01

6. Ally Zerbe – 41.15m/135-00

Kip Janvrin Open

Buxton Stadium

Indianola, Iowa

Men’s 800-Meter Run

4. Blake Goodin – 1:54.91

Women’s 800-Meter Run

10. Emma Wren – 2:18.33

Men’s 1,500-Meter Run

8. Keegan Donahue – 4:00.78 (PR)

10. Sam Oxandale – 4:01.12 (PR)

26. Chris Sandquist – 4:10.31 (PR)

Women’s 1,500-Meter Run

4. Emma Wren – 4:43.29

13. Katie Condon – 4:49.93

5,000-Meter Run

4. Bryan Zack – 14:53.96 (PR)

Men’s Long Jump

4. Tom Pyle – 6.29m/20-07.75 (1.8)

Schedule