K-State Track Welcomes Incoming Student-Athletes

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State track and field team will welcome 14 incoming student-athletes to campus today to start their first semester, including 10 who were apart of the Spring signing class.

The 10-member spring signing class joins four other incoming student-athletes who were signed during the fall period. Those four signees include Dylan Brenneman (Distance) Victoria Robinson (Distance); Kassidy Johnson (Distance) and Cara Melgares (Distance).

The spring signing class includes five distance runners, one sprinter, two jumpers, a thrower and one multi-event athlete. The signees represent three different countries (Jamaica, India, Australia) and four different states (Kansas, Colorado, Texas, Georgia). These student-athletes will begin competing in the upcoming 2017-18 indoor and 2018 outdoor seasons.

Among the 10 student-athletes signed in the Spring are Antuane Dennard (Multi); Alex Ferguson (Distance); Pierce Flanders (Distance); Clare Gibson (Jumps); Jared Keul (Distance); Paige Kimble (Sprints); Kyle Mitchell (Throws); Ethan Powell (Distance); Jackson Schroeder (Distance); Tejaswin Shanker (Jumps).

Antuane Dennard – Multi – South Gwinnett High School – Atlanta, Georgia

Dennard is coming off a successful prep career at South Gwinnett High School, where he is a two-time 300 meter hurdles Georgia High School State Champion (2016, 2017) and 2016 high jump State Champion. A multi-event athlete, he is the 2015 USATF Junior Olympics Decathlon Champion, and has experience in the 110 meter hurdles, where he placed fourth in the 2016 Georgia High School State meet.

Personal Bests

High Jump- 2.03m/6’8”

110H- 13.98

300H- 37.08

Decathlon- 6,478 points

Alex Ferguson – Distance – Silver Lake High School – Topeka, Kansas

Ferguson was a catalyst in Silver Lake High School’s first track and field Class 3A KSHSAA Team Championship in 2015, winning both the 400 meter and 800 meter run. After sitting out in 2016 due to injury, she came back to the track strong, finishing first in the 4x400 meter relay and third in the 400-meter run at the 2017 KSHSAA State Championships. Ferguson enters K-State as a four-time KSHSAA State Champion.

Pierce Flanders – Distance – Washburn Rural High School – Topeka, Kansas

Topeka Native Pierce Flanders comes to K-State after a successful high school career at Washburn Rural, where he was a four-time KSHSAA Class 6A cross country qualifier, including a ninth-place finish in 2016. He also competed in track and field, where he was the runner-up in the 1600 meter run in the 2017 Class 6A State Championships.

Clare Gibson – Jumps – Curtin University – Perth, Australia

Australian Clare Gibson is one of three international student-athletes that signed with K-State during the spring signing period. She is a two-time Australian Junior National Silver medalist in the high jump (2015, 2016) and a bronze medalist in the 2017 Australian Athletics Championships.

Personal Bests

High Jump- 1.83m/6’0”

Jared Keul – Distance – Manitou Springs High School – Manitou Springs, Colorado

Keul is one of two Colorado natives to join the Wildcat team in the Spring signing class, after competing at Manitou Springs High School in Manitou Springs, Colo. He was a 2016 Class 3A CHSAA State Champion in the 800 meter and a runner-up in the 400 meter run. He finished third in the 400 meter run in the 2017 State Championships.

Paige Kimble – Sprints – Pearland Dawson High School – Pearland, Texas

Kimble signs with K-State after running at Pearland Dawson High School in Pearland, Texas. She competed in the 100 meter hurdles and the 300 meter hurdles, where she was a two-time Texas High School State Finalist, including a third-place finish in 2016.

Personal Bests

100mH – 13.76

300mH – 41.82

Kyle Mitchell – Throws – Calabar High School – Kingston, Jamaica

Mitchell is on the only Jamaican to come to K-State in the spring signing class after an impressive career at Calabar High School in Kingston. Among his notable performances, he medaled at the 2015 and 2017 CARIFTA Games in the shot put and was a Finalist in the 2017 Pan American Junior Games.

Personal Bests

Shot Put- 19.58m/64’3”

Discus- 52.83m/173’3”

Ethan Powell – Distance – Air Academy High School – Colorado Springs, Colorado

Powell signs with K-State as a two-sport athlete in track and field and cross country. Powell finished his cross country prep career with a Championship in the CHSAA State Championship and was the runner-up in the 2017 Class 4A CHSAA State Championship in the 3200 meter run in track and field.

Jackson Schroeder – Distance – Manhattan High School – Manhattan, Kansas

A Manhattan native, Schroeder will look to continue his success running in distance events with the Wildcats. He enjoyed a successful cross country career at Manhattan High School, where he was the 2014 Class 6A KSHSAA Cross Country Champion and was the 2015 runner-up.

Tejaswin Shanker – Jumps – Sardar Patel Vidyalaya School – New Delhi, India

Shanker comes to K-State as the Indian high jump record holder with a jump of 2.26m/7’5” that he set in late 2016. His record gained international attention, as the high jumper had the second-highest leap by a junior in the world at the time. Aside from his record-breaking leap, Shanker is a multiple Indian National and Junior Champion in the event, and will join a historic high jump program at K-State.

Personal Best

High Jump: 2.26m/7’5”

For the latest on K-State track and field, follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter using the hashtag #KStateTF or on the team’s Facebook page.

Kansas State University Athletics

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