Wildcats Continue Indoor Slate at Texas Tech, Pittsburg State

MANHATTAN, Kan. – With just two weekends of competition left before the Big 12 Indoor Championship, the Kansas State Track and Field Team will send a split squad to a pair of meets this weekend with the majority of the team slated to compete at the Texas Tech Shootout in Lubbock, Texas, while more than a handful of distance runners will compete in the third annual Gorilla Classic at Pittsburg, Kansas on Friday and Saturday.

K-State will look to improve upon more than a dozen top-25 marks in the NCAA against a cast of Division I foes at the Texas Tech Shootout, including Texas Tech, TCU, Harvard, Arizona, Arizona State, Air Force, Abilene Christian, UT Arlington, North Texas and Texas A&M Corpus Christi. Action is scheduled to begin at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, before picking up at noon on Saturday. At Pittsburg State, a total of 12 distance runners will compete, starting with events Friday night at 6:25 and continuing Saturday at 11 a.m.

"The competition and the track [in Lubbock] itself give us a chance to make some good marks," Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. "We have some athletes that are in good shape and could post top marks, and we also have some that are just getting healthy."

Among the top performances this year, the Wildcats boast 15 athletes with the top-25 marks in their respective events, including senior Mitch Dixon. At last week's DeLoss Dodds Invitational, Dixon broke the K-State school record in the men's hammer throw with a throw of 21.68m/71-01.75, which currently places him 16^th in the NCAA, as the senior has yet to be defeated in a weight throw competition this season.

Along with Dixon's record-breaking performance, sophomore Lauren Taubert captured her first Big 12 Athlete of the Week Honors after posting a career-best 3,811 points in the women's pentathlon, en route to winning the event. Taubert's showing earned the first K-State athlete of the week award this season, and the 22^nd in women's indoor program history.

Additionally, three Wildcats also rank in the top-10 of their event this season. Following a school-record in the 200-meters at the Razorback Invitational in January, senior Terrell Smith ran a 21.02 at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational last weekend, setting a new meet record to win the event. Smith's adjusted time of 20.65 puts him fifth in the nation, as he is joined by sophomores Nina Schultz (Pentathlon) and Helene Ingvaldsen (weight throw) who each ranked ninth in their respective events.

This weekend marks the first running of the Texas Tech Shootout and the first time K-State has competed at the newly-completed Sports Performance Center that debuted in January with the Corky Classic.

Back in Kansas, the Wildcats will also feature some of the top performers at the Gorilla Classic, where junior Emma Wren is entered to compete in the women's mile, and will be joined by sophomore Erin Lee, freshman Sydney Collins and Morgan Wedekind (unattached). In her last mile race, Wren won her heat by running a personal best 4:53.38 at the Razorback Invitational in January.

The Gorilla Classic will also feature the first 5000-meter race for the Wildcats, as seniors Colton Donahue, Bryan Zack, Jeff Bachman and Brett Bachman will make their debut in the event on the men's side, and senior Kayla Doll will make an appearance in the 5k in the women's race. The longest race on the track will take place at 8:25 p.m. CT on Friday.

The Wildcat's appearance at the Gorilla Classic will also be a first for the team at the meet and inside the recently completed Robert W. Plaster Center (2015), which served as the host site for the 2016 NCAA Division II Indoor National Championship and welcomes a return of the division's crowning meet again this season. For more information on the Gorilla Classic, including a schedule of events, heat sheets and live results, click here.

For more information on this weekend's Texas Tech Shootout, click here. Live results will be available from pttiming 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.

Wildcats Continue Indoor Slate at Texas Tech, Pittsburg State

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Players Mentioned

Brett Bachman

Jeff Bachman

Sydney Collins

Mitch Dixon

Kayla Doll

Colton Donahue

Helene Ingvaldsen

Erin Lee

Nina Schultz

Terrell Smith

Lauren Taubert

Morgan Wedekind

Emma Wren

Bryan Zack

Kansas State University Athletics