Wildcats Look to Continue Momentum at Texas Invitational

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Coming off a win from the women's team and a fourth-place finish from the men at the Jim Click Shootout last weekend, the K-State track and field team looks to continue their momentum at the Texas Invitational on April 13-14 at Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas.

The No. 10 ranked women are coming off a big win at the Jim Click Shootout, where the team scored 154 points to fend off other Division I powerhouses, Arizona, Auburn and Cincinnati, among others. The men's team also made a strong impression at the Shootout, finishing fourth with 100 points.

"Texas is known to be a really good place to compete, so we are looking to going out and competing," Assistant Coach Vincent Johnson said. "We typically go to Texas and compete pretty well, so I think if we go out and compete, we will have a solid meet."

Last season, K-State made its outdoor debut at the Texas Invitational, with the women scoring 150 points to win the meet. Current senior Janee' Kassanavoid highlighted the meet by breaking the school record in the women's hammer throw with a toss of 66.97m/219-08, a record that held until she broke the school record again last weekend at the Jim Click Shootout.

The Wildcats have had a hot start to the outdoor season thus far, including Kassanavoid's record-breaking toss of 67.38m/221-01 in the women's hammer throw and Nina Schultz's NCAA-leading 6,018 points in the women's heptathlon at the Roadrunner Invitational on March 23. Between the men and the women, K-State accounts for eight marks that are among the Top 10 nationally this season, and six marks that lead the Big 12.

The women's hammer throw, featuring Kassanavoid and sophomore Helene Ingvaldsen, will get the Texas Invitational started on Friday at 10:00 a.m. CT.

Senior Terrell Smith has picked up from his All-American indoor campaign, running the sixth-fastest 100-meter time in the country this season of 10.27 at the Jim Click Shootout last weekend. In addition, Smith added the eighth-fastest 200-meter time in the country at the same meet, by running 20.68 to finish second.

In the women's triple jump, the duo of Shardia Lawrence and Konstantina Romaiou will look to build upon their performances from a week ago, as Lawrence enters competition with the sixth-best jump in the country of 13.26m/43-06. Lawrence, a 2017 honorable mention All-American in the triple jump, jumped a career-best 13.66m/44-09.75 at the
Texas Invitational last year. The women's triple jump is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. CT on Saturday.

In the distance events, senior Colton Donahue and freshman Ethan Powell will make their 3000-meter steeplechase season debuts on Friday at 7:15 p.m., with Donahue finishing 10^th in the event at the Big 12 Championships a season ago.

At this weekend's Texas Invitational, the Wildcats will have the opportunity to face off against more heavy competition, including Texas, Baylor, Texas Tech, Michigan and Houston, among others. For more information on the Texas Invitational, including a full schedule of events, click here. Live results will be updated at the end of each event, available 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 Look to Continue Momentum at Texas Invitational

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Players Mentioned

Colton Donahue

Helene Ingvaldsen

Janee' Kassanavoid

Shardia Lawrence

Ethan Powell

Konstantina Romaiou

Nina Schultz

Terrell Smith

Kansas State University Athletics