Kansas State University Athletics
SE: Seniors Kayla Doll and Morgan Wedekind Approach NCAA West Prelims with Decorated Careers, Leave Great Example for K-State’s Distance Returners
May 25, 2018 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By Corbin McGuire
Kayla Doll didn't plan to run in college. She knew she was going to K-State, as it was the only school she visited. Then Michael Smith, K-State's cross-country and distance coach at the time, called her about running.
"I like to run, so I just decided to run. And here I am," said the Garden City native who scored crucial points in both of K-State's Big 12 Outdoor Championships the last two seasons. "It ended up being something that will be remembered forever and has changed me so much."
Morgan Wedekind always dreamed of competing for K-State. Basketball was the first goal, but running took over before long. Like Doll, she's from Kansas, specifically Valley Center. Also like Doll, Wedekind contributed significant points in K-State's repeat run of conference titles.
"I'm proud," Wedekind said. "I'm pretty happy that Kansas kids have been able to come onto our team with people from all over the world competing at the highest level, and then to be able to contribute to that as somebody who got first at the state track meet, it's been a pretty good experience."
Wedekind and Doll, both seniors, will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA West Preliminary on Friday in Sacramento, California. If they finish outside the top 12, the cutoff to advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, it will be their last race in a K-State uniform.
Regardless, Wedekind and Doll leave a talented core of returners in the distance group with solid examples to follow.
"I hope, and I think this is the case, that the underclassmen look at those girls as, 'This is the way you do it.' I think they're really, really good examples," K-State head cross country and distance coach Ryun Godfrey said. "They're positive people."
Both are also quick to deflect credit.
Wedekind downplayed her impact on the younger Wildcat runners. Still, she knows what got her here. So she hopes they follow her lead.
"I hope they've learned how to work hard. I definitely wasn't the most talented person coming into college but I did spend a lot of years getting faster and working hard to get to the level that I'm at now," said Wedekind, who ranks 13th in the West preliminary steeplechase rankings going in. "I hope they see that getting better isn't something that just happens over night. It's something that you have to work for, and it takes a lot of time and patience, consistency in your training."
Doll, who ranks 19th in the steeplechase, spoke similarly about her influence on the returning Wildcats.
"I'm not a preacher, really, but I hope they see that it's a process. Most of these girls don't know because they weren't here when I was a freshman, but I was not very good as a freshman, to say it nicely, and I really, really struggled, especially my first semester in cross country," she said. "I just tell them perseverance is the key. The more that you work toward something and even when it doesn't go your way, keep working hard. Someday it'll get better."
The seniors' resumes are proof.
Last year, Wedekind became only the second Wildcat to win a Big 12 Championship in the steeplechase. This year, if not for a fall during the race, she may have repeated. Even with the fall, she beat her time from last year's championship performance. She bounced back and all but sealed K-State's second-straight Big 12 title with a fifth-place showing in the 5,000-meter run, the meet's second-to-last event.
"Morgan did a really good job. Unfortunately she had a mishap in the steeple that probably cost her a couple of places or so, but the circumstances as they were, we could have pretty much clinched the thing after the 200 but we had a DQ," K-State Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. "But I was even more convinced we were going to pull it out after the DQ because I knew that Morgan was for sure going to step up and score points in the 5,000. I just knew it. She's just got a big heart and competes, and it means something to her, so I knew she was going to get it done."
Doll scored in three of her four Big 12 Outdoor Championship opportunities. The lone miss was a ninth-place outing as a freshman. She also ran on three Big 12-scoring DMR teams during her indoor career.
"Those two have been very consistent in their training and they just work hard," Godfrey said. "I think the underclassmen, and even the guys, look at those two and know this is the right way to do it. That helps a lot as a coach."
K-State's returning distance talent includes a pair of standout freshmen in Cara Melgares and Sydney Collins.
Melgares, a Manhattan native, scored in both her first indoor and outdoor conference meets, doing so in the mile and steeplechase, respectively. She will compete at the USA Junior Championships in June.
Collins, a Canadian, ran on K-State's DMR team that finished seventh at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, as well as breaking out for a sixth-place finish in the 1,500-meter run at the conference's outdoor meet.
Emma Wren, a junior this season, is another returning runner who's shown she's capable of scoring at the conference meet. The Portland, Oregon, native finished sixth in the mile at the Big 12 Indoor Championship and narrowly missed the finals of the 1,500 at this year's outdoor conference meet.
Earlier this season, Wren, Melgares, Collins and Wedekind teamed to win the 4x1600-meter relay at the Drake Relays. The group not only became the first Wildcat group to win the race at the renowned meet, they did so by nearly four seconds against distance powers like Iowa State and Minnesota.
"They won by a ton and no one expected that," Doll said. "It makes me proud and we've always talked about how it doesn't matter what's on paper. I think it'll be big for the future."
Collectively K-State's distance runners added 15 points toward the team's second Big 12 title in a row. It's the most points by a K-State outdoor distance group (1,500, 5,000, 10,000 and steeplechase) since the Wildcats got 16 points from those races in 2002, also the last time K-State's women repeated as conference champions.
"I think our distance squad is a lot stronger this year, overall," Wedekind said. "I feel confident leaving. I know they have some pretty good leadership in the distance squad. A lot of people have made some big improvements and I think they're starting to step up and take over those roles that Kayla and I had the last few years. I'm really excited for them."
Kayla Doll didn't plan to run in college. She knew she was going to K-State, as it was the only school she visited. Then Michael Smith, K-State's cross-country and distance coach at the time, called her about running.
"I like to run, so I just decided to run. And here I am," said the Garden City native who scored crucial points in both of K-State's Big 12 Outdoor Championships the last two seasons. "It ended up being something that will be remembered forever and has changed me so much."
Morgan Wedekind always dreamed of competing for K-State. Basketball was the first goal, but running took over before long. Like Doll, she's from Kansas, specifically Valley Center. Also like Doll, Wedekind contributed significant points in K-State's repeat run of conference titles.
"I'm proud," Wedekind said. "I'm pretty happy that Kansas kids have been able to come onto our team with people from all over the world competing at the highest level, and then to be able to contribute to that as somebody who got first at the state track meet, it's been a pretty good experience."
Wedekind and Doll, both seniors, will compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the NCAA West Preliminary on Friday in Sacramento, California. If they finish outside the top 12, the cutoff to advance to the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon, it will be their last race in a K-State uniform.
Regardless, Wedekind and Doll leave a talented core of returners in the distance group with solid examples to follow.
"I hope, and I think this is the case, that the underclassmen look at those girls as, 'This is the way you do it.' I think they're really, really good examples," K-State head cross country and distance coach Ryun Godfrey said. "They're positive people."
Both are also quick to deflect credit.
Wedekind downplayed her impact on the younger Wildcat runners. Still, she knows what got her here. So she hopes they follow her lead.
"I hope they've learned how to work hard. I definitely wasn't the most talented person coming into college but I did spend a lot of years getting faster and working hard to get to the level that I'm at now," said Wedekind, who ranks 13th in the West preliminary steeplechase rankings going in. "I hope they see that getting better isn't something that just happens over night. It's something that you have to work for, and it takes a lot of time and patience, consistency in your training."
Doll, who ranks 19th in the steeplechase, spoke similarly about her influence on the returning Wildcats.
"I'm not a preacher, really, but I hope they see that it's a process. Most of these girls don't know because they weren't here when I was a freshman, but I was not very good as a freshman, to say it nicely, and I really, really struggled, especially my first semester in cross country," she said. "I just tell them perseverance is the key. The more that you work toward something and even when it doesn't go your way, keep working hard. Someday it'll get better."
The seniors' resumes are proof.
Last year, Wedekind became only the second Wildcat to win a Big 12 Championship in the steeplechase. This year, if not for a fall during the race, she may have repeated. Even with the fall, she beat her time from last year's championship performance. She bounced back and all but sealed K-State's second-straight Big 12 title with a fifth-place showing in the 5,000-meter run, the meet's second-to-last event.
"Morgan did a really good job. Unfortunately she had a mishap in the steeple that probably cost her a couple of places or so, but the circumstances as they were, we could have pretty much clinched the thing after the 200 but we had a DQ," K-State Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto said. "But I was even more convinced we were going to pull it out after the DQ because I knew that Morgan was for sure going to step up and score points in the 5,000. I just knew it. She's just got a big heart and competes, and it means something to her, so I knew she was going to get it done."
Doll scored in three of her four Big 12 Outdoor Championship opportunities. The lone miss was a ninth-place outing as a freshman. She also ran on three Big 12-scoring DMR teams during her indoor career.
"Those two have been very consistent in their training and they just work hard," Godfrey said. "I think the underclassmen, and even the guys, look at those two and know this is the right way to do it. That helps a lot as a coach."
K-State's returning distance talent includes a pair of standout freshmen in Cara Melgares and Sydney Collins.
Melgares, a Manhattan native, scored in both her first indoor and outdoor conference meets, doing so in the mile and steeplechase, respectively. She will compete at the USA Junior Championships in June.
Collins, a Canadian, ran on K-State's DMR team that finished seventh at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, as well as breaking out for a sixth-place finish in the 1,500-meter run at the conference's outdoor meet.
Emma Wren, a junior this season, is another returning runner who's shown she's capable of scoring at the conference meet. The Portland, Oregon, native finished sixth in the mile at the Big 12 Indoor Championship and narrowly missed the finals of the 1,500 at this year's outdoor conference meet.
Earlier this season, Wren, Melgares, Collins and Wedekind teamed to win the 4x1600-meter relay at the Drake Relays. The group not only became the first Wildcat group to win the race at the renowned meet, they did so by nearly four seconds against distance powers like Iowa State and Minnesota.
"They won by a ton and no one expected that," Doll said. "It makes me proud and we've always talked about how it doesn't matter what's on paper. I think it'll be big for the future."
Collectively K-State's distance runners added 15 points toward the team's second Big 12 title in a row. It's the most points by a K-State outdoor distance group (1,500, 5,000, 10,000 and steeplechase) since the Wildcats got 16 points from those races in 2002, also the last time K-State's women repeated as conference champions.
"I think our distance squad is a lot stronger this year, overall," Wedekind said. "I feel confident leaving. I know they have some pretty good leadership in the distance squad. A lot of people have made some big improvements and I think they're starting to step up and take over those roles that Kayla and I had the last few years. I'm really excited for them."
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