Shankar Earns USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week Honors
Dec 17, 2019 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. – After posting the highest pentathlon score in program history during the Carol Robinson/Attila Zsivoczky Pentathlon on December 13, junior Tejaswin Shankar picked up a national honor from the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), earning Division I National Athlete of the Week Tuesday.
The New Delhi, India, native recorded a school-record 4,137 points in the five-event meet, which is best pentathlon score in the past 16 years at the Division I level. Coming down to the last event after setting personal bests in the shot put and 60-meter hurdles competitions, Shankar ran a 2:41.62 in the 1,000-meter race to claim the highest point total for any Wildcat in pentathlon history.
"First of all, coming into the competition, I had a goal of 4,250 (points) and I knew the school record was 4,116 (points)", said Shankar after Friday's meet. "In the 1,000 (meter race), I had to get around 2:43 to get close to the record and when I was able to get 2:41 I knew I got the record. It came down to the high jump as well as I needed to get to 2.23 meters in order to give myself a chance heading into the last event. It went down well and the training has been really critical towards last Friday's event."
After finishing second to freshman Oscar Smith in the 60-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.31, Shankar won the final four events (long jump, shot put, high jump and 1,000-meter dash) of the pentathlon. He posted marks of 6.86m/22-06.25 in the long jump, 11.49m/37-08.50 in the shot put and 2.23m/7-03.75 in the high jump before his personal best in the 1,000-meter run.
Shankar became the second Wildcat in as many years to earn the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, as former Wildcat Brett Neelly was tabbed back in the 2018-19 campaign. Shankar enters his third season for the Wildcats in 2019-20 after claiming the high jump title at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships and notching a runner-up finish at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
With the indoor season underway, K-State will now head to Lexington, Kentucky for the Jim Greene Invitational beginning on Friday, January 10.
For the latest on K-State Track and Field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.
The New Delhi, India, native recorded a school-record 4,137 points in the five-event meet, which is best pentathlon score in the past 16 years at the Division I level. Coming down to the last event after setting personal bests in the shot put and 60-meter hurdles competitions, Shankar ran a 2:41.62 in the 1,000-meter race to claim the highest point total for any Wildcat in pentathlon history.
"First of all, coming into the competition, I had a goal of 4,250 (points) and I knew the school record was 4,116 (points)", said Shankar after Friday's meet. "In the 1,000 (meter race), I had to get around 2:43 to get close to the record and when I was able to get 2:41 I knew I got the record. It came down to the high jump as well as I needed to get to 2.23 meters in order to give myself a chance heading into the last event. It went down well and the training has been really critical towards last Friday's event."
After finishing second to freshman Oscar Smith in the 60-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.31, Shankar won the final four events (long jump, shot put, high jump and 1,000-meter dash) of the pentathlon. He posted marks of 6.86m/22-06.25 in the long jump, 11.49m/37-08.50 in the shot put and 2.23m/7-03.75 in the high jump before his personal best in the 1,000-meter run.
Shankar became the second Wildcat in as many years to earn the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week, as former Wildcat Brett Neelly was tabbed back in the 2018-19 campaign. Shankar enters his third season for the Wildcats in 2019-20 after claiming the high jump title at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships and notching a runner-up finish at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
With the indoor season underway, K-State will now head to Lexington, Kentucky for the Jim Greene Invitational beginning on Friday, January 10.
For the latest on K-State Track and Field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.
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