Five Wildcats Qualify for NCAA Indoor Championships on March 8-9
Feb 27, 2019 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State men's and women's track and field teams will be represented by five individuals at this year's NCAA Indoor Championships, as Aaron Booth, Shardia Lawrence, Brett Neelly, Tejaswin Shankar and Lauren Taubert will compete in Birmingham, Alabama on March 8-9, the NCAA announced on Wednesday.
The two-day Championship meet will begin on Friday and conclude Saturday evening in Birmingham, as Taubert will compete in the women's pentathlon, Booth in the men's heptathlon, Neelly in the men's shot put, Lawrence in the women's triple jump and Shankar in the men's high jump.
Of the five Wildcats competing, four will make their first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championship, while Lawrence, who competed at the meet in 2017, will make her second appearance.
Shankar, of New Delhi, India, enters the competition as the top-ranked Wildcat, ranking as the No. 2 high jumper in the NCAA. Last year's NCAA Outdoor Champion as a freshman, Shankar tied his own national record in the event with a jump of 2.28m/7-05.75 to win the Big 12 Indoor Championship last weekend. Shankar will look to secure his second NCAA title on Saturday
Booth, a junior from Auckland, New Zealand, will compete in the two-day heptathlon competition, where he enters with the fifth-best mark in the NCAA of 5,819, which was recorded at the Razorback Invitational. Booth previously competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in Eugene, Oregon in 2018, where he earned second-team All-America honors in the men's decathlon, placing 14th.
In the men's shot put, Neelly makes his first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championship, after throwing the No. 6 NCAA mark at the K-State Winter Invitational, setting a new school record of 20.15m/66-01.50. Neelly's school record earned him USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week Honors on December 11, landing him a spot in this year's NCAA Indoor Championships. Neelly earned First-Team All-America honors in the men's shot put in 2016, where he placed eighth overall. Neelly will compete in the men's shot put on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. CT.
Big 12 Champion in the women's triple jump, Lawrence will make her second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships, after recording the fourth-best jump in the NCAA this season of 13.58m/44-06.75 at the Razorback Invitational. Lawrence went on to win her first-career Big 12 Championship last weekend and will look to carry her momentum into the NCAA Indoor Championship, as she competes at 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 9.
Taubert, a native of Casper, Wyoming, enters the NCAA Indoor Championship in the women's pentathlon after scoring a personal-best 4,100 points at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, earning her a bid to her first NCAA Indoor Championship. Taubert's 4,100 points at the Big 12 Championship puts her ninth in K-State indoor history, while continuing a nine-year streak of Wildcats to compete in the pentathlon at the NCAA Championship, which ties for the longest in the NCAA.
For a full list of NCAA Indoor qualifiers and more information on the NCAA Indoor Championship, click here. ESPN3 will stream the championships live starting at 5:30 p.m. CT on March 8 and starting at 4 p.m. on March 9. A re-air of the championship will take place starting at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 and on ESPN2 on Monday, March 10 at 9:00 p.m.
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 two-day Championship meet will begin on Friday and conclude Saturday evening in Birmingham, as Taubert will compete in the women's pentathlon, Booth in the men's heptathlon, Neelly in the men's shot put, Lawrence in the women's triple jump and Shankar in the men's high jump.
Next stop ?? Birmingham #KStateTF
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 27, 2019
These ??? Wildcats are headed to the @NCAATrackField Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama on March 8-9 pic.twitter.com/G8T2WCJ7Ex
Of the five Wildcats competing, four will make their first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championship, while Lawrence, who competed at the meet in 2017, will make her second appearance.
Shankar, of New Delhi, India, enters the competition as the top-ranked Wildcat, ranking as the No. 2 high jumper in the NCAA. Last year's NCAA Outdoor Champion as a freshman, Shankar tied his own national record in the event with a jump of 2.28m/7-05.75 to win the Big 12 Indoor Championship last weekend. Shankar will look to secure his second NCAA title on Saturday
Booth, a junior from Auckland, New Zealand, will compete in the two-day heptathlon competition, where he enters with the fifth-best mark in the NCAA of 5,819, which was recorded at the Razorback Invitational. Booth previously competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championship in Eugene, Oregon in 2018, where he earned second-team All-America honors in the men's decathlon, placing 14th.
In the men's shot put, Neelly makes his first appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championship, after throwing the No. 6 NCAA mark at the K-State Winter Invitational, setting a new school record of 20.15m/66-01.50. Neelly's school record earned him USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week Honors on December 11, landing him a spot in this year's NCAA Indoor Championships. Neelly earned First-Team All-America honors in the men's shot put in 2016, where he placed eighth overall. Neelly will compete in the men's shot put on Friday, March 8 at 7 p.m. CT.
Big 12 Champion in the women's triple jump, Lawrence will make her second appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships, after recording the fourth-best jump in the NCAA this season of 13.58m/44-06.75 at the Razorback Invitational. Lawrence went on to win her first-career Big 12 Championship last weekend and will look to carry her momentum into the NCAA Indoor Championship, as she competes at 3:30 p.m. CT on Saturday, March 9.
Taubert, a native of Casper, Wyoming, enters the NCAA Indoor Championship in the women's pentathlon after scoring a personal-best 4,100 points at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, earning her a bid to her first NCAA Indoor Championship. Taubert's 4,100 points at the Big 12 Championship puts her ninth in K-State indoor history, while continuing a nine-year streak of Wildcats to compete in the pentathlon at the NCAA Championship, which ties for the longest in the NCAA.
For a full list of NCAA Indoor qualifiers and more information on the NCAA Indoor Championship, click here. ESPN3 will stream the championships live starting at 5:30 p.m. CT on March 8 and starting at 4 p.m. on March 9. A re-air of the championship will take place starting at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 10 and on ESPN2 on Monday, March 10 at 9:00 p.m.
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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