Wildcats Open Outdoor Season at the TCU Invitational

MANHATTAN, Kansas – The Kansas State men's and women's track and field teams will open their 2019 outdoor season on Saturday, as the Wildcats compete in the TCU Invitational hosted at the Lowdon Track & Field Complex in Fort Worth, Texas.

Competition begins at 9:30 a.m. CT on Saturday, beginning with the field events, before track events begin at 2:00 p.m. The meet marks the first of the outdoor season for the Wildcats, after concluding the indoor season at the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 7-9.

K-State last competed at the TCU Invitational in 2016, where the Wildcats also began their season. In 2019, K-State will compete in the state of Texas for four meets, including the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas on June 5-8.

With the arrival of outdoor season, the Wildcats will make their return in the women's hammer throw, where they have four individuals entered, including Helene Ingvaldsen, Shaelyn Ward, Ashley Petr and Taylor Latimer. At last year's Big 12 Outdoor Championship, the K-State women's hammer throw unit tallied 22 points in the event.

In the men's shot put, senior Brett Neelly will look to get his final season off to a hot start, after setting the indoor school record in the event to start the indoor season back in December. Neelly currently ranks third in K-State outdoor history, with a top throw of 19.59m/64-03.25 at the Texas Tech Shootout in 2018.

On the track, K-State will compete in a variety of events, including the women's 800 meters, where Kassidy Johnson, Alex Ferguson and Cayli Hume will make their outdoor debuts in the event. During the indoor season, Johnson ran the fastest 800 meter time on the team, clocking a 2:06.92 at the Razorback Invitational.

Both K-State teams enter the 2019 season after promising 2018 campaigns, in which the K-State women won their second-straight Big 12 Outdoor Championship, behind a program-record 135 points. The K-State men finished in a tie for third at the Big 12 Outdoor meet, scoring 101 points, which is the best finish at the meet in men's program history.

The Wildcats also return seven All-Americans from previous outdoor seasons, including seniors Brett Neelly and Ranae McKenzie, juniors Aaron Booth, Helene Ingvaldsen, Akia Guerrier and Wurrie Njadoe and sophomore Tejaswin Shankar.

On Saturday, K-State will square off against several Big 12 opponents, including hosts TCU and Oklahoma. In addition, Northwestern State and UT-Arlington will be in action at the TCU Invitational.

The TCU Invitational marks the first of 12 meets in the outdoor season, the first eight of which are on the road. K-State will host their sole outdoor meet of the season on May 4, as the Wildcats host the Ward Haylett Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas.

For more information on the TCU Invitational, including a schedule of events and more, click here. Live results will be available throughout the entirety of the meet, which can be accessed 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.

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Players Mentioned

Aaron Booth

Alex Ferguson

Akia Guerrier

Cayli Hume

Helene Ingvaldsen

Kassidy Johnson

Taylor Latimer

Ranae McKenzie

Brett Neelly

Wurrie Njadoe

Ashley Petr

Tejaswin Shankar

Shaelyn Ward

Kansas State University Athletics