Taubert and Neelly Earn All-American Honors on First Day of NCAA Indoors
Mar 08, 2019 | Track & Field
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Senior Brett Neelly and junior Lauren Taubert earned their first-career indoor All-American honors, while junior Aaron Booth positioned himself in fifth after the first day of the heptathlon, as the Wildcats concluded the first day of the NCAA Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday.
Neelly, finishing 10th in the men's shot put, earned second-team All-American honors, becoming the first Wildcat to claim All-American honors in the event indoors since 1985, when Andrew Gillam placed seventh.
In the women's heptathlon, Taubert finished 11th overall behind a personal best 4,129 points, as a Wildcat pentathlete has now earned All-American honors in nine-consecutive indoor seasons, which is tied for the longest-active streak in the country.
"It's super cool. I have been working towards this in my two and a half years so far, so I am really glad that all my hard work has paid off," Taubert said of her All-American honors. "I had 13 family members come, so that was super special for me to be able to perform in front of them."
After completing four of seven events in the men's shot put, Booth will look to finish strong in the men's heptathlon on Saturday, where he will enter with 3,928 points, positioned fifth overall.
Booth got his day started in the men's 60 meters, where he clocked a 7.07 to earn 858 points. In the following event, the heptathlon long jump, Booth upped his total to 1,741 points, after jumping 7.29m/23-11 to place fifth in the event.
Booth found his best performance of the day in the heptathlon high jump, where he cleared a new personal best 2.03m/6-08 to earn 831 points and to position him in fifth overall with 3,298 through the first day of competition.
Making her first NCAA appearance in the women's pentathlon, Taubert started her competition by finishing the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles in 8.55. In the pentathlon high jump, Taubert made a top height of 1.69m/5-06.50 to earn 842 points.
After the pentathlon shot put and long jump, Taubert stood in 14th with 3,215 points before entering the final event of the pentathlon, the 800 meters.
Taubert jumped out to a large early lead in the pentathlon 800 meters and never gave it up, as she led through the entirety of the four laps. Taubert finished with a personal best 2:13.47, which ranks third all-time in K-State pentathlon history, increasing her score to 4,129, marking a new personal best. Her previous best came two weeks ago at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, where she scored 4,100 points that led to a runner-up finish.
In the final event of the day for the Wildcats, Neelly recorded his best throw on his first attempt, reaching 19.41m/63-08.25. Neelly's opening through positioned him in ninth through two throws, though he narrowly missed finals after the third attempt.
K-State will return to the track on Saturday, as Booth looks to finish strong in the men's heptathlon, beginning at 12:00 p.m. CT. Later in the day, sophomore Tejaswin Shankar will seek his second NCAA high jump title at 1:00 p.m., while senior Shardia Lawrence looks to keep up the big marks in the women's triple jump, beginning at 3:30 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.
Neelly, finishing 10th in the men's shot put, earned second-team All-American honors, becoming the first Wildcat to claim All-American honors in the event indoors since 1985, when Andrew Gillam placed seventh.
In the women's heptathlon, Taubert finished 11th overall behind a personal best 4,129 points, as a Wildcat pentathlete has now earned All-American honors in nine-consecutive indoor seasons, which is tied for the longest-active streak in the country.
Scoring a personal best 4??,1??2??9?? points, Lauren Taubert garners her first-career All-America honor placing 11th overall to earn Second-Team All-American honors! #KStateTF pic.twitter.com/FgBHREe6av
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) March 8, 2019
"It's super cool. I have been working towards this in my two and a half years so far, so I am really glad that all my hard work has paid off," Taubert said of her All-American honors. "I had 13 family members come, so that was super special for me to be able to perform in front of them."
After completing four of seven events in the men's shot put, Booth will look to finish strong in the men's heptathlon on Saturday, where he will enter with 3,928 points, positioned fifth overall.
Booth got his day started in the men's 60 meters, where he clocked a 7.07 to earn 858 points. In the following event, the heptathlon long jump, Booth upped his total to 1,741 points, after jumping 7.29m/23-11 to place fifth in the event.
Booth found his best performance of the day in the heptathlon high jump, where he cleared a new personal best 2.03m/6-08 to earn 831 points and to position him in fifth overall with 3,298 through the first day of competition.
Mood after finishing day ?? of the heptathlon with a PR #KStateTF
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) March 8, 2019
Aaron Booth stands in fifth place with 3,298 points through the first day of competition, he is back in action on day two starting at 11:45 a.m. pic.twitter.com/ydF4Ame5si
Making her first NCAA appearance in the women's pentathlon, Taubert started her competition by finishing the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles in 8.55. In the pentathlon high jump, Taubert made a top height of 1.69m/5-06.50 to earn 842 points.
After the pentathlon shot put and long jump, Taubert stood in 14th with 3,215 points before entering the final event of the pentathlon, the 800 meters.
Taubert jumped out to a large early lead in the pentathlon 800 meters and never gave it up, as she led through the entirety of the four laps. Taubert finished with a personal best 2:13.47, which ranks third all-time in K-State pentathlon history, increasing her score to 4,129, marking a new personal best. Her previous best came two weeks ago at the Big 12 Indoor Championship, where she scored 4,100 points that led to a runner-up finish.
In the final event of the day for the Wildcats, Neelly recorded his best throw on his first attempt, reaching 19.41m/63-08.25. Neelly's opening through positioned him in ninth through two throws, though he narrowly missed finals after the third attempt.
Senior Brett Neelly earns Second-Team All-American honors, placing 10th overall in the men's shot put
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) March 9, 2019
He is the first #KStateTF All-American indoors in the event since 1985, when Andrew Gillam placed seventh pic.twitter.com/GkfDo6WDB3
K-State will return to the track on Saturday, as Booth looks to finish strong in the men's heptathlon, beginning at 12:00 p.m. CT. Later in the day, sophomore Tejaswin Shankar will seek his second NCAA high jump title at 1:00 p.m., while senior Shardia Lawrence looks to keep up the big marks in the women's triple jump, beginning at 3:30 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.
Players Mentioned
/ Track & Field
/ Track & Field
/ Track & Field
/ Track & Field
/ Track & Field
K-State Track & Field | DeLoss Dodds Invitational Recap
Wednesday, February 04
K-State Track & Field | Thane Baker Invitational Recap
Monday, January 19
K-State Track & Field | Uniform Reveal
Tuesday, November 11
K-State T&F | Broad Jump Competition
Tuesday, September 30
