Wildcats to Compete in Second Annual National Relay Championships

MANHATTAN, Kan. – Taking part in the second annual National Relay Championships hosted by the University of Arkansas, the Kansas State men's and women's track and field teams look to continue their momentum at John McDonnell Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas on April 25-27.

The 2019 National Relay Championships begin on Thursday evening with the men's and women's hammer throw, before continuing on Friday and Saturday with track and field events, including several premier relay events. For a full schedule of events, click here.

The Wildcats make their first appearance at the National Relay Championships, with the meet entering its second year of existence. Last year, the meet debuted with the Kentucky women winning the meet with 42 points, while the Arkansas men brought home the men's competition with 52 points.

This year's National Relay Championships brings a plethora of talent from around the country, including the No. 1 ranked Arkansas women's team, No. 9 ranked Stanford men and No. 12 ranked K-State women, among others. In total, nine ranked teams will compete across the men's and women's competitions.

In the week four USTFCCCA ratings index, the K-State women ranked atop the Big 12 for the second-consecutive week, coming in at No. 12, marking the 22^nd consecutive appearance in the top-25. The K-State men came in at No. 41, after ranking a season-best No. 38 a week ago.

Through ten meets this season, 11 Wildcats have posted top-10 K-State all-time marks, including a shot put school record of 20.13m/66-00.50 set by senior Brett Neelly at the Triton Invitational. At last week's Michael Johnson Invitational, four Wildcats wrote their name in the record books, including Taylor Latimer, who set the school's sixth-best throw in the women's shot put (16.74m/54-11.25).

The K-State success has garnered two Big 12 Athlete of the Week honors, as Neelly earned his second-career Big 12 Athlete of the week honor on April 17 following his school record performance, while junior Lauren Taubert was named Big 12 Athlete of the Week on April 10, following her career-best 5,669 points in the heptathlon at the Jim Click Combined Events.

In addition to the success at the conference level, the K-State women are only one of two schools in the country to hold more than NCAA leading mark. At last weekend's Michael Johnson Invitational, senior Ranae McKenzie ran to the NCAA lead in the women's 400-meter hurdles in 56.11, while junior Taishia Pryce jumped the No. 1 long jump mark in the country of 6.60m/21-08 (2.4) at the Texas Relays on March 30.

The National Relay Championships marks the last of a 10-meet road trip for the Wildcats, as K-State hosts the Ward Haylett Invitational in Manhattan, Kansas on May 3-4. The Ward Haylett Invitational serves as the last stop before the Big 12 Outdoor Championship for the Wildcats, which takes place in Norman, Oklahoma on May 10-12.

The 2019 National Relay Championships will air live on SEC Network on Friday, beginning at 3:00 p.m. CT and again on Saturday at 10:00 a.m. CT. For more information on the National Relay Championships, including ticket information and more, click 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.

Wildcats to Compete in Second Annual National Relay Championships

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Players Mentioned

Taylor Latimer

Ranae McKenzie

Brett Neelly

Taishia Pryce

Kansas State University Athletics