Kansas State University
NCAA West Preliminary
Wildcats Look to Punch Tickets to NCAA Championships this Weekend in Sacramento
May 22, 2019 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Twenty-five members of the Kansas State men's and women's track and field teams will look to punch their tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on June 5-8 in Austin, Texas this weekend, as the Wildcats compete at the NCAA West Preliminary in Sacramento, California beginning on Thursday.
The West Preliminaries, which serve as the qualifying round for the NCAA Championships, begin on Thursday at 2 pm CT, followed by 2 pm CT on Friday and 4:45 pm CT on Saturday. For a full schedule of events, click here.
Get to know the NCAA West Preliminary qualifiers
Introducing the 2?5? Wildcats that are headed to the NCAA West Regional in Sacramento, California on May 23-25 #KStateTF ??
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) May 16, 2019
Get to know our qualifiers and how they punched their ??? to Sacramento ??https://t.co/6sssIikhU1
K-State is one of over 120 Division I programs competing at the West preliminary, with 25 individuals and 30 entries competing in their respective events. To qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships, individuals and relays must place in the top-12 of their respective event.
The Wildcats are coming off a strong showing at the 2019 Big 12 Outdoor Championships, where the No. 13 K-State women scored the most points in program history and most as a runner-up in the history of the meet, while the No. 40 K-State men tallied 85 points to place fourth overall.
Heading into this weekend, the Wildcats hold eight marks that rank in the top-10 of the NCAA, including senior Ranae McKenzie's NCAA-leading 400-meter hurdles time of 56.11 set at the Michael Johnson Invitational. Of the Wildcats competing at the NCAA West Preliminaries, 10 rank in the top-12 of the region.
So far this season, the Wildcats have written their names in the K-State record books, as 20 Wildcats have posted K-State top-10 marks in their respective events this season, including senior Brett Neelly's shot put school record of 20.13m/66-00.50 set at the Triton Invitational. At the Big 12 Championship alone, 16 marks ranked in the K-State top-10 all-time, while 19 events have seen changes in the top-10 throughout the season.
At the Big 12 Championship, six Wildcats were crowned champion in their respective events, including junior Helene Ingvaldsen (hammer throw), sophomore Taylor Latimer (shot put), sophomore Tejaswin Shankar (high jump), junior Taishia Pryce (long jump), senior Shardia Lawrence (triple jump) and McKenzie (400-meter hurdles).
After a strong showing at the Big 12 Championship, Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto was named the Big 12 Women's Outdoor Coach of the Year for the fifth time of his career, which is the most among active coaches and tied for second most all-time. Under Rovelto, the K-State women have been ranked in the top-25 of the USTFCCCA Ratings Index for 26 consecutive weeks.
For more information on the NCAA West Preliminary, including a full schedule of events and more, click here. The NCAA West Preliminary will stream live on FloTrack, available with a paid subscription here. Live results are available 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.
Players Mentioned
