Four Current/Former Wildcats to Compete at USATF Outdoor Championships
Jul 25, 2019 | Track & Field
MANHATTAN, Kan. – Four members of the Kansas State track and field team will compete against some of the best athletes in the country when they travel to Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa for the Toyota USA Track and Field (USATF) Outdoor Championships, Thursday-Sunday, July 25-28.
Rising senior Lauren Taubert (heptathlon) and junior Taylor Latimer (shot put) will be joined at the Championships by former Wildcat All-Americans Janee' Kassanavoid (2015-18; hammer throw) and A'Keyla Mitchell (2014-18; 200 meters). All the action for these performers will come on Saturday (July 27) and Sunday (July 28).
Taubert and Latimer are competing in the Championships for the first time in their respective careers, while Kassanavoid is in action for the third consecutive year. Mitchell is running at the event for the first time since 2015. Taubert (2017) and Latimer (2018) previously competed at the U.S. Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships.
Taubert will kick things off with the start of the heptathlon on Saturday, competing in the 100-meter hurdles at 11:30 a.m., CT followed by the high jump (12:20 p.m.), shot put (2:15 p.m.) and 200 meters (3:19 p.m.). Kassanavoid will compete in the hammer throw at 12:30 p.m., while Mitchell will run in the first round of the 200 meters at 1:33 p.m.
Taubert will continue with the last three events (long jump, javelin throw and 800 meters) of the heptathlon on Sunday, starting with the long jump at 3 p.m. Mitchell would compete in the semifinals of the 200 meters at 5:14 p.m., if she advances from the first round, while Latimer takes part in the shot put competition at 6:20 p.m.
"Obviously, Lauren and Taylor both had very good years in 2019," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto. "This will be the first time each of them has competed at the Championships and should be a great experience for them."
Taubert, a senior from Casper, Wyoming, earned All-America honors at both NCAA Indoor (pentathlon) and Outdoor (heptathlon) Championships this past season. She finished eighth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, scoring 5,793 points to collect First Team All-America accolades. Her score of 5,793 points is the fifth best in K-State history. She finished as the runner-up in the event at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, scoring 5,770 points. She also claimed second place in the 400-meter hurdles at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships with the fifth-fastest time (58.10) in school history.
Taubert finished fifth in the heptathlon at the 2017 U.S. Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, California, scoring 4,810 points, as teammate Ariel Okorie won the event.
A junior from Valley Center, Kansas, Latimer enjoyed a tremendous spring in the shot put ring, earning First Team All-America honors in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to go along with her Big 12 title. Her throw of 17.74 m/58-02.50 to win the Big 12 outdoor championship was the second-best in K-State history, just one centimeter off the record. She placed fourth at the NCAA Championship with a toss of 17.67 m/57-11.75.
Latimer finished sixth in the shot put at the 2018 U.S. Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships in Bloomington, Indiana, posting a mark of 15.00 m/49-02.50.
Making her third appearance at the USATF Outdoor Championships, Kassanavoid was a three-time All-American in the hammer throw at K-State from 2015-18. In her last season as a Wildcat in 2017-18, she set a school and facility record to win the 2018 Big 12 title in the event with a toss of 68.21 m/223-09 before earning Second Team All-America honors with a 13th place finish at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She was a First Team All-American in the hammer throw as a junior in 2017 with a fourth-place finish with a toss of 66.58 m/218-05.
At last year's USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Kassanavoid placed 15th in the hammer throw with a mark of 48.26 m/158-4, while she placed 14th at the 2017 event with a toss of 63.12 m/207-01.
A multiple All-American at K-State from 2014-18, Mitchell will be returning to the USATF Outdoor Championships for the first time since 2015 when she placed sixth in the semifinals of the 200 meters with a time of 23.12. She ran a school-record 22.96 in the 200 meters to earn Second Team All-America honors as a freshman at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships en route to earning Big 12 Outstanding Freshman of the Year honors.
The 2019 USATF Outdoor Championships will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Gold, NBC Live and NBCSN throughout the weekend's competition.
For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.
Rising senior Lauren Taubert (heptathlon) and junior Taylor Latimer (shot put) will be joined at the Championships by former Wildcat All-Americans Janee' Kassanavoid (2015-18; hammer throw) and A'Keyla Mitchell (2014-18; 200 meters). All the action for these performers will come on Saturday (July 27) and Sunday (July 28).
Taubert and Latimer are competing in the Championships for the first time in their respective careers, while Kassanavoid is in action for the third consecutive year. Mitchell is running at the event for the first time since 2015. Taubert (2017) and Latimer (2018) previously competed at the U.S. Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships.
Taubert will kick things off with the start of the heptathlon on Saturday, competing in the 100-meter hurdles at 11:30 a.m., CT followed by the high jump (12:20 p.m.), shot put (2:15 p.m.) and 200 meters (3:19 p.m.). Kassanavoid will compete in the hammer throw at 12:30 p.m., while Mitchell will run in the first round of the 200 meters at 1:33 p.m.
Taubert will continue with the last three events (long jump, javelin throw and 800 meters) of the heptathlon on Sunday, starting with the long jump at 3 p.m. Mitchell would compete in the semifinals of the 200 meters at 5:14 p.m., if she advances from the first round, while Latimer takes part in the shot put competition at 6:20 p.m.
"Obviously, Lauren and Taylor both had very good years in 2019," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto. "This will be the first time each of them has competed at the Championships and should be a great experience for them."
Taubert, a senior from Casper, Wyoming, earned All-America honors at both NCAA Indoor (pentathlon) and Outdoor (heptathlon) Championships this past season. She finished eighth in the heptathlon at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in June, scoring 5,793 points to collect First Team All-America accolades. Her score of 5,793 points is the fifth best in K-State history. She finished as the runner-up in the event at the Big 12 Outdoor Championship, scoring 5,770 points. She also claimed second place in the 400-meter hurdles at the Big 12 Outdoor Championships with the fifth-fastest time (58.10) in school history.
Taubert finished fifth in the heptathlon at the 2017 U.S. Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships in Sacramento, California, scoring 4,810 points, as teammate Ariel Okorie won the event.
A junior from Valley Center, Kansas, Latimer enjoyed a tremendous spring in the shot put ring, earning First Team All-America honors in the event at the NCAA Outdoor Championships to go along with her Big 12 title. Her throw of 17.74 m/58-02.50 to win the Big 12 outdoor championship was the second-best in K-State history, just one centimeter off the record. She placed fourth at the NCAA Championship with a toss of 17.67 m/57-11.75.
Latimer finished sixth in the shot put at the 2018 U.S. Track and Field Junior Outdoor Championships in Bloomington, Indiana, posting a mark of 15.00 m/49-02.50.
Making her third appearance at the USATF Outdoor Championships, Kassanavoid was a three-time All-American in the hammer throw at K-State from 2015-18. In her last season as a Wildcat in 2017-18, she set a school and facility record to win the 2018 Big 12 title in the event with a toss of 68.21 m/223-09 before earning Second Team All-America honors with a 13th place finish at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Championships. She was a First Team All-American in the hammer throw as a junior in 2017 with a fourth-place finish with a toss of 66.58 m/218-05.
At last year's USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Kassanavoid placed 15th in the hammer throw with a mark of 48.26 m/158-4, while she placed 14th at the 2017 event with a toss of 63.12 m/207-01.
A multiple All-American at K-State from 2014-18, Mitchell will be returning to the USATF Outdoor Championships for the first time since 2015 when she placed sixth in the semifinals of the 200 meters with a time of 23.12. She ran a school-record 22.96 in the 200 meters to earn Second Team All-America honors as a freshman at the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Championships en route to earning Big 12 Outstanding Freshman of the Year honors.
The 2019 USATF Outdoor Championships will be broadcast live on NBC Sports Gold, NBC Live and NBCSN throughout the weekend's competition.
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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