Wildcats Achieve Multiple Milestones on Final Day of Jim Green Invitational

Friday, January 10

Lexington, Kentucky

Kansas State University

Jim Green Invitational

Wildcats Achieve Multiple Milestones on Final Day of Jim Green Invitational

Jan 11, 2020 | Track & Field

Final Results

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Even with some new faces and many athletes competing for the second day in a row, the Kansas State men's and women's track and field teams continued Saturday's showcase with strong outings on the track, which included new personal bests and victories in the mile and 800 meter events to close out the Jim Green Invitational inside Nutter Field House.

"Again, I thought we had some good performances today," said Director of Track and Field Cliff Rovelto. "There were some PR's – Jullane (Walker) in the 60 meter and (Kimisha) Chambers in the hurdles – that were very good. There were some strong mile runs for coming off break and some strong relay splits."

Sophomore Kassidy Johnson ascended into the all-time leaderboard for program history after finishing the mile race at 4:48.00, notching an eighth-place spot all-time. Johnson finished five seconds ahead of the next competitor in the event, while juniors Cayli Hume (5^th, 4:56.08), Cara Melgares (6^th, 4:56.60) and senior Emma Wren (9^th, 5:00.10) all placed in the top-10 for the race.

"Kassidy ran at where I expected," said assistant coach Ryun Godfrey. "Training has been going well and certainly pointed to a performance around 4:47-4:48. She works hard and pays great attention to detail. Those are the secrets for most successful athletes."

Junior Macy Heinz followed suit with a milestone performance in the 800-meter event as she went on to claim the win with a swift time of 2:10.12. Heinz's finish places her 10th on the all-time list for any Wildcat in the 800-meter race.

Before Johnson and Heinz captured their victories, other Wildcats finished just short of winning their events but ended up placing in the top-three on the afternoon. Senior Jullane Walker keeps turning heads as he run past the competition in route to the final round of the men's 60-meter dash. Walker ended the final round with a scorching time of 6.66, which helped him finish third in both the race and the K-State top-10 list. The Kingston, Jamaica native broke his personal record in the event, which was previously set at 6.72 during the 2018 Texas Tech Shootout.

Junior Taishia Pryce used a jump of 12.69m/41-07.75 to earn a second-place finish in the women's triple jump. Pryce's leap also ties her for ninth all time in K-State history. Teammate Konstantina Romaiou took home fourth place with a jump of 12.27m/40-03.25.

Referring to the women's 400-meter race, junior Wurrie Njadoe remained in the hunt for the entirety of the competition, culminating in a seventh-place finish with a time of 56.93 seconds.

Freshman Kyle Johnston, who was racing for the first time in a K-State uniform during the men's 800-meter event, produced a 21^st-place performance as he clocked in at 1:59.48.

During the men's shot put, Cameron Lewis launched a top throw of 14.84m/48-08.25 to earn a spot of 13^th place. Junior Ethan Powell and senior Travis Hodge both had strong finishes in the men's mile competition as both runners finished inside the top-10. Powell finished just ahead of Hodge, securing eighth place with a time of 4:12.65, while Hodge closed out the race in ninth place at 4:12.84. Sophomore Dylan Brenneman (13^th, 4:17.48) and senior Noah Stevenson (20^th, 4:19.84) both earned spots in the top-20 of the event, while sophomore Cooper Schroeder (21^st, 4:20.03) and freshman Hadley Splechter (23^rd, 4:21.14) paced themselves into the top-30.

K-State wrapped up the Jim Green Invitational with the men's and women's 4x400 meter relay competition. The squad of Lauren Taubert, Kimisha Chambers, Lavaun Stephenson and Alex Ferguson led the way for the women's team in the event, posting a time of 3:44.57 to take fourth place. The grouping of Pryce, Ariel Okorie, Pippa Earley and Kindel Nordhus recorded a seventh-place finish at 3:50.43.

For the men's race, the Kansas State A team made up of Gabriel Louw, Justin Davis, Tim Lambert and Tejaswin Shankar ran well to garner a fourth-place finish as the group combined for a time of 3:14.38. The Kansas State B team consisting of Donovan Turner, Aaron Booth, Kyle Parr and Travis Hodge ended their race in 14^th place with a time of 3:24.58.

The Wildcats now head back home to recover and prepare for a trip to Wichita, Kansas on January 18 as they will compete in the annual KU-KSU-WSU Triangular.

"We just need to get everyone healthy and train well for the next few weeks," said Rovelto.
For the latest on K-State track and field, follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.

Jim Green Invitational
Nutter Field House
Lexington, Ky.

Men's Shot Put
15. Cameron Lewis, 14.84m/48-08.25

Women's Triple Jump
2. Taisha Pryce, 12.69m/41-07.75
4. Konstantina Romaiou, 12.27m/40-03.25

Men's 60 Meters (Finals)
3. Jullane Walker, 6.66

Women's 60 Meter Hurdles (Semi-Finals)
4. Kimisha Chambers, 8.33 (Q)
8. Lauren Taubert, 8.49 (Q)
9. Vitoria Alves, 8.50 (Q)
14. Ariel Okorie, 8.66

Men's 60m Hurdles (Semi-Finals)
9. Tejaswin Shankar, 8.35 (Q)
13. Aaron Booth, 8.66

Women's 60m Hurdles (Finals)
5. Kimisha Chambers, 8.39
7. Vitoria Alves, 8.44
8. Lauren Taubert, 8.51

Women's Mile Run
1. Kassidy Johnson, 4:48.00
5. Cayli Hume, 4:56.08
6. Cara Melgares, 4:56.60
9. Emma Wren, 5:00.10
16. Jaybe Shufelberger, 5:09.29

Men's Mile Run
9. Ethan Powell, 4:12.65
10. Travis Hodge, 4:12.84
13. Dylan Brenneman, 4:17.48
20. Noah Stevenson, 4:19.84
21. Cooper Schroeder, 4:29.03
23. Hadley Splechter, 4:21.14
33. Jack Moore, 4:25.72

Women's 400 Meter
7. Wurrie Njadoe, 56.93

Women's 800 Meter
1. Macy Heinz, 2:10.12
7. Hannah Stewart, 2:17.63

Men's 800 Meter
5. Kyle Johnston, 1:59.48

Women's 4x400
1. Kansas State A, 3:44.57
4. Kansas State B, 3:50.43

Men's 4x400
2. Kansas State A, 3:14.38
3. Kansas State B, 3:24.58
5. Kansas State C, DNF