SE: Q&A with Edgaras Benkunskas of K-State Track & Field

Before Edgaras Benkunskas ever competed in the heptathlon for K-State, Cliff Rovelto made a prediction about the new kid from Lithuania.

"He's probably as good an incoming freshman as we've had since maybe Attila Zsivoczky," Rovelto told Corbin McGuire in a December Sports Extra. "I think he's going to be good right away."

Zsivoczky went on to represent Hungary as a three-time Olympian. No pressure or anything.

In his first season in Manhattan, Benkunskas delivered on those lofty expectations by qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Championships (canceled due to COVID-19), grabbing a top-five finish at the Big 12 Championships and the eighth-best heptathlon score in K-State history.

Benkunskas sat down with Scott Retzlaff of K-State Sports Extra to talk about his freshman season, the move from Lithuania to the Flint Hills and the teammates who helped him along the way.

SR: First question for you, why Kansas State?

EB: I can answer it simply. Kansas State has a history with multi-eventers and since I am a multi-eventer, I couldn't choose any other school. One of my friends from Lithuania came here first, Matas Adamonis, and I was interested in going to America to study here, check it out and see how the facilities are for training. I just thought Kansas State would be the best one. So many famous multi-eventers went here, and they are a part of this family.

SR: So how does it feel for you to come here and be a part of that tradition?

EB: When I came here for my first semester in the fall, it was kind of strange and different. A new country, with new traditions and everything. New people, new friends and new coaches. It was kind of difficult, but now I'm getting over that and moving on. I'm really happy that I joined this family. I'm part of it now and I can get in touch with "my ancestors," the other Lithuanian athletes who have come here.

SR: What are the biggest adjustments you've had to make coming from Lithuania to Manhattan, Kansas?

EB: Well, the time adjustment [laughs] – But I came here with a goal to train and see the highest results of my track & field career. The school thing, the track & field thing, when you have a really disciplined schedule between classes, workouts and weights, it's kind of helpful because you have a rhythm of doing that every day. The discipline is probably one of the most important things for an athlete who is looking to reach the highest performance and results. Maybe, the fact that you don't really have to go anywhere, it's just classes, school and weights, it's kind of a routine now, but that was the biggest adjustment.

SR: How about some of your teammates? One of the good things about being a multi-event athlete is you have guys like Aaron Booth and Kyle Parr. Have those guys helped you out along the way?

EB: Kyle Parr is my roommate; we live together with Matas. He helped me a lot in the fall when I got here. He has a car and so he drove me around to buy some stuff and helped me get everything. He was really kind. And Booth, he's like my big brother. When we're competing or doing practices together, he kind of inspires me. He knows some things and I know some things so we can share ideas, change some things and plan to do it better. He's a really good guy who's been so helpful to me in track & field, but also off the track we can hang out and just chill or play video games.

SR: In terms of where you started at the beginning of the year to a fourth-place finish at Big 12s, where do you think you improved the most?

EB: The fall was really hard – It might sound strange, but we expected results like that because we worked hard to get those results. Even at Big 12s, I was a little bit disappointed with fourth place because in my country we don't have fourth place. It's like a wooden medal. Here it's different, but I wanted to score higher in Big 12s.

SR: When you have guys like Aaron and Kyle and some of those guys you mentioned earlier, they're going to graduate at some point in the near future, but you have a long way to go in your K-State career. What are your thoughts about potentially being the face of the program?

EB: It's going to be hard without them. They really helped me, and I'll miss just spending time together. But good things end fast and I'll need to adjust to doing things by myself. I'll miss them, that's for sure, but that's life.

SR: Are you looking forward to playing the role they did for you and starting to help some of the younger guys?

EB: If anyone needs my help, I'll definitely give them my opinion, some things they might not know and some things that might be helpful to them as a freshman, just like when Kyle or Aaron helped me.

SR: During your time in Lithuania, what experiences helped prepare you to succeed here?

EB: My coach in Lithuania helped me because some of the lifting and training programs are similar, so the lifting was easy for me when I got here. I'm a hard worker. I worked hard in Lithuania and I'm working hard here, so there's not much difference. I'm that person who doesn't focus on first-place talent, but I focus on first-place hard work. Hard work beats talent, because talent doesn't mean anything. I think that's the thing that keeps me going, so it wasn't a big adjustment.

SR: What's the best piece of advice that somebody on the team has given you?

EB: They've given me plenty of advice about America, track or college, but most of the advice is more like just in some of the funny talks that we have. So, I couldn't say that there's one piece of advice, because Aaron has given me so much advice about track & field during practice. Our coaches also help out a lot, but as a teammate, we talk to each other and Aaron has told me so much about technique work or things like that. It's the same thing with Kyle. He's given me so much advice about college life.

SR: What do you think you need to work on the most as you continue your time here?

EB: I'm a multi-eventer, so there are plenty of events to work on. I want to improve my jumps so I can jump higher and longer, also my speed development, I want to run faster in the 100m and 400m. Also hurdles, I want to start throwing farther, because I know that I just need some technical work. It's just things that will go on year after year. I'll always grade myself at a higher level [laughs]. Also, the pole vault, I got a big PR this year, but I still feel like I can jump higher. As I mentioned, it's about hard work and hard work only.

Kansas State University Athletics

SE: Q&A with Edgaras Benkunskas of K-State Track & Field

Players Mentioned

Matas Adamonis

Edgaras Benkunskas

Aaron Booth

Kyle Parr

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