SE: Weekend Wrap - Surprises Continue for ‘Cats on Track
Jan 25, 2021 | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Track & Field, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
January has been an opportunity for K-State Track & Field, a chance to pull out of the garage and hit the gas after nearly a year away from competition due to COVID-19.
Saturday at the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence, the Wildcats rested some of their top athletes and many of those that did compete tried their hand at different events.
Hitting the road didn't slow down K-State.
"Speed is not my strong suit," Kassidy Johnson said, a distance specialist who ran the 600 Yards on Saturday. "I just tried to hold on to the pack as much as I could and not allow the gap to get too big. Around the last 100 meters, the gap really started to close, so I just tried to use my endurance strength and give it everything I had to the finish."
Johnson headlined a succesful weekend for the Wildcats, grabbing first place in the 600 Yards in her first time competing in the event this season.
One of the only three-season athletes in Manhattan, Johnson also competed on the K-State cross country team in the fall.
On the track, Johnson was joined in the winner's circle by sophomore Sean Wilson, who won the 400m on Friday for his first victory at the college level. He was part of a strong underclassmen contingent for the Wildcats in Lawrence.
"On the last stretch, I was thinking of just maintaining my ground and finishing strong," Wilson said. "It's going to be a fight especially since I got out a lot faster than normal, so I was going to be a little drained. I just needed to push through."
Another strong performance from the "Bomb Squad" in the weight events included a victory in the weight throw from Shaelyn Ward.
And on Saturday, Devon Richardson continued a strong start to his K-State career, winning the men's high jump. Richardson is in his first season with the Wildcats after winning a conference title during his freshman season at Pittsburg State.
"I haven't been feeling like my old self, and my performance in the triple jump last week was a big confidence booster," Richardson said. "I have been doing a lot of overthinking and I realized that I was only making it harder for me to accomplish my goals. During the competition, I hit a few bars and I just told myself to relax and to just have fun. That made it easier for me to put the pieces together to have a good day."
K-State WBB Still Searching for 40-Minute Performance
K-State saw another late lead slip away in a 70-63 loss to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Ask Jeff Mittie, and the Wildcats are still facing two opponents this season: the team on the other end of the court and K-State's 30-day pause from games that ended on Wednesday.
"The players that have been consistently able to practice are Lee and Carr and you can see that in their minutes," he said. "Virtually everybody else was in the COVID protocol."
Ayoka Lee and Christianna Carr haven't missed a beat since the Wildcats returned, with Lee posting a pair of double-doubles and Carr scoring a season-high 24 points on Saturday.
But impressive performances from their All-Big 12 players haven't been enough to get the Wildcats across the finish line this week.
K-State continued to slow the pace against the Jayhawks, controlling the shot clock and shortening the game in the first half. Mittie said this was about dealing with the lingering fatigue from jumping right back into Big 12 play without consistent practice due to COVID-19.
"We're not ready to play a 40-minute game. It's not rocket science. It's a significant challenge and it's why we're rotating players," he said. "We've got to shorten the game and you saw Kansas go to the zone press to try and get us to play quicker."
The Wildcats will have a quick turnaround, practicing on Sunday before their first home game in nearly a month on Monday at 4 p.m. against Oklahoma State.
K-State Done in by Turnovers in Loss to No. 14 West Virginia
Bruce Weber called them "pick sixes" and the football metaphor was fitting in a game where turnovers proved too much for K-State to overcome, a 69-47 loss to No. 14 West Virginia.
"You have to make basketball reads," Weber said. "Once we went south with that part of it, we got really tentative. Credit to our guys, they didn't quit, and we cut it to eight and had a wide open three. We don't make it, and then they get us on the backdoor and back-to-back three's, which was the difference in the game."
The Wildcats were once again without Nijel Pack, who has missed four games for K-State during this six-game losing streak.
Weber expects to have the freshman back against No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday night.
"He'll be back. But obviously he hasn't played for 17 days," Weber said. "That's what it's going to be, is how much we improve and are we a team that we thought we could be at some point in the season? That will be the legacy we leave."
One of those players, senior Mike McGuirl, scored 15 points to continue a strong run through conference play, with double-figure performances in seven of his last eight games.
His focus after Saturday's loss was off-the-court and on what he could do to help the Wildcats find stability in Big 12 play.
"It's frustrating to lose. It seems like it's something different every game that's causing it," he said. "I have to grow as a leader and not turn the ball over and we have to improve."
January has been an opportunity for K-State Track & Field, a chance to pull out of the garage and hit the gas after nearly a year away from competition due to COVID-19.
Saturday at the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence, the Wildcats rested some of their top athletes and many of those that did compete tried their hand at different events.
Hitting the road didn't slow down K-State.
"Speed is not my strong suit," Kassidy Johnson said, a distance specialist who ran the 600 Yards on Saturday. "I just tried to hold on to the pack as much as I could and not allow the gap to get too big. Around the last 100 meters, the gap really started to close, so I just tried to use my endurance strength and give it everything I had to the finish."
Johnson headlined a succesful weekend for the Wildcats, grabbing first place in the 600 Yards in her first time competing in the event this season.
One of the only three-season athletes in Manhattan, Johnson also competed on the K-State cross country team in the fall.
On the track, Johnson was joined in the winner's circle by sophomore Sean Wilson, who won the 400m on Friday for his first victory at the college level. He was part of a strong underclassmen contingent for the Wildcats in Lawrence.
"On the last stretch, I was thinking of just maintaining my ground and finishing strong," Wilson said. "It's going to be a fight especially since I got out a lot faster than normal, so I was going to be a little drained. I just needed to push through."
Another strong performance from the "Bomb Squad" in the weight events included a victory in the weight throw from Shaelyn Ward.
And on Saturday, Devon Richardson continued a strong start to his K-State career, winning the men's high jump. Richardson is in his first season with the Wildcats after winning a conference title during his freshman season at Pittsburg State.
"I haven't been feeling like my old self, and my performance in the triple jump last week was a big confidence booster," Richardson said. "I have been doing a lot of overthinking and I realized that I was only making it harder for me to accomplish my goals. During the competition, I hit a few bars and I just told myself to relax and to just have fun. That made it easier for me to put the pieces together to have a good day."
K-State WBB Still Searching for 40-Minute Performance
K-State saw another late lead slip away in a 70-63 loss to Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse on Saturday.
Ask Jeff Mittie, and the Wildcats are still facing two opponents this season: the team on the other end of the court and K-State's 30-day pause from games that ended on Wednesday.
"The players that have been consistently able to practice are Lee and Carr and you can see that in their minutes," he said. "Virtually everybody else was in the COVID protocol."
Ayoka Lee and Christianna Carr haven't missed a beat since the Wildcats returned, with Lee posting a pair of double-doubles and Carr scoring a season-high 24 points on Saturday.
But impressive performances from their All-Big 12 players haven't been enough to get the Wildcats across the finish line this week.
K-State continued to slow the pace against the Jayhawks, controlling the shot clock and shortening the game in the first half. Mittie said this was about dealing with the lingering fatigue from jumping right back into Big 12 play without consistent practice due to COVID-19.
"We're not ready to play a 40-minute game. It's not rocket science. It's a significant challenge and it's why we're rotating players," he said. "We've got to shorten the game and you saw Kansas go to the zone press to try and get us to play quicker."
The Wildcats will have a quick turnaround, practicing on Sunday before their first home game in nearly a month on Monday at 4 p.m. against Oklahoma State.
K-State Done in by Turnovers in Loss to No. 14 West Virginia
Bruce Weber called them "pick sixes" and the football metaphor was fitting in a game where turnovers proved too much for K-State to overcome, a 69-47 loss to No. 14 West Virginia.
"You have to make basketball reads," Weber said. "Once we went south with that part of it, we got really tentative. Credit to our guys, they didn't quit, and we cut it to eight and had a wide open three. We don't make it, and then they get us on the backdoor and back-to-back three's, which was the difference in the game."
The Wildcats were once again without Nijel Pack, who has missed four games for K-State during this six-game losing streak.
Weber expects to have the freshman back against No. 2 Baylor on Wednesday night.
"He'll be back. But obviously he hasn't played for 17 days," Weber said. "That's what it's going to be, is how much we improve and are we a team that we thought we could be at some point in the season? That will be the legacy we leave."
One of those players, senior Mike McGuirl, scored 15 points to continue a strong run through conference play, with double-figure performances in seven of his last eight games.
His focus after Saturday's loss was off-the-court and on what he could do to help the Wildcats find stability in Big 12 play.
"It's frustrating to lose. It seems like it's something different every game that's causing it," he said. "I have to grow as a leader and not turn the ball over and we have to improve."
Players Mentioned
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/ Track & Field
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Track & Field
/ Track & Field
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