SE: Indoor Dominance, Olympic Dreams Fuel K-State at DeLoss Dodds Invite
Feb 02, 2021 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
Every time, split, height and distance counts the same at Ahearn Field House, just like it has during every other indoor season for K-State Track & Field.
The numbers don't lie, but they also don't tell the whole story.
A K-State track meet in 2021 means competing without fans to cheer on the athletes and some events comprised entirely of Wildcats facing off against each other.
That all changes on Saturday, with the first of three road meets for K-State this season at Arkansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State during the second half of the indoor season.
Against competitors from Arkansas-Little Rock, Texas State, Tulane and Langston, the Wildcats not only made their case to represent the program, but showcased why some of the best athletes in the country are right here in Manhattan.
That conversation starts with Tejaswin Shankar, who broke the heptathlon meet record on Saturday with a score of 5,650 points.
"First time he has ever competed in the heptathlon, first time he has ever vaulted in his life. He touched a pole for the first time three months ago," Rovelto said. "Typically, that is a top-10, top-15 mark in the nation. It was pretty remarkable to do what he did, especially the degree of difficulty that it presents."
Shankar first considered running the heptathlon after breaking the school record in the pentathlon last season.
When he traveled to Albuquerque with Rovelto for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships, Shankar asked his coach if they could raise the stakes a little:
If he won an NCAA Title in the high jump, could Shankar focus on the heptathlon in 2021?
Of course, those Indoor Championships were canceled due to COVID-19 and Shankar never got the chance to see if Rovelto would follow through on the wager.
So, Shankar tried a different tactic with his head coach - bugging him.
"Every day, every week, I would just bug him. 'Hey coach, are we still doing the heptathlon, can I still do the heptathlon?' April, May, June, July, August and finally September comes," Shankar said. "He said, 'OK, well we have to work on the pole vault,' but by January I still hadn't touched a pole. That was the only hurdle between me and the heptathlon."
Since the biggest difference between the high jump and pole vault is the height of the bar, Shankar decided to stick with what works.
"The picture on Twitter, if you look at all the other pole vaulters, they're pole vaulting," he said. "I'm high jumping over the pole vault bar with a pole in my hand."
Shankar wasn't the only Wildcat to impress throughout the weekend.
Quality performances on the track included O'Shalia Johnson and Shalysa Wray in the 400-meter dash and Kyle Gale in the men's 600 yards.
Vitoria Alves - who arrived in Manhattan from Brazil in January - broke her own PR in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.21 seconds.
"She just did a really good job of putting the work in," Rovelto said. "When she got back here, she was fit. Not as sharp as she might have been if she was here, but much fitter than she was last year at this time. Relatively speaking, it was easier when she got a chance to come back here and run."
Some of the top Wildcats continue to be athletes who are competing unattached throughout the indoor season, having already used all four years of indoor eligibility, but with one more outdoor season after COVID-19 wiped out what would have been their last shot in 2020.
Their performances might not count towards K-State, but athletes like Lauren Taubert continue to show just how much talent the Wildcats will be getting back once the outdoor season begins.
She clinched the women's pentathlon with a score of 4,230 points on Friday, a performance that impressed her coach and set the tone for the weekend.
For Taubert, she was focused on events that have challenged her in the past, as she swept four of the five legs of the pentathlon at Ahearn Field House.
"In the shot put, I'm starting to figure stuff out and how to stay in the ring. I have a couple more things to work on with that, but it was really exciting," she said. "My endurance is getting there. I ran better than I did last time. The 800's is one of my stronger events and coach's training has really helped me be successful in that event."
It says something about K-State Track & Field that athletes like Shankar and Taubert, who both qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2020, are "starting to figure stuff out" as they challenge themselves and conquer new events.
Even as travel rosters are finalized and K-State athletes set their sights on the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock next month, that seems like reason enough to enjoy the journey.
"Ultimately, the big picture is qualifying for the Olympics," Shankar said. "Getting good training and competing at a high level, it goes without saying that when you're training at a different intensity, your performance is going to increase in the outdoor season."
Every time, split, height and distance counts the same at Ahearn Field House, just like it has during every other indoor season for K-State Track & Field.
The numbers don't lie, but they also don't tell the whole story.
A K-State track meet in 2021 means competing without fans to cheer on the athletes and some events comprised entirely of Wildcats facing off against each other.
That all changes on Saturday, with the first of three road meets for K-State this season at Arkansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State during the second half of the indoor season.
The Wildcats will have to cut down their numbers on the travel roster, a decision made easier for Cliff Rovelto because he doesn't really view it as a decision at all.
"I have always been of the opinion that the athletes select the travel roster," he said. "We're going to take the 26 best athletes that we've got, I don't care what event they are or what combination of events they can do…we're going to take the best 26."
At the DeLoss Dodds Invitational last weekend, K-State athletes had one more data point for coaches to consider before travel rosters are set for February.
Sights & Sounds #KStateTF x DeLoss Dodds Invitational pic.twitter.com/5XKeIyExfU
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 1, 2021
Against competitors from Arkansas-Little Rock, Texas State, Tulane and Langston, the Wildcats not only made their case to represent the program, but showcased why some of the best athletes in the country are right here in Manhattan.
That conversation starts with Tejaswin Shankar, who broke the heptathlon meet record on Saturday with a score of 5,650 points.
"First time he has ever competed in the heptathlon, first time he has ever vaulted in his life. He touched a pole for the first time three months ago," Rovelto said. "Typically, that is a top-10, top-15 mark in the nation. It was pretty remarkable to do what he did, especially the degree of difficulty that it presents."
Shankar first considered running the heptathlon after breaking the school record in the pentathlon last season.
When he traveled to Albuquerque with Rovelto for the 2020 NCAA Indoor Championships, Shankar asked his coach if they could raise the stakes a little:
If he won an NCAA Title in the high jump, could Shankar focus on the heptathlon in 2021?
Of course, those Indoor Championships were canceled due to COVID-19 and Shankar never got the chance to see if Rovelto would follow through on the wager.
So, Shankar tried a different tactic with his head coach - bugging him.
"Every day, every week, I would just bug him. 'Hey coach, are we still doing the heptathlon, can I still do the heptathlon?' April, May, June, July, August and finally September comes," Shankar said. "He said, 'OK, well we have to work on the pole vault,' but by January I still hadn't touched a pole. That was the only hurdle between me and the heptathlon."
Since the biggest difference between the high jump and pole vault is the height of the bar, Shankar decided to stick with what works.
"The picture on Twitter, if you look at all the other pole vaulters, they're pole vaulting," he said. "I'm high jumping over the pole vault bar with a pole in my hand."
Far from finished.#KStateTF pic.twitter.com/KbeWmQlPdc
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) January 30, 2021
Shankar wasn't the only Wildcat to impress throughout the weekend.
Quality performances on the track included O'Shalia Johnson and Shalysa Wray in the 400-meter dash and Kyle Gale in the men's 600 yards.
Vitoria Alves - who arrived in Manhattan from Brazil in January - broke her own PR in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.21 seconds.
"She just did a really good job of putting the work in," Rovelto said. "When she got back here, she was fit. Not as sharp as she might have been if she was here, but much fitter than she was last year at this time. Relatively speaking, it was easier when she got a chance to come back here and run."
Some of the top Wildcats continue to be athletes who are competing unattached throughout the indoor season, having already used all four years of indoor eligibility, but with one more outdoor season after COVID-19 wiped out what would have been their last shot in 2020.
Their performances might not count towards K-State, but athletes like Lauren Taubert continue to show just how much talent the Wildcats will be getting back once the outdoor season begins.
She clinched the women's pentathlon with a score of 4,230 points on Friday, a performance that impressed her coach and set the tone for the weekend.
Pentathlon Champ🏆🥇
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) January 29, 2021
Lauren Taubert ➡️ 4,230 points#KStateTF pic.twitter.com/xUPxQ37PLK
For Taubert, she was focused on events that have challenged her in the past, as she swept four of the five legs of the pentathlon at Ahearn Field House.
"In the shot put, I'm starting to figure stuff out and how to stay in the ring. I have a couple more things to work on with that, but it was really exciting," she said. "My endurance is getting there. I ran better than I did last time. The 800's is one of my stronger events and coach's training has really helped me be successful in that event."
It says something about K-State Track & Field that athletes like Shankar and Taubert, who both qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2020, are "starting to figure stuff out" as they challenge themselves and conquer new events.
Even as travel rosters are finalized and K-State athletes set their sights on the Big 12 Championships in Lubbock next month, that seems like reason enough to enjoy the journey.
"Ultimately, the big picture is qualifying for the Olympics," Shankar said. "Getting good training and competing at a high level, it goes without saying that when you're training at a different intensity, your performance is going to increase in the outdoor season."
Players Mentioned
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