Flurry of Podium Finishes Lift ‘Cats After Day One of Big 12 Indoor Championship

Flurry of Podium Finishes Lift ‘Cats After Day One of Big 12 Indoor Championship

Feb 26, 2021 | Track & Field

LUBBOCK, Texas – The Kansas State track and field teams turned on the jets to churn out 11 podium performances on day one of the Big 12 Indoor Championship inside the Sports Performance Center on Friday (February 26) evening.

Those impressive outings boosted the K-State women on the leaderboard, as the group registered 34 points to only trail Texas Tech (46) after day one. On the men's side, K-State stands in eighth place with 13 points.

"On the women's side, we gained points in the events that were finals today," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto. "We also qualified well, so a good day. The men had some tough ones, but we also picked up points in a few events. We will have a battle to be in the top half."

K-State flourished under the lights and produced a ton of podium performances in both the men's and women's fields on the opening day of the conference meet.

Leading the way for the Wildcats in those one-and-done scenarios were senior Shaeyln Ward (2^nd, Weight Throw), sophomore Jaybe Shufelberger (5^th, 5000 Meters), junior Cooper Schroeder (6^th, 5000 Meters), freshman Cade McCall (6^th, Weight Throw), freshman Jasmine Greer (7^th, Weight Throw), junior Chantoba Bright (4^th, Long Jump), senior Taishia Pryce (5^th, Long Jump), freshman Rhianna Phipps (8^th, Long Jump), senior Colin Echols (7^th, Weight Throw), senior Tejaswin Shankar (7^th, Long Jump) and freshman Regan Dineen (8^th, Pentathlon).

In the women's pentathlon, Dineen got K-State off on a solid note with a personal best 3,494 points to clinch the last podium spot in the first event of the meet. Dineen used a strong showing in the long jump to help her cause, as the Algonquin, Illinois, native recorded a leap of 5.74m/18-10, which gave her a third-place finish and enabled her to capture the podium spot after the 800 meters.

The track was represented well on Friday evening, as the combo of Shufelberger and Schroeder in the 5000 meters jolted K-State to nice outings in the long-distance events. Shufelberger hung with the best on the women's side, recording a fifth-place outing at a time of 17:14.29, notching her another solid finish at the conference championship. Schroeder delivered once again in Lubbock, as the Manhattan, Kansas, product zoomed around the track in 14:29.78 to place sixth in the men's race and secure a spot on the podium.

"For me, this is the reason to work hard and train hard," said Schroeder. "Each season, the best runners in the Big 12 are putting in the work and are doing the little things each day. So, I try to hold myself to that standard and think that I can be as good as I want to be by just grinding out the miles each day, while listening to my coach and my body."

Schroeder steadies himself to a podium outing!@CooperSchro_18 grinds out a sixth-place performance in the men's 5000 meters with a pace of 14:29.78!!#Big12TF | Sports Performance Center | Lubbock, Texas pic.twitter.com/eZkAVcNglP
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 27, 2021

"Just focusing on the task at hand and then after the race if we get seconds for a conversion, that's great. But just knowing that everyone has to deal with the altitude and just staying in the moment is what helps me."

At the other end of the Sports Performance Center was a group of weight throwers doing their part to dominant the ring for the Wildcats. The women's team featured a runner-up finish from Ward, who posted a mark of 19.89m/65-3.25 to lead the way for the women's team. Competing in her first Big 12 meet, Greer excited those around her with a throw of 18.32m/60-1.25, giving her a spot at seventh overall.

Holding their own in the top 10 for the men's competition was McCall (6^th, 18.79m/61-7.75) and Echols (7^th, 18.50m/60-8.50) with their marks on Friday. McCall unleashed in his first Big 12 competition while Echols continued his string of successful outings at the indoor meet, finishing just behind McCall.

K-State continued its trend in the field with three top-eight marks in the women's long jump competition, featuring the trio of Bright (6.43m), Pryce (6.32m) and Phipps (6.04m).

Shankar competed in his first long jump event at the conference championship, finishing seventh with a leap of 7.10m/23-3.50.

Junior Matas Adamonis returned to action in the men's heptathlon for the Wildcats on Friday since the 2019 Big 12 Indoor Championship. In the first four events of the combined event, Adamonis would finish out the afternoon in fourth place with 3,002 points entering the second stage of the competition.

Outside of those who finished their events for Friday's schedule, the Wildcats generated many qualifying marks that sent a bevy of individuals to the final round of their respective events. Those who moved on to Saturday's events included junior Kassidy Johnson (1000 Meters), sophomore Mike Rohlinger (1000 Meters), senior Wurrie Njadoe (60 Meters; 200 Meters), junior Alex Ferguson (600 Yards), freshman Kyle Gale (400 Meters), sophomore Donovan Turner (60-Meter Hurdles), junior Vitoria Alves (60-Meter Hurdles), sophomore Hadley Splechter (Mile Run), and sophomores Shalysa Wray and O'shalia Johnson (400 Meters).

Switching gears. #KStateTF x @kyleswagerific pic.twitter.com/sGHe5P1k5i
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 27, 2021

This is her time.#KStateTF x @kassidyjjohnson pic.twitter.com/Nz7grc0RWv
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 27, 2021

Day two of the Big 12 Indoor Championship will take place tomorrow at 11 a.m., CT with the second portion of the heptathlon schedule. Tune into the Big 12 Now on ESPN+ to see how the conference meet finishes.

For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.