Kansas State University Athletics
Friday, February 26
Lubbock, Texas
10:00 AM
Kansas State University
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Big 12 Indoor Championship
Shankar Wins Big 12 Indoor High Jump Title for Third-Straight Season
Feb 27, 2021 | Track & Field
LUBBOCK, Texas – On the final jump in the men's high jump competition, senior Tejaswin Shankar leapt over the bar at 2.21m/7-3.00 to stave off the field and capture his third-straight Big 12 Indoor Championship title on Saturday (February 27) evening inside the Sports Performance Center.
The victory gave Shankar a meet-high 20 points at the Big 12 Championship, helping him collect Co-High Point Award honors with Iowa State's Wesley Kiptoo. He is the first Wildcat ever to earn the High Point Award at the Big 12 Indoor Championship.
"The guy TJ (Tejaswin Shankar) tied with for high point scorer is the best collegiate distance runner I believe I have seen in my career," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto on Shankar's point total. "He is special! TJ is as well in my view."
Tied with Oklahoma's Vernon Taylor (2.18m/7-01.75) in the closing stages, Shankar boosted himself over the high jump bar with one last heave and secured the lone victory for the Wildcats this weekend.
That jump placed him amongst some all-time greats in Big 12 history, as Shankar became the first athlete since former Wildcat Erik Kynard (2011-13) to post three-consecutive wins in the high jump for the indoor conference meet.
Shankar got to compete in a few other events this weekend before taking home the crown in the high jump, which included a second-place outing in the triple jump. He set a new personal record in the event at 16.09m/52-09.50 to tie for the third-best performance in school history for any triple jump athlete.
Shankar also participated in the men's 4-x400 meter relay to cap the championship, joining with freshman Kyle Gale and sophomores Tim Lambert, Jr., and Sean Wilson to finish in fourth place with a time of 3:08.84, which would be one of the top performances in school history.
Shankar's performance highlighted an impressive two-day meet for the Kansas State track and field teams, as the women's team earned a top-three finish for the second year in a row with 100.50 points, while the men's team moved up two spots from last year's finish to place sixth overall with 66 points.
In addition to Shankar's performances, three other Wildcats (junior Kassidy Johnson in 1,000 meters, freshman Kyle Gale in the men's 400 meters and junior Chantoba Bright in the women's triple jump) earned runner-up finishes in their respective events, while junior Taylor Latimer finished third in the women's shot put.
Looking to repeat in the 1000 meters, Johnson nearly pulled off another win at the conference meet but was cut off at the last moment by Oklahoma State's Sivan Auerbach, who recorded a time of 2:46.77 compared to Johnson's pace of 2:46.81.
It was the same result for Gale, who ran a personal best 46.21 seconds in the men's 400 meters, only to fall just short on the final turn by the Cowboys' Ashton Hicks (46.02).
Bright was equally impressive in the women's triple jump, converting on a jump of 13.60m/44-7.50 to place herself at No. 4 all-time in school history with a second-place finish.
Several other Wildcats earned podium finishes in their respective events, including junior Alex Ferguson (3rd, 600 Yards), senior Wurrie Njadoe (5th, 60 Meters; 6th, 200 Meters), junior Vitoria Alves (8th, 60-Meter Hurdles), sophomores Shalysa Wray (5th, 400 Meters), O'Shalia Johnson (8th, 400 Meters), Jaybe Shufelberger (8th, 3000 Meters), Hannah Stewart (4th, Mile Run), Donovan Turner (4th, 60-Meter Hurdles) and Mike Rohlinger (7th, 1000 Meters).
"I thought both teams did a nice job of competing," said Rovelto. "Our women scored more points than I had us going for into the meet. The girls scored in every event but one, which I am pretty sure we have never done before. The men were within eight points of what I had projected, so not too far off. We only brought 18 men, so we were short a few bullets. The guys did a nice job. I thought the quality of the championship was as high as I've ever seen in 40-plus years of Big 12 and Big Eight competition for individual and team performances."
K-State will take a week off to prepare for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will take place down in Fayetteville, Arkansas on March 12-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
2021 Big 12 Indoor Championship
Team Standings
Men:
1. Texas – 141 points
2. Texas Tech – 133 points
3. Oklahoma – 89 points
4. Oklahoma State – 75 points
5. TCU – 70 points
6. K-State – 66 points
7. Iowa State – 62 points
T8. Baylor – 51 points
T8 . Kansas – 51 points
Women:
1. Texas – 154.5 points
2. Oklahoma State – 103 points
3. K-State – 100.5 points
4. Texas Tech – 95.5 points
5. Baylor – 93 points
6. Kansas – 68.5 points
7. Oklahoma – 59 points
8. West Virginia – 34 points
9. Iowa State – 31 points
10. TCU – 2 points
High Point Awards
Men:
Tejaswin Shankar (K-State)
Wesley Kiptoo (Iowa State)
Women:
Kynnedy Flannel (Texas)
Ruth Usoro (Texas Tech)
For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.
The victory gave Shankar a meet-high 20 points at the Big 12 Championship, helping him collect Co-High Point Award honors with Iowa State's Wesley Kiptoo. He is the first Wildcat ever to earn the High Point Award at the Big 12 Indoor Championship.
"The guy TJ (Tejaswin Shankar) tied with for high point scorer is the best collegiate distance runner I believe I have seen in my career," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto on Shankar's point total. "He is special! TJ is as well in my view."
Tied with Oklahoma's Vernon Taylor (2.18m/7-01.75) in the closing stages, Shankar boosted himself over the high jump bar with one last heave and secured the lone victory for the Wildcats this weekend.
That jump placed him amongst some all-time greats in Big 12 history, as Shankar became the first athlete since former Wildcat Erik Kynard (2011-13) to post three-consecutive wins in the high jump for the indoor conference meet.
"I was a little bit drained when I got to the high jump," said Shankar. "Coming into the event, my goal was to win the competition at all costs, which I was able to do. The other athlete from Oklahoma was not at his best. At the same time, I was able to make the most of the opportunity and get 2.21 on my third try, which was pretty unlikely. But if you get the win, that is all that matters, and I think I was able to do that today."THREE PEAT🏆🏆🏆@TejaswinShankar sealed the men's high jump with a mark of 2⃣.2⃣1⃣m, becoming the first Wildcat since Erik Kynard (2011-13) to clinch three-straight victories at the indoor conference meet😼#KStateTF x #Big12TF pic.twitter.com/CZTmBquHPZ
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 27, 2021
Shankar got to compete in a few other events this weekend before taking home the crown in the high jump, which included a second-place outing in the triple jump. He set a new personal record in the event at 16.09m/52-09.50 to tie for the third-best performance in school history for any triple jump athlete.
Shankar also participated in the men's 4-x400 meter relay to cap the championship, joining with freshman Kyle Gale and sophomores Tim Lambert, Jr., and Sean Wilson to finish in fourth place with a time of 3:08.84, which would be one of the top performances in school history.
Shankar's performance highlighted an impressive two-day meet for the Kansas State track and field teams, as the women's team earned a top-three finish for the second year in a row with 100.50 points, while the men's team moved up two spots from last year's finish to place sixth overall with 66 points.
Texas took home both the men's and women's crowns on Saturday, finishing with 141 points on the men's leaderboard and 154.5 points in the women's field.A complete team effort😼🥉
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 28, 2021
The #KStateTF women's team recorded a third-place outing this weekend, which marks back-to-back years the group has earned a bronze medal at the conference meet!!#Big12TF pic.twitter.com/QNi4aKxSUL
In addition to Shankar's performances, three other Wildcats (junior Kassidy Johnson in 1,000 meters, freshman Kyle Gale in the men's 400 meters and junior Chantoba Bright in the women's triple jump) earned runner-up finishes in their respective events, while junior Taylor Latimer finished third in the women's shot put.
Looking to repeat in the 1000 meters, Johnson nearly pulled off another win at the conference meet but was cut off at the last moment by Oklahoma State's Sivan Auerbach, who recorded a time of 2:46.77 compared to Johnson's pace of 2:46.81.
It was the same result for Gale, who ran a personal best 46.21 seconds in the men's 400 meters, only to fall just short on the final turn by the Cowboys' Ashton Hicks (46.02).
Bright was equally impressive in the women's triple jump, converting on a jump of 13.60m/44-7.50 to place herself at No. 4 all-time in school history with a second-place finish.
The shot-put ring had an all-star roster of throwers for Saturday's slate, including Latimer, who finished third overall with a new personal record of 16.44m/53-11.25.Triple jump Chantoba!
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) February 27, 2021
Leaping in the sand at 13.60m/44-7.50, @ChantobaB soars to a silver medal in the triple jump, while securing a new personal best!!#KStateTF x #Big12TF pic.twitter.com/G3IfKJhyRC
Several other Wildcats earned podium finishes in their respective events, including junior Alex Ferguson (3rd, 600 Yards), senior Wurrie Njadoe (5th, 60 Meters; 6th, 200 Meters), junior Vitoria Alves (8th, 60-Meter Hurdles), sophomores Shalysa Wray (5th, 400 Meters), O'Shalia Johnson (8th, 400 Meters), Jaybe Shufelberger (8th, 3000 Meters), Hannah Stewart (4th, Mile Run), Donovan Turner (4th, 60-Meter Hurdles) and Mike Rohlinger (7th, 1000 Meters).
"I thought both teams did a nice job of competing," said Rovelto. "Our women scored more points than I had us going for into the meet. The girls scored in every event but one, which I am pretty sure we have never done before. The men were within eight points of what I had projected, so not too far off. We only brought 18 men, so we were short a few bullets. The guys did a nice job. I thought the quality of the championship was as high as I've ever seen in 40-plus years of Big 12 and Big Eight competition for individual and team performances."
K-State will take a week off to prepare for the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will take place down in Fayetteville, Arkansas on March 12-13 at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
2021 Big 12 Indoor Championship
Team Standings
Men:
1. Texas – 141 points
2. Texas Tech – 133 points
3. Oklahoma – 89 points
4. Oklahoma State – 75 points
5. TCU – 70 points
6. K-State – 66 points
7. Iowa State – 62 points
T8. Baylor – 51 points
T8 . Kansas – 51 points
Women:
1. Texas – 154.5 points
2. Oklahoma State – 103 points
3. K-State – 100.5 points
4. Texas Tech – 95.5 points
5. Baylor – 93 points
6. Kansas – 68.5 points
7. Oklahoma – 59 points
8. West Virginia – 34 points
9. Iowa State – 31 points
10. TCU – 2 points
High Point Awards
Men:
Tejaswin Shankar (K-State)
Wesley Kiptoo (Iowa State)
Women:
Kynnedy Flannel (Texas)
Ruth Usoro (Texas Tech)
For the latest on K-State track and field follow @kstatesports and @KStateTFXC on Twitter or Kansas State Track & Field/Cross Country on Facebook.
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