Wildcats Continue Outdoor Season at Michael Johnson Invitational

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The Kansas State men's and women's track and field teams continue their outdoor season this weekend with a trip south to Waco, Texas for the Michael Johnson Invitational, which will run from Friday (April 16) through Saturday (April 17) at Baylor's Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium.

K-State moved up three spots in the latest USTFCCCA National Rating Index (TFRI) released on Monday with the women's team ranking 19th (106.53) and the men's team coming in at No. 47 (46.2).

K-State will face another challenging field in the Michael Johnson Invitational with eight Top-35 ranked men's and four Top-20 women's team in the field. The field is led by Top 10 squads from Texas (No. 7 men and No. 3 women) and Texas A&M (No. 8 men and No. 4 women), along with No. 9 Iowa State, No. 16 Kansas, No. 21 TCU, No. 23 Baylor and No. 28 Oklahoma State in the men's field and No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 19 K-State in the women's field. Overall, the meet will include athletes from eight of the 10 Big 12 schools as well as Abilene Christian, North Texas, Northern Illinois, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State and Texas State.

The competition begins on Friday at noon CT with the men's hammer throw, which will be the first of six field events on the day and concludes with the men's and women's 1,500 and 5,000 meters. Saturday's schedule starts at 9:30 a.m., CT with the men's discus and continues with various field and running events until 7:55 p.m., CT.

The Wildcats will have as many as 61 athletes competing in various events on Friday and Saturday, including nationally-ranked performers, sophomore Vitoria Alves (100 meter hurdles/17^th), senior Helene Ingvaldsen (hammer/6^th), freshman Kade McCall (hammer/29^th), senior Ashley Petr (discus/16^th), freshman Rhianna Phipps (triple jump/14^th), senior Shaelyn Ward (hammer/32^nd) and women's 4x400 meter relay (17^th).

Twenty-nine of the 61 athletes will compete in at least two events or relays, while 14 will compete in three events.

Athletes competing in three events on the men's side include junior Matas Adamonis (110-meter hurdles/shot put/ discus), senior Justin Davis (200 meters/4x100 meter relay/4x400 meter relay), senior Travis Hodge (800 meters/1500 meters/4x400 meter relay), sophomore Mike Rohlinger (800 meters/1500 meters/4x400 meter relay), sophomore Hadley Splechter (1500 meters/3000 meter steeplechase/4x400 meter relay), senior Noah Stevenson (1500 meters/3000 meter steeplechase/4x400 meter relay), senior Jah Strange (4x100 meter relay/4x400 meter relay/long jump), senior Jullane Walker (200 meters/4x100 meter relay/long jump) and sophomore Sean Wilson (200 meters/4x400 meter relay).

Athletes competing in three events on the women's side include sophomore Sydney Burton (800 meters/1500 meters/4x400 meter relay), senior Kimisha Chambers (100-meter hurdles/4x100 meter relay/4x400 meter relay), senior Cayli Hume (800 meters/1500 meters/4x400 meter relay), sophomore Kassidy Johnson (800 meters/1500 meters/4x400 meter relay), senior Wurrie Njadoe (100 meters/200 meters/4x100 meter relay), senior Lauren Taubert (100 meter hurdles/400 meters/4x400 meter relay) and senior Shalysa Wray (100 meters/4x100 meter relay/4x400 meter relay).

High jump All-American and senior T.J. Shankar will take the weekend off from the high jump and compete in the 110-meter hurdles and triple jump for the first time this outdoor season.

Tuning into the Michael Johnson Invitational
Fans wanting to follow along with the Michael Johnson Invitational (Friday-Saturday) can use the live results link provided by Delta Timing (https://tf.deltatiming.com/baylor/2021-michael-johnson-invitational) as well as Baylor Athletics (www.baylorbears.com).

The general public will be allowed in the grandstands at Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium. The east side of the track, opposite side to the grandstands, will be reserved for student-athletes.

For more information on the outdoor meet, including a full schedule of events, records and more can be found on kstatesports.com by clicking here.

Wildcats Rank Among the Best Nationally
K-State currently has 15 athletes among the Top 40 in their respective events this outdoor season, while the Wildcats place among the Top 50 in the men's 4x100-meter relay (40.30/43rd) and 4x400-meter relay (3:08.79/42nd) and women's 4x400-meter relay (3:34.52/17^th).

Seniors Lauren Taubert (5,831/4^th) and Ariel Okorie (5,474/14^th) rank among the nation's best in the heptathlon, while junior Matas Adamonis ranks 12th in the decathlon with 7,293.

The throws group has a number of top performers, including senior Helene Ingvaldsen (hammer, 66.89m/219-5, 6^th), junior Taylor Latimer (shot put, 17.12m/56-2, 14^th), senior Cameron Lewis (discus, 56.24m/184-6, 25th), freshman Kade McCall (hammer, 65.15m/213-9, 29^th), senior Ashley Petr (discus, 55.20m/181-1, 16^th), senior Shaelyn Ward (hammer, 62.60m/205-4, 32^nd) and senior Logan Wolfley (javelin, 70.92m/232-8, 15^th).

The jumps group is also highly-rated, including junior Chantoba Bright (long jump, 6.31m/20-8.5, 28^th), freshman Rhianna Phipps (triple jump, 13.18m/43-3, 14^th), senior Tejaswin Shankar (high jump, 2.19m/7-2.25, 13^th) and senior Jah Strange (triple jump, 16.26m/53-4.25, 8^th).

Sophomore Vitoria Alves (13.14/17^th) and senior Kimisha Chambers (13.38/40^th) are both among the Top 40 in the women's 100-meter hurdles, while Chambers is 10^th nationally (57.64) in the 400-meter hurdles.

Last Time Out
K-State combined to earn 10 event titles, including a sweep of the triple jump and an impressive double by junior Chantoba Bright in the women's long jump and 4x100-meter relay, in its last outing April 8-10 at the Jim Click Combined Events and Jim Click Shootout in Tucson, Arizona at Roy P. Drachman Stadium.

In addition to the 10 event titles, 16 Wildcats and a relay team either advanced or joined the school's Top 10 in their respective event, while 20 posted personal-bests.

Among those winning titles during the 3-day meet including senior Jah Strange and freshman Rhianna Phipps in the men's and women's triple jumps, junior Vitoria Alves in the women's 100-meter hurdles, Bright in the long jump, senior Tejaswin Shankar in the men's high jump, sophomore Hadley Splechter in the men's 3,000 steeplechase, senior Lauren Taubert in the heptathlon, senior Jullane Walker in the men's 100 meters and the women's 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter relay teams.

The meet started off well with on April 9 with Taubert winning the heptathlon title with a personal-best 5,831 points, which currently stands fourth nationally in the college ranks. The mark ranks as the fifth-best total in school history in the heptathlon and the highest by a Wildcat since Nina Schultz scored 6,133 points at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Last Time at Michael Johnson Invitational in 2019
K-State put together several standout performances in their last appearance at the Michael Johnson Invitational in 2019, including winning nine event titles. Among those winning titles who will make a return to Waco, Texas this weekend include seniors Kassidy Johnson and Dylan Brenneman in the men's and women's 1,500 and senior Justin Davis in the 400 meters. Fellow senior Tejaswin Shankar won the high jump at the 2019 meet, but won't be competing in the event this weekend.

Njadoe Enjoys Impressive Weekend
Maybe the most impressive performance at the Jim Click Shootout came from senior Wurrie Njadoe, who scored a pair of second-place finishes in the women's 100 and 200 meters while helping the 4x100-meter relay team to the event title. She helped the quartet of Bright, senior Kimisha Chambers and sophomore Shalysa Wray win the relay with a time of 45.20 before registering the fourth-best mark in the 100 with a personal-best time of 11.58 and posting the seventh-best mark in the 200 with a personal-best time of 23.55.

A Triple Jump Double
Freshman Rhianna Phipps and senior Jah Strange each won their triple jump titles with Top-10 all-time marks at the Jim Click Shootout on April 10, as Phipps recorded a leap of 13.18m/43-3 and Strange a vault of 16.26m/53-4.25. Both marks are the seventh-best in men's and women's school history and even more impressive for Phipps as it was her first triple jump competition as a collegian. Strange's jump smashed his previous personal best of 16.03m/52-7.25 at the 2019 NCAA Championships.

Bright Wins a Pair of Events
Junior Chantoba Bright joined Njadoe in helping K-State capture the 4x100-meter relay team after earning the title in the women's long jump with a personal-best mark of 6.31m/20-8.50. The mark in the long jump tied JaNelle Wright (2004) for ninth place on the all-time Top 10 list and the best by a Wildcat since Taishia Pryce jumped 6.42m/21-00.75 in 2019.

Sprinters Impress
The women's 4x400-meter relay team of O'shalia Johnson, Kimisha Chambers, Lauren Taubert and Shalysa Wray won the event at the Jim Click Shootout on April 10 with a time of 3:34.52. It was the eighth-best time for a relay team in school history and the best since the 2016 NCAA West Preliminary.

Members of the 4x400-meter relay team were impressive in their individual event, as Johnson was the top collegian in the 400 meters with a second-place time of 53.31, which represents the eighth-best mark in school history and the best since 2016, while Chambers was second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.64, which was the fourth-best in school history and best since 2018.

The final four titles on the day came in running events, including impressive wins by sprinters Jullane Walker in the men's 100 meters and Vitoria Alves in the women's 100-meter hurdles. Alves' time of 13.40 is the fourth-best in school history and the best by a Wildcat since Akela Jones set the school record of 12.94 at the 2016 John McDonnell Invitational. Walker's time of 10.45 narrowly defeated Arizona State's Austin Kratz, as he was joined by teammates Strange (10.54/4^th) and freshman Darian Clarke (10.72/8^th) in the Top 8.

Throws Squad Dominant Again
Although she finished second in the women's hammer, senior Helene Ingvaldsen came the closest to a school record in the first event of the day on April 10 at the Jim Click Shootout, firing off a throw of 66.89m/219-5 on her sixth and final attempt to post a personal best and the second-best mark in school history. Senior Shaelyn Ward also registered a personal best in the event with a toss of 62.60m/205-4 to improve to seventh all-time.

Freshman Kade McCall nearly equaled the accomplishment in the men's hammer, firing a personal best toss of 65.15m/213-9 on his sixth and final attempt to finish in third place. The mark places third all-time in school history and is the best since Mitch Dixon set the school record of 67.14m/220-03 at the 2018 Texas Invitational.

In addition to Ingvalden, Wade and McCall, other members of Throws Squad enjoyed solid efforts, including third-place finishes by senior Ashley Petr in the women's discus and senior Taylor Latimer in the women's shot put and a fourth-place finish by freshman Luke Ralston in the men's javelin.

Senior Cameron Lewis was also impressive in the men's discus and shot put, finishing fourth in the discus with a personal-best toss of 56.24m/184-6 and sixth in the shot put with a throw of 17.69m/58-0.5. His mark in the discus is the sixth-best in school history and the best since Brett Neelly at the 2019 NCAA Championships.

High Jump Dominance
Senior Tejaswin Shankar helped K-State dominate the men's high jump with a winning mark of 2.19m/7-2.25 at the Jim Click Shootout, as the Wildcats placed three athletes in the event's Top 4. He cleared the mark on his first attempt before missing all three attempts at 2.24m/7-4.25. Fellow senior Kyle Alcine placed third with a height of 2.04m/6-8.25" and sophomore Devon Richardson finished fourth with a mark of 1.99m/6-6.25.

Going the Distance
Sophomore Hadley Splechter won the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best time of 9:19.31 at the Jim Click Shootout April 10. On the women's side, the trio of Kassidy Johnson, Hannah Stewart and Cara Melgares finished second, third and fourth in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with Johnson (10:33.79) and Stewart (10:48.66) recording the fifth- and seventh-best time in the event in school history.

Up Next
The Wildcats will travel to Norman, Oklahoma on Friday-Saturday, April 23-24 for the J.D. Martin Invitational.

Kansas State University Athletics

Wildcats Continue Outdoor Season at Michael Johnson Invitational

Players Mentioned

Matas Adamonis

Kyle Alcine

Dylan Brenneman

Chantoba Bright

Sydney Burton

Kimisha Chambers

Justin Davis

Mitch Dixon

Travis Hodge

Cayli Hume

Helene Ingvaldsen

Kassidy Johnson

Taylor Latimer

Cameron Lewis

Kade McCall

Cara Melgares

Brett Neelly

Wurrie Njadoe

Ariel Okorie

Ashley Petr

Rhianna Phipps

Taishia Pryce

Luke Ralston

Devon Richardson

Mike Rohlinger

Nina Schultz

Tejaswin Shankar

Hadley Splechter

Noah Stevenson

Hannah Stewart

Jah Strange

Lauren Taubert

Jullane Walker

Shaelyn Ward

Sean Wilson

Logan Wolfley

Shalysa Wray

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