Kansas State University Athletics
Thursday, April 8
Tucson, AZ
Kansas State University
at
Jim Click Combined Events
Wildcats Return to Action at Jim Click Shootout
Apr 07, 2021 | Track & Field
The team returns to the track with a 3-day meet at Arizona
MANHATTAN, Kan. – After taking a break from competition last weekend, the Kansas State men's and women's track and field teams return to the track this week with a trip to Tucson, Arizona for the Jim Click Shootout, which will run from Thursday (April 8) through Saturday (April 10) at Arizona's Roy P. Drachman Stadium.
The Wildcats, who boast the No. 22 women's team (89.45) and No. 50 men's team (39.18) in the latest USTFCCCA National Rating Index (TFRI), will face a challenging field in the Jim Click Combined Events (Thursday-Friday) and Jim Click Shootout (Saturday) with a combined six Top-30 ranked men's and women's teams in the field.
The field is led by the top-ranked BYU men and No. 6 BYU women, along with No. 20 Arizona State (men), No. 22 Washington (men) and No. 24 Arizona (men) as well as No. 22 K-State (women) and No. 26 Arizona State (women). In all, five of the six participating schools (Arizona, ASU, BYU, K-State and Washington) enter the meet having both men's and women's teams ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 50.
"It appears that the weather is going to be great for both the heptathlon and the open meet," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto. "At this time of the year that is a bonus. There will be quality athletes in in every event so the competition will be great. Training has been progressing well and there are a number of events that we haven't opened in as of yet. We look forward to the next couple of competitions as we will be competing in high quality meets in preparation for the Big 12 Championships."
The competition begins with the heptathlon and pentathlon events at 12:30 p.m., CT on Thursday before concluding at noon CT on Friday. The field and running events start at 4 p.m. CT and run until 11:15 p.m., CT on Saturday.
Seniors Ariel Okorie and Lauren Taubert, along with freshman Regan Dineen, will compete in the heptathlon starting on Thursday. Taubert and Okorie, who rank third and 14th nationally in the event after scoring 5,713 and 5,063 at the UTSA Invitational on March 19-20, have previously competed at the Jim Click Combined Events meet.
Taubert (5,669) and Okorie (5,516) finished second and third, respectively, in the heptathlon at the 2019 meet.
The Wildcats will have as many as 47 athletes competing in various events on Saturday, including nationally-ranked performers, sophomore Vitoria Alves (100 meter hurdles/13th), senior Helene Ingvaldsen (hammer/8th), junior Taylor Latimer (shot put/12th) and senior Ashley Petr (discus/14th), as well as senior Tejaswin Shankar (high jump) who will be competing for the first time this outdoor season.
Tuning into the Jim Click Shootout
Fans wanting to follow along with the Jim Click Combined Events (Thursday-Friday) and Jim Click Shootout (Saturday) can use the live results link provided by Finished Results (www.finishedresults.com) as well as Arizona Athletics (www.arizonawildcats.com).
Under COVID-19 and NCAA guidelines, there will be a limited number of family members of student-athletes allowed at Drachman Stadium this week. However, there will be no general public allowed at this time.
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.
Last Time Out
K-State has not competed since the Shocker Spring Invitational on March 27 at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kan., when the Wildcats received strong performances from their throws and distance groups.
The throws team combined for seven Top 3 finishes between the men's and women's teams in three events (discus, hammer and shot put), including a win by senior Ashley Petr in the women's discus with a mark of 54.22m/177-11. All-American Helene Ingvaldsen was the runner-up in the women's hammer with a toss of 66.22m/217-3, which boosted her up to third all-time in the school history in the event.
The Wildcats also got strong efforts from runner-up finishes from freshman Kade McCall in the men's hammer (60.43m/198-3) and senior Cameron Lewis in the men's discus (53.18m/174-6) and third-place finishes from Lewis (17.57m/57-7.75) in the shot put and junior Taylor Latimer (16.76m/55-0) in the women's shot put and senior Colin Echols (51.39m/168-7) in the men's discus.
On the track, the team got a win by junior Cara Melgares in the women's 5,00 meters with a new personal best of 17:31.58, while four runners – sophomores David Lutgen, Kerby Depenbusch, Hadley Splechter and senior Noah Stevenson – all finished in the Top 5 in the men's 5,000 meters.
Elsewhere on the track, junior Alex Ferguson paced four K-State women in the Top 5 of the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.26, which included strong efforts from sophomore Sydney Burton (3rd/2:13.10), senior Cayli Hume (4th/2:13.77) and freshman Jessica Caraway (5th/2:16.43). Junior Kassidy Johnson (4:29.51) and senior Akia Guerrier (25.54) finished third in the women's 1,500 meters and women's 200 meters, respectively.
The Wildcats also got runner-up finishes by senior Konstantina Romaiou (5.81m/19-0.75) in the women's long jump and sophomore Jesse Pinkley (4.61m/15-1.50) in the men's pole vault.
Wildcats Rank Among the Best Nationally
K-State currently has 10 athletes among the Top 40 in their respective events this outdoor season, while the Wildcats place among the Top 40 in the men's 4x100-meter relay (40.30/34th) and 4x400-meter relay (3:08.79/36th) and women's 4x400-meter relay (3:37.64/22nd).
Seniors Lauren Taubert (5,713/3rd) and Ariel Okorie (5,063/14th) and sophomore Urte Bacianskaite (4,857/21st) are among the nation's best in the heptathlon, while junior Matas Adamonis ranks third in the decathlon with 7,293. Sophomore Vitoria Alves (13.14/13th) and senior Kimisha Chambers (13.38/36th) are also highly-rated in the women's 100-meter hurdles, while the throws group of junior Taylor Latimer (shot put, 17.12m/56-2, 12th), senior Ashley Petr (discus, 55.20m/181-1, 14th) and senior Helene Ingvaldsen (hammer, 66.22m/217-3, 8th) each rank in the Top 20 of their respective event.
Other nationally-ranked athletes include Kyle Alcine (high jump, 2.11m/6-11, 38th) and Logan Wolfley (men's javelin, 70.92m/232-8, 14th).
Taubert, Okorie Lead in the Heptathlon
Seniors Lauren Taubert and Ariel Okorie will return to the track to compete in the heptathlon this weekend, ranking as two of the 16 athletes to top 5,000 points in the event this season. Taubert ranks third nationally after scoring 5,713 points at the UTSA Invitational on March 18, while Okorie totaled 5,063 at the same meet to place 14th. K-State and BYU are the only schools to have two athletes eclipse 5,000 points in the event this season.
Both have a history at the Jim Click Combined Events meet, as Taubert (5,669) and Okorie (5,516) finished second and third, respectively, in the heptathlon at the 2019 meet.
Interestingly enough, Taubert and Okorie could meet BYU's Halley Folsom (5,271/9th) and Mayci Torgerson (5,075/12th) in this weekend's competition.
Adamonis Among the Best in the Decathlon
Not to be outdone by Taubert and Okorie, junior Matas Adamonis currently boasts the third-best decathlon mark in the country after scoring 7,293 points at the UTSA Invitational on March 18. Adamonis will not compete in the decathlon this weekend, but he could compete in several events on Saturday.
Shankar Back in Action
Senior Tejaswin Shankar is expected to make his outdoor debut on Saturday in the men's high jump. He recently earned All-America honors in both the high jump and triple jump during the indoor season, including a third place finish in the high jump with a mark of 2.24m/7-4.25 to collect First Team honors. It was his third consecutive indoor All-America award in the event, matching former Wildcat Christoff Bryan's stretch from 2015-17.
This will be Shankar's first outdoor high jump competition since finishing as the runner-up at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a height of 2.27m/7.05.25. He won each of his three 2019 regular-season competitions in the event and earned his first Big 12 Outdoor title with mark of 2.26m/7-05.
Up Next
The Wildcats will travel to Waco, Texas on Friday-Saturday, April 16-17 for the Michael Johnson Invitational.
The Wildcats, who boast the No. 22 women's team (89.45) and No. 50 men's team (39.18) in the latest USTFCCCA National Rating Index (TFRI), will face a challenging field in the Jim Click Combined Events (Thursday-Friday) and Jim Click Shootout (Saturday) with a combined six Top-30 ranked men's and women's teams in the field.
The field is led by the top-ranked BYU men and No. 6 BYU women, along with No. 20 Arizona State (men), No. 22 Washington (men) and No. 24 Arizona (men) as well as No. 22 K-State (women) and No. 26 Arizona State (women). In all, five of the six participating schools (Arizona, ASU, BYU, K-State and Washington) enter the meet having both men's and women's teams ranked in the USTFCCCA Top 50.
"It appears that the weather is going to be great for both the heptathlon and the open meet," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Cliff Rovelto. "At this time of the year that is a bonus. There will be quality athletes in in every event so the competition will be great. Training has been progressing well and there are a number of events that we haven't opened in as of yet. We look forward to the next couple of competitions as we will be competing in high quality meets in preparation for the Big 12 Championships."
The competition begins with the heptathlon and pentathlon events at 12:30 p.m., CT on Thursday before concluding at noon CT on Friday. The field and running events start at 4 p.m. CT and run until 11:15 p.m., CT on Saturday.
Seniors Ariel Okorie and Lauren Taubert, along with freshman Regan Dineen, will compete in the heptathlon starting on Thursday. Taubert and Okorie, who rank third and 14th nationally in the event after scoring 5,713 and 5,063 at the UTSA Invitational on March 19-20, have previously competed at the Jim Click Combined Events meet.
Taubert (5,669) and Okorie (5,516) finished second and third, respectively, in the heptathlon at the 2019 meet.
The Wildcats will have as many as 47 athletes competing in various events on Saturday, including nationally-ranked performers, sophomore Vitoria Alves (100 meter hurdles/13th), senior Helene Ingvaldsen (hammer/8th), junior Taylor Latimer (shot put/12th) and senior Ashley Petr (discus/14th), as well as senior Tejaswin Shankar (high jump) who will be competing for the first time this outdoor season.
Tuning into the Jim Click Shootout
Fans wanting to follow along with the Jim Click Combined Events (Thursday-Friday) and Jim Click Shootout (Saturday) can use the live results link provided by Finished Results (www.finishedresults.com) as well as Arizona Athletics (www.arizonawildcats.com).
Under COVID-19 and NCAA guidelines, there will be a limited number of family members of student-athletes allowed at Drachman Stadium this week. However, there will be no general public allowed at this time.
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.
Last Time Out
K-State has not competed since the Shocker Spring Invitational on March 27 at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, Kan., when the Wildcats received strong performances from their throws and distance groups.
The throws team combined for seven Top 3 finishes between the men's and women's teams in three events (discus, hammer and shot put), including a win by senior Ashley Petr in the women's discus with a mark of 54.22m/177-11. All-American Helene Ingvaldsen was the runner-up in the women's hammer with a toss of 66.22m/217-3, which boosted her up to third all-time in the school history in the event.
The Wildcats also got strong efforts from runner-up finishes from freshman Kade McCall in the men's hammer (60.43m/198-3) and senior Cameron Lewis in the men's discus (53.18m/174-6) and third-place finishes from Lewis (17.57m/57-7.75) in the shot put and junior Taylor Latimer (16.76m/55-0) in the women's shot put and senior Colin Echols (51.39m/168-7) in the men's discus.
On the track, the team got a win by junior Cara Melgares in the women's 5,00 meters with a new personal best of 17:31.58, while four runners – sophomores David Lutgen, Kerby Depenbusch, Hadley Splechter and senior Noah Stevenson – all finished in the Top 5 in the men's 5,000 meters.
Elsewhere on the track, junior Alex Ferguson paced four K-State women in the Top 5 of the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.26, which included strong efforts from sophomore Sydney Burton (3rd/2:13.10), senior Cayli Hume (4th/2:13.77) and freshman Jessica Caraway (5th/2:16.43). Junior Kassidy Johnson (4:29.51) and senior Akia Guerrier (25.54) finished third in the women's 1,500 meters and women's 200 meters, respectively.
The Wildcats also got runner-up finishes by senior Konstantina Romaiou (5.81m/19-0.75) in the women's long jump and sophomore Jesse Pinkley (4.61m/15-1.50) in the men's pole vault.
Wildcats Rank Among the Best Nationally
K-State currently has 10 athletes among the Top 40 in their respective events this outdoor season, while the Wildcats place among the Top 40 in the men's 4x100-meter relay (40.30/34th) and 4x400-meter relay (3:08.79/36th) and women's 4x400-meter relay (3:37.64/22nd).
Seniors Lauren Taubert (5,713/3rd) and Ariel Okorie (5,063/14th) and sophomore Urte Bacianskaite (4,857/21st) are among the nation's best in the heptathlon, while junior Matas Adamonis ranks third in the decathlon with 7,293. Sophomore Vitoria Alves (13.14/13th) and senior Kimisha Chambers (13.38/36th) are also highly-rated in the women's 100-meter hurdles, while the throws group of junior Taylor Latimer (shot put, 17.12m/56-2, 12th), senior Ashley Petr (discus, 55.20m/181-1, 14th) and senior Helene Ingvaldsen (hammer, 66.22m/217-3, 8th) each rank in the Top 20 of their respective event.
Other nationally-ranked athletes include Kyle Alcine (high jump, 2.11m/6-11, 38th) and Logan Wolfley (men's javelin, 70.92m/232-8, 14th).
Taubert, Okorie Lead in the Heptathlon
Seniors Lauren Taubert and Ariel Okorie will return to the track to compete in the heptathlon this weekend, ranking as two of the 16 athletes to top 5,000 points in the event this season. Taubert ranks third nationally after scoring 5,713 points at the UTSA Invitational on March 18, while Okorie totaled 5,063 at the same meet to place 14th. K-State and BYU are the only schools to have two athletes eclipse 5,000 points in the event this season.
Both have a history at the Jim Click Combined Events meet, as Taubert (5,669) and Okorie (5,516) finished second and third, respectively, in the heptathlon at the 2019 meet.
Interestingly enough, Taubert and Okorie could meet BYU's Halley Folsom (5,271/9th) and Mayci Torgerson (5,075/12th) in this weekend's competition.
Adamonis Among the Best in the Decathlon
Not to be outdone by Taubert and Okorie, junior Matas Adamonis currently boasts the third-best decathlon mark in the country after scoring 7,293 points at the UTSA Invitational on March 18. Adamonis will not compete in the decathlon this weekend, but he could compete in several events on Saturday.
Shankar Back in Action
Senior Tejaswin Shankar is expected to make his outdoor debut on Saturday in the men's high jump. He recently earned All-America honors in both the high jump and triple jump during the indoor season, including a third place finish in the high jump with a mark of 2.24m/7-4.25 to collect First Team honors. It was his third consecutive indoor All-America award in the event, matching former Wildcat Christoff Bryan's stretch from 2015-17.
This will be Shankar's first outdoor high jump competition since finishing as the runner-up at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships with a height of 2.27m/7.05.25. He won each of his three 2019 regular-season competitions in the event and earned his first Big 12 Outdoor title with mark of 2.26m/7-05.
Up Next
The Wildcats will travel to Waco, Texas on Friday-Saturday, April 16-17 for the Michael Johnson Invitational.
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