SE: Inside the Moments That Made the Big 12 Outdoor Track & Field Championship
May 17, 2021 | Track & Field, Sports Extra
By: Austin Siegel
1 - This weekend was always going to be both a starting block and a finish line.
For K-State athletes with NCAA and Olympic ambitions, it's the first meet of a summer filled with them, as NCAA Regionals, the NCAA Championship and Olympic Trials loom.
For those still climbing the ranks in the conference, it was a chance to test themselves against some of the best athletes in the nation.
2 - Logan Wolfley knows something about both of those feelings. The Silver Lake native had never finished higher than fourth at the conference meet in the Javelin Throw.
At the regional meet, the competition has been even steeper.
"Every time I've been to the Regional meet, I've gotten like third-to-last-place," Wolfley said. "It's an awesome meet to compete at, but I'm always a little salty about it when I leave because I know that I have more in me."
3 - On Friday night in Manhattan, the guy who finished 43rd at the 2019 NCAA Regional in the Javelin went out and won the Big 12.
He was competing in front of a hometown crowd, which might sound like a bit of a cliché, but we're talking about folks who brought hand-made signs to support Wolfley.
4 - The senior launched a 73.08m/239-9 throw on his fifth attempt to clinch the event, breaking a school record that has stood since 2002.
He became the first Wildcat in school history to win a Big 12 title in the Men's Javelin.
"In warmups, I had a really good throw and then I also hit a really deep throw but I fell over the toe line so that didn't count. So, I knew I had it in me, I just had to do it legally," Wolfley said. "So that was the hardest part, 'Okay, I just did it now, let's do it again and make it count. Make it official.'"
5 - Tejaswin Shankar, a former Big 12 & NCAA champion in the Men's High Jump, didn't have quite as much to prove this weekend. But one of the biggest stars on the Wildcats still delivered one of the most dramatic moments of the Big 12 Championship.
6 - Competing in the High Jump, Shankar and Oklahoma's Vernon Turner were in a dual for the conference title as the only competitors to clear 7-0 ½ on Saturday.
Turner nailed every jump on his first try while Shankar had one miss when both jumpers arrived at their last attempt at 7-4 ½.
After Turner cleared his final jump, Shankar would need a season-best leap at 7-5 ¾ to avoid losing on the attempt tiebreaker.
7 - "It was make or break. I knew I'd be second if I didn't make it," Shankar said. "But you have to take risks in such big competitions with big people, tough competitors."
One attempt, essentially sudden-death at a height he hadn't cleared all season - and Shankar nailed it.
When Turner went out on his next three attempts, Shankar was a Big 12 champion once again.
"I think the last time I competed to such a cheer was in Eugene when I won the national title my freshman year," he said. "To have the same kind of reception, or even more than that, and the people behind me were the people I knew. I knew everybody's face. That just made my day really special, and I can't really complain about anything."
8 - Around the time Shankar was dueling for the Big 12 crown, Taylor Latimer was preparing for a coronation in the Women's Shot Put.
At the R.V. Christian Track Complex, the crowd is right on top of the shot-put arena, creating an atmosphere unlike any other event at the Big 12 Championship. That was just fine with Latimer, who used a season-best throw of 17.73m/58-2 to win her second-straight Big 12 title.
"You can't lose your own title in your own arena," she said. "To win it at home with the fans and the support system, it was electrifying. It was probably the most hyped track meet I've been at my whole life."
9 - Latimer's throw nearly broke her own personal best and a school record. It was more than enough claim the third Big 12 title of the weekend for the Wildcats.
10 - She also hit on something that was a common thread throughout the weekend. For the first time in 14 months, K-State hosted fans at full capacity.
It was the kind of atmosphere that's been missing from outdoor athletic event in Manhattan since the fall of 2019.
Whether you were a K-State athlete trying to bring home a conference title or just looking to compete against yourself, that made it a championship weekend worth remembering.
"I definitely was shaking. I was nervous. My last throw, I knew just to have fun a little bit," Latimer said. "You can hear everybody yelling for you. It's a lot. It's like, 'Ok, relax a little bit.'"
1 - This weekend was always going to be both a starting block and a finish line.
For K-State athletes with NCAA and Olympic ambitions, it's the first meet of a summer filled with them, as NCAA Regionals, the NCAA Championship and Olympic Trials loom.
For those still climbing the ranks in the conference, it was a chance to test themselves against some of the best athletes in the nation.
2 - Logan Wolfley knows something about both of those feelings. The Silver Lake native had never finished higher than fourth at the conference meet in the Javelin Throw.
At the regional meet, the competition has been even steeper.
"Every time I've been to the Regional meet, I've gotten like third-to-last-place," Wolfley said. "It's an awesome meet to compete at, but I'm always a little salty about it when I leave because I know that I have more in me."
3 - On Friday night in Manhattan, the guy who finished 43rd at the 2019 NCAA Regional in the Javelin went out and won the Big 12.
Record setting night. #KStateTF x @LoganWolfley pic.twitter.com/59p3UoNY8D
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) May 15, 2021
He was competing in front of a hometown crowd, which might sound like a bit of a cliché, but we're talking about folks who brought hand-made signs to support Wolfley.
4 - The senior launched a 73.08m/239-9 throw on his fifth attempt to clinch the event, breaking a school record that has stood since 2002.
He became the first Wildcat in school history to win a Big 12 title in the Men's Javelin.
"In warmups, I had a really good throw and then I also hit a really deep throw but I fell over the toe line so that didn't count. So, I knew I had it in me, I just had to do it legally," Wolfley said. "So that was the hardest part, 'Okay, I just did it now, let's do it again and make it count. Make it official.'"
5 - Tejaswin Shankar, a former Big 12 & NCAA champion in the Men's High Jump, didn't have quite as much to prove this weekend. But one of the biggest stars on the Wildcats still delivered one of the most dramatic moments of the Big 12 Championship.
6 - Competing in the High Jump, Shankar and Oklahoma's Vernon Turner were in a dual for the conference title as the only competitors to clear 7-0 ½ on Saturday.
Turner nailed every jump on his first try while Shankar had one miss when both jumpers arrived at their last attempt at 7-4 ½.
After Turner cleared his final jump, Shankar would need a season-best leap at 7-5 ¾ to avoid losing on the attempt tiebreaker.
7 - "It was make or break. I knew I'd be second if I didn't make it," Shankar said. "But you have to take risks in such big competitions with big people, tough competitors."
One attempt, essentially sudden-death at a height he hadn't cleared all season - and Shankar nailed it.
🐰🐰🐰🐰#KStateTF x @TejaswinShankar pic.twitter.com/wyoGfhJWw2
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) May 15, 2021
When Turner went out on his next three attempts, Shankar was a Big 12 champion once again.
"I think the last time I competed to such a cheer was in Eugene when I won the national title my freshman year," he said. "To have the same kind of reception, or even more than that, and the people behind me were the people I knew. I knew everybody's face. That just made my day really special, and I can't really complain about anything."
8 - Around the time Shankar was dueling for the Big 12 crown, Taylor Latimer was preparing for a coronation in the Women's Shot Put.
At the R.V. Christian Track Complex, the crowd is right on top of the shot-put arena, creating an atmosphere unlike any other event at the Big 12 Championship. That was just fine with Latimer, who used a season-best throw of 17.73m/58-2 to win her second-straight Big 12 title.
💣 squad went crazy #KStateTF x @latimer_2017 pic.twitter.com/VSEL3vvv0A
— K-State Track (@KStateTFXC) May 15, 2021
"You can't lose your own title in your own arena," she said. "To win it at home with the fans and the support system, it was electrifying. It was probably the most hyped track meet I've been at my whole life."
9 - Latimer's throw nearly broke her own personal best and a school record. It was more than enough claim the third Big 12 title of the weekend for the Wildcats.
10 - She also hit on something that was a common thread throughout the weekend. For the first time in 14 months, K-State hosted fans at full capacity.
It was the kind of atmosphere that's been missing from outdoor athletic event in Manhattan since the fall of 2019.
Whether you were a K-State athlete trying to bring home a conference title or just looking to compete against yourself, that made it a championship weekend worth remembering.
"I definitely was shaking. I was nervous. My last throw, I knew just to have fun a little bit," Latimer said. "You can hear everybody yelling for you. It's a lot. It's like, 'Ok, relax a little bit.'"
Players Mentioned
K-State Men's Basketball | Postgame Press Conference at Colorado
Thursday, February 26
K-State Rowing | Media Day
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Rowing | Weights Practice
Tuesday, February 24
K-State Tennis | Weekend Recap vs Old Dominion & Minnesota
Tuesday, February 24
