K-State to Compete With 21 Athletes in NCAA West Preliminary

Jhavor Bennett during the long jump at the Big 12 Championships

K-State to Compete With 21 Athletes in NCAA West Preliminary

May 18, 2023 | Track & Field

Competition starts on Wednesday May 24 in Sacramento, Calif.

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State men's and women's track and field teams earned 21 selections to the NCAA West Preliminary, which runs from Wednesday, May 24 through Saturday May 27 at Hornet Stadium in Sacramento, Calif.

The NCAA Division I Track and Field Committee selects 48 individuals and 24 relay teams in each event to compete in the first round of the Outdoor Championships, which are divided into two preliminaries – the East and West.

In addition to the 21 selections, junior Urte Bacianskaite was also announced as a qualifier in the women's heptathlon for the NCAA Championships, which are set for June 7-10 in Austin, Texas. She will compete at the West Preliminary in the women's long jump and javelin.

At the West Preliminary, 12 Wildcats will compete in field events with five on the track along with the women's 4x400 relay team.

Three Wildcats will compete in the men's and women's hammer throw, including junior Emma Robbins and sophomore Monique Hardy in the women's competition and junior Kade McCall in the men's field. Robbins and McCall were each the runner-up in the hammer throw at the Big 12 Championships with Robbins posting the No. 7 mark with of 67.09m/220-1 and McCall at No. 12 with his toss of 68.97m/226-3. Hardy is No. 29 on the women's list with her season-best throw of 60.83m/199-7 at the Rock Chalk Classic on April 29.

Four Wildcats will compete on the track, including two sprinters and two distance runners.

Senior Shalysa Wray is set for the women's 200 meter dash after her personal-best 23.33 seconds from the Ward Haylett Invitational on May 6. In the men's 400 meter dash is junior Kyle Gale, who ran his season-best time of 46.04 seconds at the Big 12 Championships.

Junior Hannah Stewart will compete in the women's 3,000 meter steeplechase after posting the fifth-best time in school history at 10:14.79 at the Mt. SAC Relays in April. The duo of senior Stephen Kielhofner and junior Hadley Splechter will run in the men's 1,500 meters after both medaling at the Big 12 Championships with sixth- and eighth-place finishes, respectively.

Other women competing in field events include junior Shalom Olotu who will compete in both the long jump and triple jump. Olotu has the No. 8 mark in the long jump of 6.41m/21-0.5 from the Big 12 Championships, while she has the No. 41 mark in the triple jump of 12.67m/41-7 during the Michael Johnson Invitational on April 21-22.

Freshman Tamaiah Koonce will compete in the discus throw after posting the No. 27 mark of 54.12m/177-7 at the Rock Chalk Classic, while sophomore Grace Thompson will take part in the shot put after her personal best of 16.21m/53-2.25 at the Big 12 Championships.

Multiple men will compete in the field events, including the duo of sophomore Marcus Gelpi and freshman Aaron Antoine in the high jump. At the Rock Chalk Classic, Gelpi cleared his season-best height of 2.12m/6-11.5, while Antoine cleared his personal best of 2.11m/6-11 during the Big 12 Championships. Freshman Jhavor Bennett will take part in the long jump after posting a new personal-best mark of 7.57m/24-10 at the Big 12 Championships.

Juniors Jesse Pinkley and Joe Placek will compete in the pole vault and javelin, respectively. Pinkley cleared his best pole vault height of 5.14m/16-10.25 during the Ward Haylett Invitational in early May. Placek medaled in the javelin at the Big 12 Championships with his personal best coming from the start of the season at the UTSA Invitational (March 17-18) at 65.68m/215-6.

Bacianskaite will compete in the first round in the women's long jump and javelin throw. She ranks No. 36 in the long jump after her season-best mark of 6.17m/20-3 at the Ward Haylett Invitational, while she places No. 44 in the javelin with a distance of 47.39m/155-6 during the Emporia State Relays (March 23-25).

How to follow the 'Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team's social media channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.