Kassanavoid Qualifies for World Championships to Highlight Wildcats Competing Internationally this Summer

MANHATTAN, Kan. – K-State men's and women's track and field athletes and alumni are enjoying strong performances on the summer competition schedule, including current volunteer assistant coach Janee' Kassanavoid who qualified for the World Championships in the women's hammer throw.

Kassanavoid, a 2018 alum and 3-time All-American (2016, 2017, 2018), competed at the USATF Outdoor Championships on July 9 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, where she claimed the bronze medal with a throw of 76.44m/250-9. She will compete next in the World Championships in Budapest from Aug. 19-27.

Kassanavoid captured the bronze medal at the 2022 World Championships.

Two other Wildcats – junior Emma Robbins and 2021 alumna Ashley Petr – also saw action at the U.S. Championships with Robbins finishing 10^th in the hammer with a throw of 68.01m/223-1, Petr placing 10^th in the discus with a toss of 53.76m/176-04.

In El Salvador the Central American and Caribbean Games took place from July 2-7, where three current Wildcats competed for their home countries, junior Kyle Gale for Barbados, junior Shalysa Wray for the Cayman Islands and sophomore Marcus Gelpi for Puerto Rico.

Gale ran as the first leg of the men's 4x400 where his team finished second with a time of 3:02.12, the fourth fastest by country this year behind Italy, Trinidad and Tobago and Kenya.

Wray ran in the women's 400 meter dash semifinals in 55.68 seconds, finishing sixth in her heat.

Gelpi competed in the men's high jump clearing a height of 2.07m/6-9.50 to finish eighth, while 2022 alum Kyle Alcine finished ahead of him in seventh place at 2.12m/6-11.50 while competing for the Bahamas.

Gelpi also competed and won the Puerto Rican Championships on June 10 clearing a height of 2.05m/6-8.75.

2022 alum T.J. Shankar competed in two decathlons in the span of a month. On Thursday (July 13) he finished third in the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand with 7,527 points. He previously competed in the Inter State Senior Nationals in Odisha, India on June 16-17 where he won with 7,576 points.

Junior Urte Bacianskaite competed for Lithuania in the European Athletics Team Championships in Chorzow, Poland from June 19-24. She threw the shot put at 14.81m/48-07.25 to finish fifth, out of 16, in the second division.

Incoming freshman Tavon Underwood won the boys 400 meter dash in 45.82 seconds at the New Balance Nationals on June 17 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia, Pa.

More Wildcats are set to compete, with Gale, sophomore Darian Clarke and junior Kade McCall ready for the North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships (NACAC) from July 21-23 in Costa Rica.

Gale and Clarke will both represent Barbados in the 400 meter and 200 meter dash, respectively, and McCall in the hammer throw for the U.S.

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.

Kansas State University Athletics

Kassanavoid Qualifies for World Championships to Highlight Wildcats Competing Internationally this Summer

Players Mentioned

Urte Bacianskaite

Darian Clarke

Kyle Gale

Marcus Gelpi

Kade McCall

Emma Robbins

Shalysa Wray

Related Videos