Keep Pushing the Barrier

By: D. Scott Fritchen

The young man in the white tank-top with "Wildcats" written in purple script across the chest, the young man standing inside the Kansas State Indoor Track & Field Complex and yelling in victory, that's freshman Tavon Underwood. He's the prodigy. The young man jogging about 10 yards away, heading toward Underwood and joining Eugene Omalla and Jaimie Omalla in celebration, that's senior Kyle Gale. He's the mentor.

Together, the four sprinters at the DeLoss Dodds Invitational have just accomplished something nobody has achieved in the history of K-State track and field. Their men's 4x400 relay team, featuring Underwood as the anchor, finished with a time of 3:04.84, setting a school record and beating the previous time of 3:09.89 set in 1989.

Their time currently ranks No.2 in the Big 12 Conference – behind only Texas – and No. 12 in the NCAA.

Incredible.

"This school record was a long time in the making," Gale says. "We're setting a new standard. I knew we could do it. When we broke the record, I was like, 'It's time to get another one.'"

Gale ran the second leg of the race and was in third place when he received the baton from Eugene Omalla. No matter. Gale quickly surged to first place by the time he handed the baton to Jaimie Omalla, who ran the third leg in the historic race.

"I just turned on the gears and hit the gas," Gale says, "and the rest is history."

Jaimie Omalla passed the baton to Underwood, the anchor, and there was nobody in front of the freshman, but Underwood knew dangerous Texas Tech was on his heels. Could he do it? Would he do it?

"There was a lot of pressure at first," Underwood says. "I was definitely ready for it. I was proud to take on my role. I was honored to be in that position. I knew it was up to me to bring it home."

When Underwood crossed the finish line, after celebrating with his teammates, he peered at the scoreboard. It read, "3:04.84." He instantly knew its significance.

"That was the plan all along," Underwood says. "We have a group chat called, 'Project Break the School Record,' and that conversation began way back. We knew we had the possibility to break the school record."

For Gale, the quest to achieve greatness arrived during his recruiting process when he spoke with K-State head coach Cliff Rovelto, one of the preeminent track and field coaches in the world.

"Coach Rovelto said that he had a dream to rebuild the 4x400 program," Gale says. "I took a liking to that dream because I wanted to be a part of a legacy and the start of something great. That's what drew me to K-State."

Gale, a native of Bridgetown, Barbados, arrived at K-State after dominating the international circuit. He was a BSSAC Triple Gold Medalist, a three-time CARIFTA Games Medalist, a 2019 Pan Am Juniors finalist, and a 2019 NACAC Games Silver Medalist.

For four years now, he's worn a K-State jersey while blazing a path, going as far as the 2022 NCAA Outdoor West Preliminaries in the 400 meters.

He still has plenty more left in the tank, setting the K-State all-time record with a time of 46.15 seconds in the 400 meters at the Dodds Invitational.

"I didn't come to this university to dominate the Big 12, but to also be the fastest 400-meter runner ever produced by this program," Gale says. "Now it's time to keep pushing the barrier to see how fast I can go."

Gale has witnessed a young man push the barriers since his arrival on campus this summer. Underwood, a native of Longmont, Colorado, was dominating the Centennial State this time last year. He captured the Colorado 4A 2023 state championship in the 200, 400 and 800 meters, and his 400-meter dash time of 45.36 ranks No. 1 all-time in the state of Colorado.

"He's one of the more talented athletes to come to K-State off of natural talent," Gale says.

Most recently, Underwood competed in the 600 yards for the first time at the Dodds Invitational and his time of 1:09.32 ranks top-10 all-time in school history.

"I was kind of disappointed because I finished second place in that race," Underwood says. "I was actually satisfied with the time and to finish in the top-10 was great. I definitely want to run the 600 yards again."

Where does that confidence come from?

"I don't know if it's confidence as much as it just stems from my willingness to take on challenges," Underwood says. "I'm always willing to try something and put my best foot forward, and that mostly comes from my dad and the way I was raised. I was always raised on assertiveness and doing what you're doing at your full potential."

Which is precisely what Underwood showed during his celebrated high school career in Colorado.

"Last January, K-State started recruiting me and my times weren't as good as they ended up being by the end of the season, so I didn't receive as many offers as I wanted to," Underwood says. "I still was recruited by some good schools, but Kansas State was with me from the beginning, and they were always interested in me. They were most willing to invest in me at that time before I began running spectacular times.

"I started getting looks, but I stuck with K-State. They had always been interested. I didn't want to let them down."

Soon after his arrival in Manhattan, Underwood met Gale face-to-face for the first time. They've been mentor and mentee ever since.

"Kyle is mentoring me and some of the other freshmen, and he's helped us to overcome some of the struggles that happen your freshman year," Underwood says. "He's given us foresight on how to get past some of these struggles that you go through as a freshman. He's been through it all. He has that wisdom and he's passing it down to us. He's been great.

"He seems very happy and excited for the future of the team even if he's not going to be a part of it. He wants to see it grow and blossom years down the road."

Gale is more than happy to provide guidance.

"I take all my guys under my wing, however, I still need them to find themselves," Gale says. "So even though, yes, I'm here for advice, I still want you to find who is Tavon Underwood. I want Tavon to be able to do that — find out who he is. I didn't have that when I came to K-State. I had to find myself on my own."

On February 3, the mentor and prodigy found themselves together, linked in K-State history, as a part of the greatest 4x400 relay team in the history of the school.

"We won," Underwood says, "and setting the record was the cherry on top."

Gale and Underwood hope there are many more wins to come this year.

"Wearing the K-State jersey is indescribable," Gale says. "Whenever I put on the jersey, it's like, 'Yeah, this is who we represent.' The sense of pride is boundless. I will carry this jersey as high as I can until I can no more."

Kansas State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kyle Gale

Eugene Omalla

Jaimie Omalla

Tavon Underwood

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