Running with a Sense of Honor

By: D. Scott Fritchen

When he was in the seventh grade, Nen Matlock ran the 400-meter dash in 56.0 seconds. He thought that was outstanding. In the eighth grade, he ran it in 50.0 seconds. Now he thought he had a chance to go places. But it was during his sophomore year at Mill Valley High School in Shawnee, Kansas, when Matlock won the 2021 KSHSAA 5A 400-meter and 800-meter state championships, that he not only further opened his eyes — but those eager eyes of colleges across the country.

Michigan came calling his junior year. Other schools followed. They didn't know that Matlock was a Kansas State fan, or that he'd travel to K-State to visit his older sister, or that he had long admired the K-State track and field program from afar. There was a calling, a purple calling, a beckoning to remain "home," less than two hours away from his parents, the young boy growing into a young man, representing himself, his family, his school and his home state while chasing his dream — to be the best that he could be.

"I never knew I'd come to K-State to compete in track," he says. "It feels good to represent my home state. Being a part of the K-State team and now being known as one of the top track teams in the country, it feels really good to be a part of all of this."

Matlock and a few of his friends certainly made their mark at the Big 12 Indoor Track and Field Championships last Saturday in Lubbock, Texas. It was freshman Heath Grant, senior Bongumusa Nkosi, junior Tavon Underwood, and Matlock, the junior, quick off the block in the first leg, the first one out of the gate, the engine on the K-State men's 4x400 relay team, which put together its best race of the season with a time of 3:05.59 to capture the Big 12 Championship.

It was electric. It was exactly what K-State needed. And the 4x400 relay team, which put up a time of 3:05.96 — previously the third-fastest indoor relay time in K-State history — at the Steve Miller Invitational on February 20, completed its indoor season in style.

"There's a feeling at the Big 12 Championships that you know you're here with so many talented athletes and you're here to compete at the highest level," Matlock says. "It's a very special feeling. Going into the race, we knew we were down 10 points to Texas Tech. We needed to win and Tech needed to finish ninth place. I needed to put our team in a good spot.

"Then Tech fell down. We were in first place. There was an emotional feeling because we knew we'd win the 4x400. Once Tavon crossed the finish line, we were like, 'We did what we needed to do — we won.' It was a great feeling."

Matlock has been on 4x400 relay teams before. As a freshman, he medaled in the 4x400 relay as K-State finished runner-up with a time of 3:05.03 at the Big 12 Indoor Championships. However, his sophomore year the 4x400 relay team finished with a time of 3:11.63 for 11^th place at the Big 12 Indoor Championships.

This 4x400 relay team in 2026 was unique. Matlock and Underwood were the veteran returners while Nkosi and Grant were new.

"We have great chemistry," Matlock says. "We have a lot of trust in each other and faith that we can do our job and run fast as a team. The second meet of the season, Coach Clark said, 'Nen, Heath, Bongumusa and Tavon — you four guys are on the team.' We practiced pretty much every day. It's been days and days and weeks practicing."

Matlock says there's no "captain" of the team. But he is honored to be the first racer out to set the tone for the Wildcats.

"The first leg has a very big responsibility to get the team into a good spot to compete," he says. "You have to run off the block, down and up the bank, and beat the other team. There's a sense of honor in starting things off. It all depends on you."

Matlock not only led the 4x400 relay team, but he also ran a season-best 46.42 seconds in the 400 meters at the Big 12 Championships, topping 400 meters that he ran in 46.55 seconds at the Tyson Invitational on February 14.

"The 400 is one of my favorite events ever since the seventh grade," he says. "I've ran the 400 meters for about eight years now."

Now he's a Big 12 Champion along with the rest of the 4x400 relay team.

And there's more to come.

"I've had a lot of fun being a part of this team," he says. "This team is very special. We did what we wanted to do, and that's get first place in the 4x400 in the Big 12 Championships. Now we're looking forward to the outdoor season.

"We can definitely be a top five relay team in the country."

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Heath Grant

Nen Matlock

Bongumusa Nkosi

Tavon Underwood

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