Spring is right around the corner, and the indoor track and field season is starting to wrap up. K-State closed out its road schedule for the indoor season this past weekend at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
The Wildcats also sent a few distance runners to compete in the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa.
Junior Morgan Wedekind competed in the 3,000-meter run on Friday, finishing with a time of 9 minutes, 43.2 seconds. Her time is the 10th best in school history.
Senior Sonia Gaskin closed out the competition in Iowa for the Wildcats in the 800-meter run. She finished 15th with a time of 2:09.37. Her finish was two seconds away from her best time.
Over the course of the weekend, the Wildcats earned three first-place finishes, broke a school record in the men’s 200-meter dash and had 10 athletes record new personal records.
K-State’s 25th-ranked men’s team highlighted the events on Friday at the Tyson Invitational.
Junior Lukas Koch represented the Wildcats on the track in the mile. Koch took the top spot with a time of 4:11.39. His time smashed his previous personal best of 4:13.38 from the DeLoss Dodds invitational.
K-State also had a strong showing in field events on Friday. Senior Brady Grunder led the way for the throwers in weight throw with a third-place finish on a throw of 64-07 1/4. Grunder’s performance also marked the fifth-best throw in school history.
Freshman Tyler Merkley also had a strong performance for K-State, setting a new personal best in weight throw with a mark of 63-03 3/4.
Long jump was well represented for both the men and the women. Senior Akela Jones recorded the second-best mark in school history on a jump of 21-05 1/4. Her jump was just four inches shy of the school record she set in the DeLoss Dodds Invitational.
For the men, senior Ifeanyichukwu Otuonye topped the competition in long jump with a mark of 25-05 1/4, the third-best jump in school history.
On Saturday, competition finished off with more top finishes and record breaking performances for K-State.
Highlighting the day from the track was sophomore sprinter Terrell Smith. After earning a previous personal best in the men’s 200-meter dash at the New Mexico Invitational, Smith topped his previous time of 21 seconds with a seventh-place finish and a time of 20.93. Smith’s performance also set a new school record for K-State.
For the distance runners, sophomore Colton Donahue’s time of 8:20.6 in the 3,000-meter run topped the competition. In the invitational section of the 3,000-meter run, junior Jeff Bachman earned a new personal record with a time of 8:37.53.
In the field, K-State women’s triple jumpers freshman Shardia Lawrence and senior Alyssa Kelly earned the seventh and eighth best spots in school history, respectively. Lawrence recorded a mark of 41-07 3/4, and Kelly set a new personal best with a jump of 41-07 1/4.
Freshman Jayce Brack rounded things out for the Wildcats in shot put, recording a personal best of his own with a throw of 53-04 1/2.
Next weekend will be the last regular season meet for K-State before the Big 12 Indoor Championships. The Wildcats will return home Feb. 26-27 to Ahearn Field House for the Steve Miller Open.
