The Kansas State women’s track and field team came very close to a repeat of the Big 12 Championship, but fell just short this past weekend in Norman, Oklahoma, placing in second behind Texas.
The men’s team finished in fourth with 85 points as Texas Tech won the meet at the John Jacobs Track and Field Complex.
“We clearly had a lot of tremendous performances,” Cliff Rovelto, director of track and field and cross country, told K-State Sports. “The thing I am most proud of is that we competed so unbelievably well across the board.
“I just think we have a special group of people who are part of the program. It’s hard to put into words just how hard the teams competed.”
There were two Wildcats who won the Big 12 Championship in their events as senior Ranae McKenzie won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.73 seconds, and senior Shardia Lawrence took home the gold in the triple jump with a distance of 13.72 meters.
Also helping in the triple jump was junior Konstantina Romaiou, who placed second (13.33 meters), and junior Taishia Pryce came home in seventh (12.90 meters).
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The women also had a good showing in the 400-meter hurdles as junior Lauren Taubert finished in second at 58.10, which is fifth all-time in K-State outdoor history.
In total on Sunday, 15 Wildcats placed in the top-five of their events and six others had runner-up finishes.
In discus, junior Ashley Petr placed second in the women’s event with a 56.32 meter throw. Senior Brett Neelly placed second in the men’s with lifetime best 57.36 meter throw.
In the women’s 4X100 meter relay, K-State had the third-fastest relay in school history as junior Akia Guerrier, senior Asha Cave, Pryce and McKenzie placed second at 44.33.
Clare Gibson placed second in the women’s high jump at 1.80 meters while McKenzie received fifth in the event.
In the men’s 200 meters, junior Jullane Walker ended in second at 20.78 and also came in fourth in the 100-meter final at 10.35.
Next up for K-State, they will compete in the NCAA West Preliminaries in Sacrament, California, May 23-25. Competitors will be announced later in the week.
Women’s Team Standings
1. Texas, 172 points
2. K-State, 156.5 points (Most in program history)
3. Oklahoma, 101.5 points
4. Texas Tech, 93 points
5. Kansas, 73.5 points
6. Iowa State, 72 points
7. Baylor, 51.5 points
8. Oklahoma State, 48 points
9. West Virginia, 27 points
10. TCU, 24 points
Men’s Team Standings
1. Texas Tech, 164 points
2. Iowa State, 126 points
3. Texas, 120.5 points
4. K-State, 85 points (Fifth most in program history)
5. Kansas, 79 points
6. Oklahoma, 75 points
7. Oklahoma State, 59.5 points
8. Baylor, 57 points
9. TCU, 53 points
