Senior Tejaswin Shankar proved yet again he is a force to be reckoned with in the men’s high jump with a mark of 2.25m/7-4.50 to not only win the event but put himself atop the mountain as the best in meet history.
To make matters more impressive, head coach Cliff Rovelto said Shankar did it on an injured ankle.
“TJ nicked up his ankle yesterday in the long jump and wasn’t feeling great today but battled through it,” Rovelto said in a release to K-State Athletics.
Freshman Rhianna Phipps, a native of Saint Thomas, Jamaica, also climbed the rankings and finished not only first in the women’s triple jump, but broke the meet record as well with a jump of 13.52m/44-4.25. Former wildcat Shardia Lawrence held the previous record at 13.41m/44-0.00. Phipps now sits at No. 4 all-time in that event in school history.
K-State controlled the podium in the women’s triple jump as junior Anigbata Grace Chinonyelum placed second with a jump of 13.29m/43-7.25, and junior Chantoba Bright finished third with a jump of 13.28m/43-7.00. Bright also put herself in the record books with her jump. She now sits at No. 6 all-time in school history for the indoor season.
Senior Taishia Pryce also put her name in the record books with her time of 24.02 in the women’s 200 meters. Her time now ties teammate Wurrie Njadoe as fourth-best in school history.
Freshman Kyle Gale followed up his K-State record-breaking run in the men’s 400 meters last week with an impressive second-place finish in the men’s 600 yards with a time of 1:08.60.
“Kyle went out well in the 600 and ran fast but got edged out at the line,” Rovelto said.
The long-distance runners had multiple top-ten finishes at the Iowa State Classic on Saturday to add to the team’s success over the weekend.
Junior Kassidy Johnson finished fourth in the women’s mile race with a time of 4:47.67, sophomore Mike Rohlinger finished in seventh-place in the men’s mile with a time of 4:09.84 and sophomore Hadley Splechter finished in fifth-place in the men’s 3,000 meters with a time of 8:13.54.
“It’s great we are having strong performances and PR’s, but the ultimate measure is how we stack up against our conference foes individually and collectively,” Rovelto said. “I think we have athletes who can contribute in every event area and that’s what I look for in our team.”
Sophomore Sydney Burton finished in ninth in the women’s 800 meters with a time of 2:12.49 and junior Cara Melgares finished in tenth in the women’s 3,000 meters with a time of 10:14.71 to wrap up the team’s successful weekend.
The Wildcats compete in the Steve Miller Open on Friday inside Ahearn Field House. This is the team’s last meet before the Big 12 Indoor Championship on February 26-27 in Lubbock, Texas.
