On Friday, April 24, the K-State track and field teams kicked off their first full day of competition at the Drake Relays, held at Drake Stadium. The Wildcats took part in the university division, with several athletes also earning spots in the championship division for select field events.
K-State shone in relay action, including the men’s 4×100 team securing a spot in Saturday’s final by finishing as runner-up with a time of 40.12 seconds. The squad consisted of sophomore Uroy Ryan, freshman Jack Guthridge, junior Nen Matlock, and junior Tah Chikomba.
Both squads turned in top-5 efforts in the 4×800 relay. The men took 4th place in 7:26.41, powered by freshmen Vance Krudwig and Dylan Plath, senior Julian Avila, and sophomore Jackson Steger. The women placed 5th in 8:45.10, thanks to freshmen Anna Pozdeeva, Delaney Brinker, and Emma Baum, along with junior Angi Pondler.
In the women’s 4×1600 relay, four distance runners senior Cecilia Fisher, freshman Bree Allen, junior Paige Baker, and freshman Hanna Keltner combined for a time of 20:11.17, marking the program’s first appearance in the event.
Two Wildcats captured individual event wins on the track: senior Jourdin Edwards claimed the women’s 400-meter hurdles in 58.15 seconds, and junior Tavon Underwood took the men’s 400 meters in 46.07 seconds.
Sophomore Brock Olsen, competing in his first 10,000-meter race, finished 4th overall with a time of 29:59.85—now the ninth-fastest mark in K-State history.
Senior Kayla Goodwin excelled in two field events: she was runner-up in the triple jump championship division with a leap of 12.67m (47′ 8″) and placed 5th in the university long jump with a mark of 5.81m (19′ 0.75″).
The Wildcats will close out the Drake Relays on Saturday, April 25, beginning with the men’s long jump university/college division at 11 a.m. They will then take to the track at 11:55 a.m. for the women’s 100-meter shuttle hurdle relays.
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