Kansas State’s Marcus Gelpi makes an attempt in the high jump during the Steve Miller Invitational on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, at Ahearn Fieldhouse. Gelpi won the high jump.
Kansas State’s Shalysa Wray, second from right, waits for the start of the 60-meter dash during the Steve Miller Invitational on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, at Ahearn Fieldhouse. Wray won the 60 and 200 meters.
Kansas State’s Marcus Gelpi makes an attempt in the high jump during the Steve Miller Invitational on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, at Ahearn Fieldhouse. Gelpi won the high jump.
Kansas State’s Shalysa Wray, second from right, waits for the start of the 60-meter dash during the Steve Miller Invitational on Friday, Feb. 17, 2023, at Ahearn Fieldhouse. Wray won the 60 and 200 meters.
For the final time in the building’s 72-year history, Kansas State athletes competed at Ahearn Field House, Friday, in the Steve Miller Invitational track meet.
While it was bittersweet for some, it was a successful day for the current Wildcat athletes, ending the day with 19 gold medals and a multitude of personal bests.
“For a lot of us old timers, it’s very nostalgic,” track coach Cliff Rovelto said in a written statement. “We really did a lot of reminiscing about basketball games, track meets, things that happened 40 years ago. So, it was very, very cool, very emotional day, but a lot of fun.”
K-State finished first in the men’s and women’s high jump, mile run, 300 meters, 600 yards, 800 meters and 1000 meters, the men’s pole vault and women’s 60 meters, 60-meter hurdles, 200 meters, weight throw, shot put and 4x400 meter relay.
Distance runners shined as several not only won their race, but finished with a personal best including Will Carroll (1;13.8) and Jessica Caraway (1:29.21) who finished first in their respective 600-yard race, while Matthew Hauser (2:26.45) and Grace Meyer (2:58.21) took first in the 1,000 meters.
Tommy Hazen (4:17.77) and Jack Moore (4:17.86) battled it out for first and second in the men’s mile.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Urte Bacianskaite finished second with a personal-best time of 7:47, followed right behind by Maddie Righter who finished third with a time of 8.97.
Several sprinters also had personal-bests, including Shalysa Wray who won the 60 meters (7.47) and the 200 meters (23.69).
Kyle Gale won the 300 meters (33.78) followed right behind by Nicolas-Jean Moulin (35.04).
Charlotte Cattermole-Williams won the women’s weight throw with a distance of 16.52 meters (54 feet, 2.2 inches).
Marcus Gelpi won the high jump with a height of 2.1 meters (6 feet, 2.2 inches) and Emil Uhlin won the pole vault with a height of 4.9 meters (16 feet, .75 inches).
Up next, the Wildcats will compete in the Big 12 Indoor Championships on Feb. 24-25 at Texas Tech.
“Individually, (what) our kids have control over is their own individual preparation, and a lot of them have done a nice job with that,” Rovelto said. “Each individual’s maximizing what they’re capable of doing. I think from a team perspective, we’re very, very young. That’s not an excuse, if you’re good, you’re good, but the reality is we’re young we still have a lot of growth.”
