MANHATTAN, Kan. – Both Wichita State track and field squads won all three dual meet competitions and took home the team championships at the Ward Haylett Invitational on Saturday. Wichita State put together its best showing of the outdoor season so far with a complete team effort to defeat Kansas State, Kansas, and Air Force. Altogether, Wichita State took home five first place finishes and 24 more top three finishes throughout the day.
Kelvin Busienei, Jonathan Duvall, Ebiessa Nyandwi, Sidney Hirsch, the men's 4x400-meter relay team, and Weston Cottrell all took top spots in their respective events.
Busienei won the 800-meter run with a time of 1:49.58. The senior set a new personal best 800-meter race and the sub-1:50 time ranks first in the MVC with one week to go before the MVC Outdoor Championships. Busienei edged out second place finisher Brendan Soucie of Kansas by 12-hundredths of a second to earn the victory.
Duvall posted the top 400-meter hurdles time of the day with a time of 51.51 seconds. The time was the fastest time by more than two seconds and ranks atop of the MVC. The freshman set a new personal best with that time and has won two 400-meter hurdles races so far during his first outdoor season.
Nyandwi and Hirsch earned the two wins for the women. Nyandwi won the women's 5,000-meter run with a time of 17:26.20. Her final time was more than 16 seconds faster than second place finisher Grace Morgan of Kansas. Hirsch competed in her first 3,000-meter steeple chase race and posted the sixth best 3K steeplchase time in Shocker history. The freshman from Omaha, Neb. finsihed with a time of 10:55.15.
The men's 4x400-meter relay team of Mike Flores, Colton Mays, DJ Lindsay, and Cody Scheck posted a winning time of 3:11.92. The time ranks fourth in the Valley.
Weston Cottrell earned his first win of his sophomore campaign by recording the top throwing distance in the men's hammer event. Cottrell's winning throw measured 195'-5'', more than five feet farther than all other competitors. Cottrell set a new personal best by five inches and ranks fourth in the MVC with the new distance.
Robbie Martinez-Garcia, Shazz Michael Lindo, Shamoya Pruitt, and Meagan Williams highlighted the second place finishes for Wichita State.
Garcia ran a 1,500-meter race in 3:52.74, which is a new personal best. The second place finish for Garcia is the best finish this season for the senior.
Lindo, the MVC indoor triple jump champion took second as well in the men's triple jump event. Lindo's best jump measured 49'-1 ¾'', the best jump of the season for the Sophomore and currently is the best triple jump recorded in the MVC.
Pruitt took second in the women's 100-meter dash after winning the same event at the Oregon relays a week ago. Prutt's time stopped at 11.96 seconds.
Williams' javelin throw landed at the 146' mark, which moves her up to No. 2 the MVC in the javelin-throwing event and also marks a new personal best.
Ethan Pearson took fourth in the men's pole vault but set a new personal best in the process with a clearance of 16'-10 ¾'', which now is the top height recorded in the MVC to date.
