Track and field
Wichita State took the turnpike to Topeka to compete at the Ichabod Invitational hosted by Washburn University from Friday, Feb. 14, to Saturday, Feb. 15. The Shockers earned 17 podium finishes at the invitational.
Wichita State swept the distance medley relays across the board with first-place finishes from the men and women.
Sophomores Holden Atwood and Trace Spires along with freshman Jonah Allison and junior Cesar Ramirez took the distance medley relays with a time of 10:11.49. The Shockers edged out Colorado Mesa University by four-hundredths of a second in a photo finish.
Junior Lea Jerkovic, redshirt freshman Lexi Gagnon and seniors Jenna Muma and Audrey Parson took first place with a time of 12:07.09.
Both the Shockers’ men and women took first place in the 4×400 relay with their “A squads,” with the men setting a new school record.
The men finished first with a time of 3:10.6. The group consisted of seniors Joakim Genereux and Hudson Bailey and sophomore twins Jason and Josh Parrish. Josh also won the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.78.
Senior Sydney Brown, Parson, Gagnon and junior Sadie Millard took the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:45.57.
Senior Destiny Masters won gold in the women’s high jump with a mark of 5.86 meters.
At the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Friday, Feb. 15, sophomore Yared Kidane took 14th in the 800-meter race.
Track and field will once again be in Fayetteville to compete in the Arkansas Qualifier hosted by the University of Arkansas on Friday, Feb. 21. This will be the last meet of the indoor regular season before the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
Men’s tennis
Wichita State men’s tennis split its Friday and Sunday matches at the Genesis Health Center on Rock Road against Boise State University and the University of Denver.
The Shockers lost to Boise State but beat Denver. Wichita State has a season record of 3-5 after this weekend.
Against Boise State, the Shockers took their third 4-3 loss in a row. WSU lost the doubles point 2-1 as junior Luke Bracks and freshman Ilias Worthington were the only Shockers to win a court. Sophomore Vanja Hodzic and freshman Amir Milushev couldn’t win the decider, 7-5.
Wichita State only managed three courts in singles as Hodzic lost in two sets, 4-6, 6(2)-7(6). Worthington and Bracks took their courts in two sets.
On Sunday, the Shockers ended their three-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over Denver.
Trading 6-2 victories against each other on the doubles court, Hodzic and Milushev again played the decider but couldn’t avenge their loss from Friday afternoon.
In a gentleman’s sweep of the singles stage, Wichita State took five of six courts. Junior Kristof Minarik took the only loss in two sets.
Men’s tennis will travel to San Antonio, Texas, to play against the University of the Incarnate Word on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Women’s bowling
Wichita State women’s bowling beat the top three teams in the country en route to a win at the Mid-Winter Invitational in Jonesboro, Arkansas, from Friday to Sunday. This leaves the Shockers with a record of 60-28.
Despite a 4-5 record going into the playoff stage, the Shockers went through three straight ranked opponents, taking down No. 1 University of Nebraska–Lincoln, sweeping No. 2 Vanderbilt University and beating the reigning NCAA champion, Jacksonville State University, ranked No. 3.
Junior Paige Wagner took second in average pins per game with 239 and earned an All-Tournament team nod.
Women’s bowling will roll its way into Lincoln, Nebraska, to play in the Big Red Invite hosted by Nebraska from Friday, Feb. 21, to Sunday, Feb. 23.
