Three Wichita State track and field athletes took first place in their respective events at the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, held on Friday and Saturday.
The men’s team finished in third place with 90.16 points and the women in ninth place with 39 points. The University of South Florida won on the men’s side with a total score of 167.5 points and on the women’s side, Tulane University finished in first place with 96 points.
Men’s team
On the men’s side, sophomore Yared Kidane took home gold in the 800-meter with a time of 1:47.55. Kidane also set the meet record with the time.
In the men’s heptathlon, senior Hudson Bailey got the gold with 5295 points. His teammates, sophomore Luke Czarnecki and freshman Rikard Trogen Hedin, got second and fourth, respectively.
The Shockers’ 4 x 400-meter relay team finished at 3:08.25, good enough for silver.
Czarnecki finished fifth in the high jump with a mark of 1.98 meters.
Sophomore Josh Parrish took the bronze in long jump with a mark of 7.41 meters, a little over half a meter from his personal best.
Senior Athan Huelskamp and sophomore Loudan Hicks got fourth and fifth in the weight throw with marks of 19.03 and 19.01 meters, respectively.
Women’s team
On the women’s side, senior Destiny Masters finished first in the high jump with a height of 1.83 meters. Freshman Kylie Scott got fourth in the pole vault with a mark of 3.87 meters.
Senior Chidera Okoro placed fourth in triple jump with a mark of 12.52 meters.
Three Shockers finished in the top eight in the pentathlon. Masters placed second with 4,065 points, sophomore Brianna Utecht got fifth after scoring 3,878 points and junior Sadie Millard finished seventh with 3,783 points.
Next up, Wichita State track and field will compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships from Friday, March 14, to Saturday, March 15. The events will be held in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
The NCAA Indoor Championships are the last event of the indoor season.
