WICHITA, Kan. – The Wichita State men's and women's track and field is scheduled to compete in two meets this weekend, starting with the Sunflower Triangular on Friday, followed by hosting the Shocker Prelude on Saturday.
 
Bragging rights are on the line as the Shockers travel to Lawrence to compete against in-state rivals Kansas and Kansas State. Competition begins Friday at 3:00 p.m., with the women's weight throw. The women's mile kicks off the running events at 5:00 p.m.
 
The Sunflower Triangular will air on ESPN+, featuring analysts Dave Stewart and Taryn Tempel, as well as Caroline Wright as a field reporter.
 
Admission to the event is free, but fans are encouraged to bring canned goods that will be donated to the "Just Foods" organization, a local food bank for those in need.
 
THE SHOCKERS
Wichita State will look to win its first Sunflower Triangular title since the inception in 2015. In the inaugural showdown, the Shockers finished second and since then have placed third every year. The men's team won two events in 2018 including the 600yd (Jake Horsch) and 400m (Austin Corley). Despite not winning an event on the women's side, the Shockers came away with multiple top-3 finishes including a 2-3 finish in the long jump, second place finishes in pole vault (Alesa Frey) and shot put (Kelsey Slawson).
 
THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas entered the USTFCCCA polls at No. 9 on the men's side and No. 27 on the women's side. The Jayhawks currently have 10 marks that rank in the top-50 nationally, including four in the pole vault, two on the men's and two on the women's teams. Distance runner Sharon Lokedi is the reigning Big 12 3000m and 5000m champion, on Dec. 1 Lokedi set a school record in the 5000m with a time of 15:15.47 which is the sixth fastest in NCAA history and currently ranks No. 3 in the nation.
 
THE WILDCATS
K-State will look to repeat after winning the 2018 Sunflower Triangular by only 4.5 points. The Wildcats return 2018 outdoor high jump national champion Tejaswin Shankar who currently ranks No. 19 in the nation. The Wildcat men currently rank No. 9 in USTFCCCA pre-season polls, while the women entered at No. 28.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
123 – Number of student-athletes from the combined three teams that hail from the Sunflower state
32 – Shockers rank in the top-5 of the American Athletic Conference
23 – Amount of Shockers that rank in the top-50 nationally
14 – Wichita State all-time top-10 marks have been set in 2019
6 – All-Conference members return from the 2018 season
5 – Indoor school records are held by six current Shockers
2 – Times that K-State and KU have each won the triangular
 

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SHOCKER PRELUDE PREVIEW
 
Wichita State will host its annual Shocker Prelude Saturday in the Heskett Center. Field events kick off the competition at 11:00 a.m., with the running events beginning at 3:00 p.m.
 
A live stream will be produced by WSUtv, which will be streamed through Wichita State's Vimeo account. Live results will be streamed through MeetPro, as well as posted on the official @GoShockersTFXC twitter account.
 
Athletes from Bethany (KS), Butler County CC, Friends, McPherson and Shocker Track Club will be in competition along with Wichita State.
 
Admission to the event is $5