Assistant track and field director John Wise, Seniors Alesa Frey and Cory Martens, fielded questions Tuesday afternoon, on the 2019 season and the upcoming American Athletic Conference Championships in Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 22-23.
 

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ASSISTANT TRACK AND FIELD DIRECTOR JOHN WISE ON...

...opening statements
"We went to three meets last week, Pitt State, Arkansas and Washington, it was really good overall and had a lot of good results. We had some high level performances, Sidney Sapp jumped the No. 12 mark in the nation, she's also the No. 2 freshman in the nation. For someone to have immediate great success, that's really exciting for her to be doing so well. Cory Martens has had a solid season all year, he didn't throw his best this past weekend but he's still ranked first in the conference. He's been a terrific addition to our team and I know he's excited to improve on his shot put."

...Pitt State:
"Most of our team competed and we had a lot of really good performances, our relays ran for just about the first time. We've moved up in the conference performance rankings in the relays, I think we are going to have good DMR's and good 4x400m's at the conference meet. Taniyah McMillian ran really well, almost broke our school record in the 200m."

...women's team:
"A lot of the younger girls on the team are doing really well, we've got a few upperclassmen like Alesa Frey in the pole vault and Kelsey Slawson in the shot put who has been very consistent. Every week you know what you're going to get with them and know Alesa has been one of the top performers in the conference for many years and we are expecting her to have a great senior year and she looks like she's having the best consistent year she's ever had."

...what the men and women have to do to contend:
"We need to focus on us because there are so many teams. Last year on the men's side we felt that way with Houston and then Memphis had a great meet and they beat us, we need to focus on us. Somewhere in the 90-100 point range is going to win the meet, so we look at it as how are we going to score 90-100 points. Obviously, we need our top athletes to do their jobs, for us to have any chance of winning our top athletes have to go there and perform where they are at on the conference list. For us to win, we need those athletes that are maybe placed 10th or 11th to finish 7th or 8th because those one or two points at the end are going to make a difference."
 

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SENIOR POLE VAULTER ALESA FREY ON...

...the team culture:
"Wichita State track and field has a culture and has a championship tradition type of thing and you can still feel that. In my five years, it has never changed, even last year through our mass redshirt season even though there was hardly any hope because we redshirted everybody we still gave it our all. I'm excited to go into this championship and know that there's a chance, last year was a little hard to swallow."

...mindset heading into a big meet:
"In the pole vault it's a little bit different, we go through progressions and we don't get three jumps to go as high as we can. The biggest thing is worrying about that opening bar, then it's a step by step process. Pat said it best the other day, "It's not about how high you jump, if you win it, you win it." We are all out here to get PR's, but if you win it you're helping your team. Progressing through the bars is the biggest focus. We look at sheets all the time with how we're ranked going into this, but as a fifth-year veteran I know that those don't mean anything because it takes a whole season to get put onto those sheets but at the conference meet it's going to be what you jump that day."

...watching throwers Isaiah Evans and Cory Martens compete:
"As a teammate, it is awesome watching them. Normally you have your No. 1 thrower and your No. 2 thrower, with those two guys you never know. One becomes the No. 1 and the next weekend the other becomes the No. 1, it's back and forth and I think it's awesome watching them throw together."

...competing for the team:
"Coming out of my senior year in high school, I had the opportunity to play basketball, softball and track, do whatever I wanted to do. I chose track because I thought it was going to be a more individual sport, that being said Wichita State track and field is not an individual sport and I absolutely love it. I'm competing for myself, but I'm also competing for the Shockers and it makes me push myself even harder."

SENIOR THROWER CORY MARTENS ON...

...mindset heading into a big meet:
"I think you have to focus on yourself honestly...for example, if I'm going into the shot put ring and I'm more concerned about beating someone else, then I'm not thinking about the things that I should be thinking about like my cues, how I need to push the ball and how I need to enter it. When I'm not thinking about the right things it's going to have more of a dramatic effect than what a lot of people would consider happening. Throughout the whole season it doesn't matter if you have multiple PR's, everyone walks into that ring on the same level. There is no advantage of being ranked No. 1 or No. 16, it doesn't matter. If you go in there with the right mentality, good things will come."

...training with Isaiah Evans:
"It's nice to have a great group that pushes you, whether it is in the weight room or in the ring but with Isaiah he's a great competitor. He's always pushing me and I'm always pushing him, it's going back and forth. It's awesome to see the potential that we both have."

...wanting to transfer to Wichita State:
"I originally wanted to come to Wichita State out of high school, finances at the time didn't line up. When I was graduating from Chadron State, I had known that Wichita State was a huge track program and always was competing for conference championships and I wanted to be a part of that. I knew the coaching staff and I wanted to spend my last season of eligibility here."

...how's it been since he's been here:
"It's better than what I've thought. From day one I was really impressed with the culture here that everyone is going to bust their butt every week. When week one came around at Iowa, it brought me back to the mentality and excitement of that week one in football, I haven't quite experienced that and to see the teams excited to compete was pretty special.