The Basics
            The Shockers get one last chance to sharpen their skills and get some repetitions in Friday before the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships on Feb. 28-29.
            Some of the squad is getting a week off in preparation for the conference meet and the others head to the Arkansas Qualifier in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the first trip to Arkansas this year for everyone except for the throws group who had a handful of athletes in the Natural State last week.
 
FOLLOW THE MEET
            Fans can follow along with updates on Twitter @GoShockersTFXC. A full recap of each day will be posted on Twitter, Facebook and GoShockers.com.
            Live results can be found at this link: https://flashresults.com/2020_Meets/Indoor/02-21_ARKQualifier/
 
Meet Schedule
            The Arkansas Qualifier is a one-day meet that kicks off at 1:45 p.m. with field events. The men's shot put kicks off the day of competition.
            Running events start at 4:30 p.m. with the 60-meter hurdles prelims. Throughout the day on the track, the men will compete in events first and the women's sections will follow.
 
Last Time Out
            The men's and women's track and field teams were at three different meets. The majority of the team was at the Gorilla Classic, but some distance runners were at the Iowa State Classic and a handful of throwers were at the Tyson Invitational.
            Antonio Norman and Joseph Holthusen continued their impressive seasons in the hurdles. Norman ran a 7.93 in the 60-meter hurdle finals at the Gorilla Classic. Holthusen ran 7.96 in the same race. Norman's time sent him into fourth place on the Shockers' top-10 list in the event and Holthusen moved into a tie for sixth on the all-time performance list.
            Alex Adams threw the weight throw at the Tyson Invitational and PRd again in the event. Adams tossed the weight 18.70m/61-4.25 for a second consecutive weekend with a PR in the event. She improved on her No. 3 mark in school history.
            Jacque Darby came close to jumping six meters in the long jump at the Gorilla Classic with a jump of 5.97m/19-7. She improved her PR from the Air Force Team Challenge by six centimeters and is just three centimeters from becoming the seventh Shocker woman to jump six meters.
            Adam Moore impressed in Iowa with a 4:06.71 Mile time to drop his Shocker PR and put himself at ninth in school history.
 
Assistant Director of Track and Field John Wise on the Meet
On the goals and expectations for this weekend
"We've had a variety of different meets in the week before the conference meet. Arkansas is close and it's probably one of the fastest tracks in the world because of how banked it is. It's a higher bank than Birmingham. It's a good competition and it's quick. We've had success in the past and we're able to get things done with the group that goes there. A lot of kids are taking the week off. The focus is to do what's best for each kid to get ready for the conference championships."
 
On how training changes in off weeks
"In a lot of groups, the volume goes down. Instead of a two-hour practice session, it becomes a one-hour session. Kids are still training, but it's short and quick. That's just as valuable as going to a track meet because for some of the kids have been competing week after week, and we have to measure their fatigue."
 
On building the conference roster
"We've been looking at it for weeks. We look at it as we have a certain number of people already going, but we're also looking at it going through this week. We might have 10 people for eight sports or three people for two spots. With every race, we are analyzing what the roster will look like. We'll make our final decision Monday morning after we discuss and decide. It's all about taking kids who can score points. We analyze that from every way to get as many points and place as high as we can in the conference meet."
 
Pushing Each Other Up the Record Book
            Joseph Holthusen and Antonio Norman have been a strong duo for the Shockers in the 60-meter hurdles this indoor season.
            Holthusen came into the year as a returner and had proven success in the hurdles in his time with Wichita State. Antonio Norman, on the other hand, came into the program over the summer from Lindenwood University, a Division II school. Norman, however, was a force at the DII level.
            Since the beginning of the year, Holthusen and Norman have pushed each other resulting in both athletes putting up impressive times in the hurdles.
            Norman ran 7.93 in the 60-meter hurdles last weekend to capture put himself at No. 4 on the Wichita State indoor performance list. Holthusen ran a 7.96 to tie for sixth on the Shocker performance list.
            Norman and Holthusen figure to be factors at the conference meet.
 
2020: The Personal Best Fest
            To open the new year, the Wichita State track and field teams have posted 117 personal-best performances.
            Alex Adams has set personal bests in back-to-back weeks in the weight throw. Her newest PR was set at the Tyson Invitational at the University of Arkansas. She tossed the weight 18.70m/61-4.25 for a 10-centimeter personal best.
            Jacque Darby PRd in the long jump by 11 centimeters on Feb. 7. She used the performance to win the event at the Air Force Team Challenge and move to No. 9 in school history in the event indoors.
            Darby then jumped 5.97m/19-7 for another personal best in the long jump. Her mark put her within three centimeters of becoming the seventh Shocker woman to jump six meters.
            Rebekah Topham ran her third PR of the year at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational. This time around, she PRd in the Mile by nearly half of a second. Her time improves her No. 3 mark in school history. Her time of 4:45.42 also leads the conference.
            Topham also moved into second on the all-time performance list in the 1,000 meters. She ran a time of 2:49.71 at the Triangular on Saturday to come just .03 seconds away from the school record.