The Basics
            The Shocker track and field team return to the outdoor track as a team for the first time in 684 days.
            The last time the Shockers competed on the outdoor track together, the Shocker women claimed the 2019 AAC Outdoor team title on their home track.
            The Shockers come into the season with plenty to be excited about. 
            Most recently, Joseph Holthusen was a second team All-American indoors and Winny Koskei won her third straight AAC conference crown.
            Wichita State reloads with plenty of reinforcements for the outdoor season. Rebekah Topham, Zack Penrod, Cory Martens, Alex Adams and Nicole McMillen highlight the student-athletes with remaining outdoor eligibility.
 
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.
            A live results link will be posted when it is made available.
 
Meet Schedule
            The Shocker Spring Invitational kicks off on Friday at 4 .m. with the hammer throw. Running events on Friday begin at 7 p.m. with the 1,500 meters.
            Saturday's action kicks off at 11 a.m. with the shot put competitions. Running events will start at 12:30 p.m. with the 4X100-meter relay.
 
Last Time Out
            The most recent efforts from the Shockers came at two national meets. Joseph Holthusen ran in the 60-meter hurdles at the NCAA Indoor Championships and Winny Koskei competed at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
            Holthusen finished 15th to earn second team All-America honors. He finished 15th in the prelims in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with a time of 8.31.
            Koskei finished in 125th place overall in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Koskei's effort completed her third straight NCAA Cross Country meet. Koskei captured her third straight conference individual title.
            The Shockers last competed as a team at the end of February at the Championships at The Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the Air Force Academy.
            The women's squad won the team title at the Air Force Academy and the men's team finished as the meet's runners-up.
 
Assistant Director of Track and Field and Cross Country John Wise on the Meet
On how exciting it is to compete outdoors
"Unbelievably excited because it's been two years since we've done this. Really ad truly, we build our team for outdoor track in the philosophy of recruiting. The outdoor conference championships is No. 1 and the indoor conference championship is sort of 1B. We're good at the javelin, we're better at the decathlon than the heptathlon, there are unique events like the 400-meter hurdles, the 4X100-meter relay and the steeplechase, all of which we try to take pride in. Our athletes get the chance to do the events they did in high school. That was how they got going. You never really start your carer on an indoor track. We've got a great facility that we've seen some historic marks in. Our kids are just excited to get going for sure. It's been a long time coming, so we're excited."
 
 
On the advantage of having so many home meets
"I think it's very helpful to have this great facility this year with all of the uncertainties. We won't have to worry about traveling. Good teams want to come compete here. We save money because we aren't traveling, and we're trying to be responsible fiscally. It's fun to go different places. The conference meet is a big meet in Tampa and that will be a heck of a trip, so I think we might be sacrificing other travel opportunities for that one. Normally our kids might not be that excited about it, but I think because we haven't had an outdoor meet in so long, it is exciting to just have meets and we've got a nice facility to do it in. We're excited to get back to a more normal schedule in the future, but it's nice to be here and sleep in our own beds. We've got our own locker rooms and we don't have to worry as much about weather stuff if there is any inclement weather. There are a lot of positives, especially in a year like this."
 
Hello, Again, Old Friend
            For the first time since June 2019, Wichita State athletes will compete in outdoor track and field meets.
            Cessna Stadium will play host for the first time since the 2019 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships. The Shockers open up with the Shocker Spring Invitational on March 27 for their first of four home meets.
            It will be the first time on the outdoor track since the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships when Ben Johnson, Aaron True and Rebekah Topham competed in Austin, Texas. It will be the first full team action since the Shocker women won the AAC title in May of 2019.
 
            FULL OUTDOOR SCHEDULE
            March 26-27 – Shocker Spring Invitational*
            April 10 – Wichita State Open*
            April 14-15 – KT Woodman Multis*
            April 17 – KT Woodman Classic*
            April 23-24 – John Jacobs Invitational
            May 1 – Rock Chalk Classic
            May 7 – Shocker Open*
            May 14-16 – AAC Championships
            May 27-29 – NCAA West Regional
            June 9-12 – NCAA Championships
 
Indoor In Short
            The indoor season saw somewhat of a return to normal for the Shockers.
            The Wichita State track and field program competed in eight meets during the indoor season and saw one national qualifier for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
            Joseph Holthusen made it all the way to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the NCAA Indoor Championships. He finished 15th overall in the 60-meter hurdles, earning second team All-America honors. He became the second Shocker ever to earn All-America honors in the indoor hurdles.
            The men's and womens' squads put up stellar team performances at the Championships at The Peak, which took place of the canceled AAC Championships. The women's team came home victorious and the men's team was the meet's runner-up.
            The men's team also put on a show at the Triangular where they finished with the most points out of any men's team. The meet combines men's and women's team scores, so the Shockers took third overall.
            If the indoor season is any indication of the Shockers' status, the outdoor season is sure to bring success.
 
Cross Country Season in Review
            The Shocker cross country squad took to the course this spring and Winny Koskei dominated once again.
            Koskei won her third consecutive AAC individual title. She qualified for the national meet where she placed 125th. She also won her second straight JK Gold Classic.
            The women's team was the conference runner-up with three all-conference honorees (Koskei, Yazmine Wright and McKenna Paintin).
            The men's team finished fourth at the conference meet. Jed Helker became the second all-conference male under Kirk Hunter.
            The distance crew is set to sync their schedules back up with the rest of the team for the outdoor campaign.