The Basics
            The Wichita State track and field teams head on the road as a complete team for the first time in the 2021 outdoor season.
            The Shockers last traveled as a team at The Championship at the Peak at the Air Force Academy in February. The Shocker women won the team race and the Shocker men were the runners-up.
            Wichita State faces upper-level competition and competes at one of the best outdoor track and field complexes in the NCAA in Fayetteville, Arkansas, on Saturday and Sunday.
 
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.
            The John McDonnell Invitational will be streamed on SEC Network+ and links to the stream will be posted on GoShockers.com when they are made available.
            A live results link will also be posted to GoShockers.com when it is made available.
 
Meet Schedule
            The John McDonnell Invitational schedule was moved from a Friday/Saturday schedule to a Saturday/Sunday schedule due to a high chance of inclement weather on Friday.
            Saturday's action begins at 10:15 a.m. with the women's hammer throw. Running events on Saturday start at 5 p.m. with the women's 200 meters.
            Sunday's action kicks off at 10 a.m. with the men's discus. Running events commence at Noon on Sunday with the women's 100-meter hurdles prelims.
 
Last Time Out
            The Shockers held a four-day long track and field extravaganza last week with three days of collegiate competition with the KT Woodman Classic.
            Taran Taylor  tossed the javelin 71.37m/234-2 to extend his conference lead. Taylor's throw puts him at No. 15 in the country and No. 6 in the West Region.
            Adam Moore etched his name in Shocker history, running the seventh-fastest 1,500-meter time in school history. He clocked in with a time of 3:47.19. He is fifth in the AAC this season.
            Jocelen Ruth and Cassidy Androff both made their way into the Wichita State top 10 in the women's hammer throw. Ruth and Androff are No. 8 and 10 in school history, respectively.
            Sydney Wilson impressed in the women's high jump. Wilson won the high jump, clearing 1.71m/5-7.25. She is tied for third in the conference this year.
 
Assistant Director of Track and Field and Cross Country John Wise on the Meet
On the goals and expectations for this week's meet
"We are three weeks out from the conference meet, so there are two goals. One is getting into the heart of the regular season where you need to put out good performances and build some confidence heading into the end of the season. You want to build momentum. We've been at home, and they've been good meets, but we've been training through the meets and things like that. Now we're starting to put things together as we head to the conference meet. There are some athletes who are looking to put down qualifying marks for the NCAA competitions. We've had some athletes do it, but others haven't had the chance because of weather or lack of competition, but this will be their chance to put up those marks this week and next week. We're also going on the road as a group for the first time, so that's always a little different. We haven't been on the road since we went to Air Force in February. We'll do that for a couple of weeks before Tampa. We'll benefit from the better weather after the meet got moved around, so we're appreciative of that."
 
On how this meet suits athletes trying to get qualifying times
"It's later in the year and it will be a little bit better competition, which will hopefully bring out the best in your athletes. We have a great facility here and we've seen great performances here, but the level of competition is going to be better than we've had so far. The weather will be warmer, which is ideal for sprinters and jumpers. Warmer weather and less wind is certainly helpful. We haven't had a meet without breezy conditions. The distance runners have had good conditions and so I know Coach Hunter has been pleased with that. The discus has had bad winds this year. If we catch the right wind, it'll be great for them. So it's a combination of less wind, warmer temperatures and as we head into the end of the year we see better performances."
 
Cream of the Crop 
            The AAC Outdoor Championships are just three weeks and the Shockers are going to be in contention for team trophies as well as individual conference titles.
            Heading into the fifth week of outdoor competition for Wichita State, the Shockers own five conference leading times and marks.
            Zack Penrod (1,500 meters), Rebekah Topham (3,000-meter steeplechase), Brady Palen (high jump), Michael Bryan (hammer throw) and Taran Taylor (javelin) all have conference-leading marks.
            All-in-all, the Shockers have 48 marks in the top eight of the conference performance list, which is what it would take to score at the conference meet.
 
Stop. Hammer Time.
            The hammer throw is an exclusively outdoor event, and the Shockers are taking advantage of their limited time throwing the hammer.
            Michael Bryan has led the way for the Shockers in the hammer throw. He set the school record in the first week of competition and broke his own record the following two weeks.
            He tossed the hammer 70.15m/230-2 to put his name atop the Shockers' performance list in the hammer throw on Saturday at the Wichita State Open.
            Bryan's hammer throw performance this season has been one of the country's best.
            His mark comes in at No. 7 in the country, No. 4 in the West region and No. 1 in the American Athletic Conference.
            The Shocker women have also had standout performers in the hammer throw.
            Sadie Boos, Jocelen Ruth and Cassidy Androff have all had top-10 performances in school history this season.
            Four Shocker women are in the top 16 in the AAC this season in the women's hammer throw in 2021.
            Shockers will be in the mix for big points in the hammer throw at the conference meet.
 
Return of the Jav
            After a year off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, javelin is back.
            The Shockers have two of the best javelin crews in the nation.
            The men's javelin group was ranked sixth in the third week of #EventSquad Rankings of the outdoor season and the women's javelin throwers were ranked 17th.
            Taran Taylor returns after a three-year hiatus due to a combination of injuries and the COVID-19 pandemic. He already has the 15th-best mark in the nation after four weekends of competition.
            Taylor threw the javelin 71.37m/234-2 at the KT Woodman Classic. That mark is what catapulted him up the NCAA standings in the event.
            Chandler Stiawalt also impressed in the javelin at the KT Woodman Classic. He tossed the javelin 63.02m/206-9 for No. 3 in the AAC this year.
            Kendra Henry and Kourtni Hubert lead the way for a group filled with javelin specialists.
            Henry and Hubert have top-10 conference marks this year. Halie Brown, Erika Hoag and Bey Lee Brummet all had season bests at the KT Woodman Classic.
            Look for Shockers on the podium at the conference meet and lining the Regional heat sheets in the javelin.
 
Shockers in the National Ranks
            The Shocker currently have 14 top-100 NCAA marks, four of which are in the top 50.
            Winny Koskei: No. 37 in the 10,000 meters - 34:12.23
            Rebekah Topham: No. 15 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase - 10:04.38
            Michael Bryan: No. 7 in the hammer throw - 70.15m/230-2
            Taran Taylor: No. 15 in the javelin - 71.37m/234-2
 
WEATHER REPORT
Fayetteville, Arkansas
John McDonnell Field
- Saturday: AM Showers; High of 66°; 67% chance of rain; NNW winds at 14 mph
- Sunday: Sunny; High of 73°; 8% chance of rain; SSE winds at 13 mph