DES MOINES, Iowa/MANHATTAN, Kan. – Wichita State track and field is sending four distance runners to the 114^th annual Drake Relays to compete in Thursday evening's distance carnival at Drake Stadium before the rest of the team takes the track at the Ward Haylett Invitational on Friday at RV Christian Track.
 
Wichita State will host the Ward Haylett hammer throw competition on Thursday at 3:30 p.m. outside of Cessna Stadium as Kansas State does not yet have a hammer throw ring. The meet was originally scheduled to run through Saturday but due to weather will commence on Friday evening. Schedule details are still being finalized and will be posted prior to Friday's competition.
 
This weekend will be many of the Shockers' final competition before the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships from May 10-12 in San Antonio, Texas.
 
DRAKE RELAYS PREVIEW
Miranda Dick and Jenna Muma will run the 3,000-meter steeplechase for the second time this season at 6:24 p.m. Dick ran 11:08.62 in her season debut at the Bryan Clay Invitational and holds a personal best of 10:35.44 from the 2023 AAC Outdoor Championships, where she finished fourth. Last year at the Drake Relays, Dick won the first section of the steeplechase in 10:41.00 to finish 10^th overall. Muma's personal best of 10:55.14 also occurred last season at the AAC Championships in Tampa, Fla. where she finished eighth, and she is set for her first Drake Relays. In Dick's heat, she will go head to head with AAC rivals from Tulsa, Katharina Pesendorfer, who clocked 10:21.13 at Bryan Clay and holds a personal best of 10:14.44 from 2019, and Alicen Ashley, who ran a personal-best 10:31.19 at Bryan Clay earlier this season.
 
At 7:32 p.m., Lucy Ndungu will make her outdoor 5,000 meters season debut after recording a three minute and 48 second personal best in the 10,000 meters at the Bryan Clay Invitational. Her current 5K personal best is 17:27.53, which she ran at last year's KT Woodman Classic while racing for Cloud County CC. Ndungu will be up against AAC rivals, Paula Vaquera from Tulane, who ran a personal best of 16:20.79 at the Bryan Clay Invitational, Tamara Reeves from Tulsa, who finished third in the AAC indoor 5K and has an outdoor personal best of 16:25.28, and Danna Diaz from Tulane, who holds a personal best of 16:34.18 from this year's Raleigh Relays.
 
Adam Rzentkowski will wrap up the Shockers' time at the Drake Relays with his second 5,000-meter race of the season. He ran 14:34.54 at the Bryan Clay Invitational earlier this season and holds a personal best of 14:21.52, which he ran at last year's Bryan Clay Invitational while competing for Central Michigan. He will be up against Tulane freshman Paul Pam, who ran 15:16.63 at the Raleigh Relays but clocked 14:16.01 in the indoor 5,000.
 
WARD HAYLETT INVITATIONAL PREVIEW
Five Wichita State hammer throwers will kick off competition in their home ring Thursday at 3:30 p.m. before the rest of the team takes the track in Manhattan on Friday.
 
The men's high jump features a strong field with four 7-foot-plus high jumpers, led by Wichita State's Brady Palen with an outdoor best of 2.20m/7'2.5", which he jumped earlier this season at the Arkansas Spring Invitational. K-State has three jumpers with personal bests of 2.18m or better, including Aaron Antoine who beat Palen head to head at the indoor Triangular earlier this year. Palen has jumped six centimeters high than Antoine so far this outdoor season and will seek revenge on the Wildcat.
 
Joseph Holthusen and Josh Parrish bring the two fastest seed times to the men's 110-meter hurdles race as they look to move up the national list with wind-legal marks.
 
Kate Campos (13.85) will battle it out with two other sub-14 second hurdles in the 100-meter hurdles, racing against Kansas State's Jourdin Edwards (13.81) and unattached Lauren Taubert (13.45).
 
Josh Parrish ranks eighth in the nation in the long jump with his mark of 7.94m/26'0.75" from the Friends Spring Open and looks to get his first fair jump since that meet this weekend. The freshman from Olathe, Kan. leads the conference in the event but has fouled all three jumps the last two times out and faces strong competition in K-State's Jhavor Bennett who holds a personal best of 7.57m/24'10".
 
Farrah Miller is the top seed in the women's 800 meters after running the third-fastest time in Shocker history at the Bryan Clay Invitational, clocking 2:07.18.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Four Shockers won their sections at the Kansas Relays with Jenna Muma and Adam Rzentkowski sweeping the Thursday sections of the 1500 meters, Iestyn Williams winning his section of the 800 meters in his return to the track and Cesar Ramirez winning his section of the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
 
At Baylor, Brady Palen took second in the high jump before lightning cut the meet short. Palen of one of the Shockers' 10 top-10 finishes. Adria Navajon took sixth in the long jump with a mark of 7.30m/23'11.5". Tess Roman threw a big javelin personal best, recording a mark of 43.26m/141'11" to take seventh.
 
SHOCKERS LEADING THE AMERICAN
Lucy Ndungu – 10,000m – 33:41.31
Joseph Holthusen – 110-meter hurdles – 13.84W
Brady Palen – High Jump – 2.20m/7'2.5"
Josh Parrish – Long Jump – 7.94m/26'0.75"
Destiny Masters – Heptathlon – 5,749 points
 
ROAD TO EUGENE
The NCAA Division I Championships will take place June 5-8 in Eugene, Ore. at Hayward Field. This year for the west region, the road to Eugene goes through Fayetteville, Ark., where the top 48 individual athletes and the top 24 relays in the region will compete at the NCAA West Preliminaries (NCAA First Round) May 22-25 for a spot at the NCAA Championships. The top 12 in each event advance to the championship. Combined event athletes (heptathlon and decathlon) do not attend the First Rounds, but instead, the top 24 athletes overall advance directly to the NCAA Championship in Eugene.
 
SHOCKERS IN THE NCAA WEST TOP 50
MEN
48. Joseph Holthusen – 110H – 14.10
4. Brady Palen –HJ – 2.20m/7'2.5"
7. Josh Parrish – LJ – 7.94m/26'0.75"
47. Harry Barthelemy – TJ – 14.98m/49'1.75"
 
WOMEN
47. Farrah Miller – 800m – 2:07.18
25. Lucy Ndungu – 10,000m – 33:41.31
11. Destiny Masters – HJ – 1.81m/5'11.25"
40. Destiny Masters – Jav – 47.46m/155'8"
 
MULTIS IN THE NCAA TOP 25
8. Destiny Masters – Heptathlon – 5,749 points
 
USTFCCCA EVENT SQUAD RANKINGS
The heptathlon squad came in at No. 2 in the NCAA after the group's first heptathlon of the season. Destiny Masters, Tess Roman, Sadie Millard and Kenisa Meyer averaged 5,070 points to rank second behind Oklahoma State.
 
UP NEXT
The Shockers will host one final meet on May 3 before the conference championships, where a handful of athletes will compete and the team will honor its seniors.