2023-2024 Men's XC and T&F

[1972Shocker]

Back-To-Back for Brady.

image.png

[1972Shocker]

RH: FAMILY DYNAMICS PUSH THE PARRISH TWINS

Josh is 15 minutes older than Jason, a fact of uses as a trump card for his twin brother when there's a debate. Jason responds that, while younger, he is more mature.

Jason follows sports more than Josh. Josh listens to slow jams; Jason prefers rap.

They're business administration majors and both strong in math. Jason helps Josh with writing assignments.

"We used to be mad at each other every day, arguing and stuff," Josh said. "Now we're closer than usual. We do everything together." Jason Parrish
The Parrish twins are more alike than different. Their unspoken ability to push each other at practice is one example. They might yell out each other's name if they see their twin slacking a bit. The look is just as meaningful.

"We'll get on each other for not giving it 110 percent," Jason said. "We know the look we give each other. It's a confused look, like he doesn't understand why."

Josh ranks eighth nationally and first in the long jump in the American Athletic Conference with a distance of 26 feet, ¾ inches. He is fifth in the AAC in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.17 seconds and sixth in the triple jump (46-11 ½). Jason ranks seventh in the 400 hurdles (52.96) and 11^th in the 110 hurdles (14.84).

The twins, from Olathe, played football at Olathe North High School and considered that route in college at Washburn or Montana State. They chose track because of their success in the sport as juniors and seniors in high school. Their size (5-foot-8, 152 pounds) at defensive back or receiver seemed to predict more long-term rewards in track and field.

"They come from a very athletic family," said John Wise, assistant director of track and field. "A lot of people were recruiting Josh. Jason improved so much his senior year that both of them were terrific recruits."

Wise expects the twins to compete in the USATF under-20 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore., in July. Josh popped his 26-3/4 long jump at Friends last week and is No. 1 among under-20s in the United States. Jason will run the 400 hurdles.

"Really good track I.Q.'s for freshmen," Wise said. "They're serious about track and school. When they get in here, they want to talk about track."

Josh excelled in the hurdles and jumps earlier than Jason, who started the hurdles a bit later. Josh won two Class 6A titles in the 110-meter hurdles and the long jump and one in the triple jump at Olathe North. Jason won two Kansas titles in the 300-meter hurdles.

Wise believes their background as football players and members of a talented family give them an edge when competition gets fierce. At Wichita State, they joined a strong hurdles group with Joseph Holthusen ranked third in the 110 hurdles in the AAC.

"What you see is an aggressiveness that football builds within somebody," Wise said. "In hurdles, that's good. You can hit a hurdle and it can knock you for a loop. If you're aggressive and you power through it, that's good."

[1972Shocker]

Shockers to Host 76th Annual KT Woodman Classic

Wichita State track and field welcomes athletes from 39 collegiate teams to Cessna Stadium for the 76^th annual KT Woodman Classic on Friday and Saturday. Including the high school Shocker Pre-State Challenge meet that is set for Thursday and Friday, around 2,500 track and field athletes will come through Cessna stadium over the course of three days.

Outside of the Shocker the great majority of the collegiate teams are Jucos and NAIA teams.

But that's okay, in fact, I might suggest that is by design.. Including the 2,500 high school athletes in the Pre-State Challenge and the many Jucos athletes in the KT Woodman Classic this is about the best way possible to get so many recruitable athletes on campus with the opportunity to scout them and expose them to the campus and the Shocker Track and Field program. By the team the KSHSAA championships roll around the coaching staff will already have had a chance to find some athletes where they would like to focus their attention. Nice little economic boost for the City as well.

---

Zander Cobb and Adam Rzentkowski will head to California to race at the Bryan Clay Invitational and the Leopard Distance Carnival on Thursday and Friday.

[1972Shocker]

I am not too familiar with Jordan who is a freshman out of Park Hill HS in Kansas City but he seems to be off to a very solid start to his collegiate career. He improves on his 183-5 that he threw 2 weeks ago in the Shocker Spring Invitational and currently has the 4th best throw in the AAC.

[1972Shocker]

Sophomore Zander Cobb takes second in the Leopard Distance Carnival 10K with a new PB time of 29:40.04, a significant improvement over his previous PB of 32:42.40 of 3 minutes. That puts Zander at No. 4 on the Shocker All-Time list and the 5th best time in the AAC this year behind a Tulane runner and 3 runners from Tulsa. Will have to see how that holds up once Charlotte runners post some marks in this event.

image.png

[1972Shocker]

[1972Shocker]

[1972Shocker]

RH: Two Jumpers, Two Styles -- Rainbolt Guides His All-Americans Differently

Two small-town Kansas high jumpers are among the nation's best for Wichita State. They share that background, along with a desire to be great.

In both cases, learning the event unlocked athletic ability and propelled Destiny Masters and Brady Palen to NCAA All-American honors.

Coaching them couldn't be more different for Steve Rainbolt, WSU's director of track and field.

"Brady is very level-headed and keeps his emotions in check," Masters said. "Very opposite of me. It's probably really hard for (Rainbolt). He tells me he wants me to be more like Brady, more stoic. More level-headed. I, personally, don't know how to do that. He doesn't show his emotions. I just wear them."

Whatever Rainbolt does – which includes flexibility, plenty of positive reinforcement and video recorded on his phone - is working. Masters, from El Dorado, is a two-time second-team NCAA All-American in the high jump (in addition to first team in the pentathlon). Palen, from Beloit, earned first-team honors indoors and honorable mention outdoors in 2023.

"He's coaching two totally different athletes," Masters said. "He's done a great job not treating us the same. He tells Brady exactly what he needs to do. Bam, bam. He asks me 'Hey, kid how did that feel? What do you need?"

"They're both clutch performers," Rainbolt said. "It's become sort of remarkable how many third-attempt makes Destiny has executed. Brady is the same way. That guy's a heck of a competitor."

Masters won the Class 2A long jump and placed third in the high jump (5-2) as a senior at Bluestem High School. Palen won the Class 1A high jump at 6-10 ½ for St. John High School. They blossomed at Wichita State as they refined techniques and conditioning and focused on their events.

"Both of them have become very attentive," Rainbolt said. "They can climb out of the pit and tell me what I saw. They have a feel for what just happened. Then you're getting your coaching as a sounding board."

Rainbolt coaxed the most out of Masters, lukewarm on track before deciding to compete in college, by listening, encouraging her through highs and lows, and adapting training to fit her mindset. For example, she prefers a shorter warmup before competition than most athletes. She is hard on herself, getting angry at a miss, before channeling that emotion into a make-or-break jump.

"She likes a very brief warmup," Rainbolt said. "In track and field, we've gotten more and more into dynamic warmups that take 20, 30 minutes. She takes five to eight minutes."

Through discussion and compromise, the results put Masters on the awards stand regularly.

"She seems to do pretty good, so I'm going to move her direction," Rainbolt said. "Now, I'm going to ask her to move my direction, too. And she does. That's the nuance of the negotiation."

Palen attributes his demeanor to a lifetime of playing sports and learning how to take coaching, even when he might see things from a different viewpoint.

"I don't think (Rainbolt) and I have ever been mad at each other," Palen said. "I've played every sport. I learned to work with a coach in four or five different sports. I've definitely got moments where I don't agree, but I can respect he's been coaching for 30-some years and that he knows what's going on."

[1972Shocker]

One of the places the Shocks have been a bit deficient in the past few years or so is in the pole vault with all due respect to Coach Pat Wilson who so bravely battled brain cancer to which he succumbed last in August of 2023. This deficiency was an issue for both the men's and women's teams.

Coach Wilson's young successor, Aliyah Welter, fresh off a stellar collegiate career in the pole vault, will be trying to reverse that trend. I have noted several high school recruits Coach Welter has snagged for the women's teams who appear to have really good potential. Those are discussed in more detail on the women's sports topic.

So far Coach Welter had not seemingly had that same success in finding vaulters for the Shocker's men's team. That may have just changed with the recruitment of Carson Ratzlaff out of Blue Valley SW in Overland Park. Carson has cleared 15-6.5 this spring. That seems pretty solid for a high school senior to me. 15-6.5 would have him in the Top 10 in the AAC this year. The Shockers top vaulter so far this season is sophomore Weston Hulse who has cleared 15-3 which is a 7" improvement over his best mark as a freshman. 2nd best on the Shockers so far this year is sophomore Caden Carlson who has cleared 14-6.

Carson looks like a talent to keep an eye on.

[1972Shocker]

At the KSU Ward Haylett Invite

---

A new PB for Jason and the 5th best time in the AAC so far this season.

[1972Shocker]

A search of MileSplitTX returns 8 tracksters named Travon Williams. The Shockers' Travon appears to a good one.

Travon's high school PR's (so far) are 6-6 in the high jump, 23-2-5 in the long jump, 45-3 in the triple jump, 11.35 in the 100m and 23.27 dash.

He is not quite at the level of Shocker Freshman, Josh Parrish, who had PR's of 24-1.5 in the log jump and 47-11.25 in the triple jump high school and has clocked 10.67 in 100m this spring at WSU but those seem like pretty good numbers coming out of high school.

Seems like a solid get for Coach Rainbolt.

[1972Shocker]

Kaleb has a PB in high school of 6-8. By comparison the Shockers current All-American high jumper Brady Palen cleared 6-10.5 as a high schooler in Beloit.

Perhaps not fair to Kaleb to compare him to one of the top 3 high jumpers ever at Wichita State. 6-8 seems like a good starting point. Plus his high school career is not over yet.

Coach Rainbolt was a very accomplished high jumper in his day so it will be interesting to see what he can do with Kaleb.

[1972Shocker]

Shockers Seek High Team Finish, Individual Titles at AAC Outdoor Championships

Wichita State track and field is set for the American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships from May 10-12 at the Park West Athletic Complex in San Antonio.. The Shockers are aiming for a top-three team finish on the men's side.

NO. 1 SEEDS
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" (tie)

OKAY TWIN
Jason and Josh Parrish are one of two sets of twins on the Wichita State track and field team (Beau and Cali Kerschen), and the freshmen have made an immediate impact in their first year. The pair is from Olathe, Kan., where they competed for the Olathe North High School and led the team to the 2023 6A Kansas State Championship, scoring enough points by themselves to win the team competition. Jason enters the meet as the No. 5 seed in the 400-meter hurdles after running a personal-best 51.61 a week ago. He also will run the first leg of the 4x400-meter relay. Josh ties for the top seed in the long jump and ranks 10th in the nation. He also is the No. 4 seed in the 110-meter hurdles and looks to run his first wind legal sub-14 second time after running a windy 13.94 at the KT Woodman Classic. The twins will run the second and fourth legs of the 4x100-meter relay as well.

FRESHIES ON FIRE
In addition to the Parrish twins, the Shockers have other impactful freshmen on their roster.

Jordan Rider is the No. 6 seed in the men's javelin with his mark of 58.22m/191'0".

Luke Czarnecki earned all-conference recognition at the indoor championships with his third-place performance in the high jump and finished fifth in the heptathlon. He will enter as the 11 seed in the high jump and is one of five AAC athletes who have completed a decathlon this season.

Tyler Carroll raced to a personal-best 14.11 in the 110-meter hurdles at the Shocker Open to give him the No. 7 seed entering the competition.

HOLTHUSEN'S LAST HURRAH
2021 Second Team Indoor All-American hurdler Joseph Holthusen is set for his final AAC Championship races. He enters the meet as the No. 1 seed in the 110-meter hurdles and will run leadoff in the 4x100-meter relay. He did not compete this indoor season as his eligibility was up but seeks his first AAC podium finish since 2020 this weekend. He finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles a season ago in Tampa and had an unfortunate false start in the 60-meter hurdles final at the 2023 indoor championships.

BROWN IS BACK
After suffering a major knee injury in the decathlon high jump at the 2022 AAC Outdoor Championships, Tanner Brown redshirted and rehabbed throughout the 2023 season. He made his return for his seventh and final season of collegiate track this indoor season but went out again with another injury. He will make his return to competition and compete in the decathlon for the final time to get back on the track one last time and score points for the Shockers. I have wondered what happen to Tanner Brown. Now that is some perserverance.

MISSING PIECES
Wichita State graduated its team MVP from last year's outdoor championship. Yuben Goncalves, who scored 22 points for the Shockers in the 2023 win and 17 points in the 2022 win, exhausted his eligibility this indoor season. He was a major player in the long jump, triple jump and 400-meter hurdles.

The Shocker men will also be without distance star Adrian Diaz Lopez, who has redshirted this cross country, indoor and outdoor. Diaz Lopez scored 13 points a year ago for the Shockers, finishing second in the 10,000 meters and fourth in the 5,000 meters.

Wichita State also graduated three other all-conference performers from a season ago, Clayton Duchatschek, the 2022 steeplechase champion and 2023 runner up, Weston Lewis, a three-time all-conference high jumper, and Nate Vann, the 2023 decathlon runner up and three-time all-conference performer.

The Shockers are also without notable sprinter Joakim Genereux and sprinter/hurdler Jaleel Montgomery, two athletes who are redshirting this outdoor season to even out their indoor/outdoor eligibility.

MEN'S TEAM PROJECTIONS (based on championship start lists and TFRRS standings)
South Florida
Charlotte
Rice
UTSA
Wichita State
Memphis
North Texas
Tulane
East Carolina
Tulsa
Temple

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.

SHOCKER MEN IN THE NCAA WEST TOP 50
29. Jason Parrish – 400H – 51.61
35. Bryan Haney – 400H – 51.91
6. Brady Palen –HJ – 2.20m/7'2.5"
9. Josh Parrish – LJ – 7.94m/26'0.75"

[WuDrWu]

Is there any hope at all for a 3peat 1972Shocker? Do we have some hidden pieces to score here and there and is the race for 1st supposed to be close anyway?

[1972Shocker]

RH: Podcast with Joseph Holthusen on Shocker Track and Field

Listen to the podcast

Hurdler Joseph Holthusen is wrapping up a standout career with the Shockers. We talk about his football roots, the importance of family and Luke Holthusen, his brother and future Shocker.

We discuss how Holthusen worked through an injury that cost him much of the 2022 season. We also talk about "Survival," a board game he developed and sells, a recruiting snub and the generation gap he encounters as a redshirt senior. Joseph Holthusen

The AAC Championships begin Friday in San Antonio and Holthusen ranks first in the conference in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.84 seconds.

Holthusen attended Bishop Carroll Catholic High School where he won football and track state titles, plus two individual titles in the hurdles.

At WSU, he earned second-team indoor All-American honors in the 60-meter hurdles in 2021. He ranks second on WSU's career list in the 60 hurdles with a time of 7.79 seconds and sixth on the 110 hurdles. He is also a regular on the AAC Academic All-Conference list and the AD's Honor Roll.

---

Shocker Jeapardy Answer: Joseph Holthusen

Question: Provide an example of an outstanding STUDENT-athlete.