Shocker Men T&F 2013-14

[1972Shocker]

Coach Rainbolt announced a class of 15 (the article says 14, but I count 15) for 2013-14.

It includes 12 incoming freshman (10 Kansas kids, 1 from California and 1 from Timmons, Ontario who is actually transferring from New Mexico State but apparently did not use any eligibility at NMS) plus 2 JUCO transfers from Hutch (via Nickerson and Cheney) and 1 Senior transfer from D-II Pitt State (via Cowley County CC and Arkansas City H.S.).

So as is normally the case a heavy Kansas flavor with 13 of the 15 young men hailing from Kansas.

It's difficult to evaluate a T&F class talent-wise, at least for someone with my limited knowledge. However, I did compare the best performances of these athletes to the scoring performances in the MVC Outdoor Championships to see how they compare. Here are some of the highlights:

I'll start with the transfers:

Josh Phillips, Senior pole vaulter transferring from Pitt State. His PB's would have been good enough for 2nd place in both the indoor and outdoor PV and the defending champion, Daniel Gooris of UNI, has graduated.

Skyler Arneson, Junior thrower transferring from Hutch Juco. His PB's would have been good enough for 2nd in the Shot Put, 2nd in the Discus, 1st in the Hammer and 6th in the indoor weight throw.

Chris Peters, Junior Decathlete/pole vaulter from Hutch Juco. He needs to improve quite a bit in the decathlete to score in the MVC but his PB in the pole vault would have been good for 4th in the open pole vault and 2nd in the decathlon PV.

I will post the highlights of the incoming freshmen in a separate post.

[1972Shocker]

Here are the highlights for the incoming freshmen:

Tate Annis, Sprints/Jumps, Ulysses HS. His PB's would have been good for 6th in the 100m, 4th in the 200m and 6th in the long jump in the MVC Outdoor Meet.

Jonathan Duvall, Hurdles/Jumps, Garden City HS. His PB's would have taken 2nd in the 110h and 8th in the Long Jump. (Keeping in mind that the hurdles in HS are 3 inches lower than in College).

Cordell Goering, Hurdles, Hutch Trinity HS. 8th in the 400h.

Jake James, Hurdles, Granite Hills (CA) HS. 5th in the 110h.

Jake May, Hurdles, Andale HS. 8th in the 110h.

Colton Mays, Sprints, Rose Hill HS. 4th in the 200m.

Paul Raymond, Distance, Timmons Ontario via New Mexico State. 8th in the 800m and 12th in the 1500m.

Cody Scheck, Sprints, Cheney HS. 8th in the 200m.

And, the kid who really caught my eye, Hunter Veith, Multi-Events, Cheney HS. His PB's would have been good for the 9th in the open High Jump (5th in the Decathlon HJ), 7th in the open Long Jump (3rd in the Decathlon LJ), 8th in the open Javelin (3rd in the Decathlon javelin) and 6th in the open Triple Jump. Heir apparent to Austin Bahner perhaps?

Not sure how big Hunter is but here is a photo of him at the State track meet:

[1972Shocker]

From my less than knowledgeable perspective I'm thinking this recruiting class is looking pretty darn solid. Perhaps @goshox74 and others with more insight into this might like to chime in.

@goshox74 did say earlier this year that help was on the way to fill the hole in the hurdles left by the departure of Lawson Montgomery and Todd McKown after the 2011-12 season. Looks like that may well be the case.

[1972Shocker]

Here is a nice article about Hunter Veith prior to his senior season at Cheney.

[1972Shocker]

Looks like Hunter Veith likes to fish:

Hunter Veith @veither32 30 JulWanna really really REALLY REALLY REALLY make me mad? TOUCH MY FISHING STUFF!!!


Ok, so Coach Rainbolt now has the key to getting Hunter fired up!

[1972Shocker]

Catch of the Day according to Hunter's twitter account. Hard to argue with that.

[1972Shocker]

This web site, with a video of Hunter high jumping, lists Hunter at 6-4, 157. I would guess he is more like 175 (if he really is 6-4) but either way that is an interesting frame on which to build a decathlete.

Edit: Did you notice the blonde on the right side of the screen who made the fist pump when Hunter cleared the bar? That may well be Shocker Hall of Famer Sara (Lungren) Walkup who is the head volleyball coach at Cheney. Now if we could find of photo of Hunter and Sara standing side-by-side we could tell if Hunter is really 6-4.

[goshox74]

Thanks to 1972Shocker for a terrific update on Shocker T&F recruiting!

I will say don't put too much into high school hurdle times because that change from 39" to 42" is very significant. Todd McKown made the transition easily (he was 6-5) but Lawson Montgomery took a couple years to figure it out (6-0). Although yes, WSU did shore up the hurdles in a significant way with pretty much all the best kids Kansas had to offer as well as one from California. This looks to be a very good recruiting class and I am aware that there are two very good athletes who are set to join the team in January who isn't listed here. I also think cross country might have a tough time after improving to 3rd last year in the MVC but Coach Hunter seems to know what he is doing as I suspect they will still be solid.

The men's T&F squad should be a very good team this year, and they'll have to be because Indiana State will again be the team to beat. There is a lot of quality track and field in the MVC right now.

[1972Shocker]

The Shocker men are slotted to finish 6th in the 2013 MVC preseason Cross Country poll. The Shocker men finished 3rd last year.

[ABC]

The recruiting class looks very good indeed.

KU Women winning a natl championship in T&F would seem to make it very attainable for WSU to make some national noise.

[wsushox1]

Coming from a guy who has ran against him several years - back in the days when I could actually run - Colton Mays is a stud. Was not really focused on Running his Freshman/Sophomore (messed around with HJ LJ and TJ) year but his Junior and Senior years he became an absolute beast. Potential is unlimited (IMO).

[1972Shocker]

@goshox74:

What is your assessment of the Shocker men for the upcoming indoor T&F season?

Who should we keep our eye on? Any sleepers?

Thanks.

[goshox74]

Thanks 1972Shocker, here are my thoughts on the men...

This should be the best men's team WSU has had since they swept the MVC titles in 2009. The problem is, Indiana State (defending champions) will probably also have their best team in a long time as well. On top of that SIU will be a major threat with their MVC Cross Country title and slew of field event points (mostly throws). UNI has always been good but I don't think they will be in the top-3.

Also, we add Loyola to the conference, who's men is a very good team and last year could've been a top-3 MVC team. They are coached by former WSU distance coach Randy Hasenbank and will be better than their women's team.

As you can tell this will be a very competitive men's MVC battle and WSU should be in the middle of it. They have some great seniors and upperclassmen as well as some talented newcomers who were mentioned above. Don't be surprised to see some athletes added in January that could also make an impact. Should be a fun year of MVC track!

WSU T&F has good Twitter and Facebook pages: @WichitaSt_TFXC and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wichi...9286982?ref=hl

Coach Wise also has a weekly blog: http://johnwisewsu.blogspot.com/

[1972Shocker]

Shocker track team chowing down on a recent road trip. Hopefully, Coach 'Bolt remembered his credit card. Washing all the dishes would take awhile. Who's got the tip?

[1972Shocker]

Congratulations to WSU throws coach John Heztendorf on his engagement to his long-time girl friend Amber McGown. Coach 'Dorf who was one of the top javelin throwers in the country for over a decade shows his versatility as he apparently can catch too!