2016-17 Shocker Outdoor Track & Field

[1972Shocker]

Wichita Eagle even covering the announcement of the Shocks participation in the NCAA post-season.

http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article151280077.html

Good to see.

[1972Shocker]

This post applies to both men's and women's track and field. Just some general ramblings.

Considering the outsized contributions the Shocker Track and Field program makes to the Shocker All-Sports success representing 6 of the Shockers' 15 sports programs (XC, Indoor T&F and Outdoor T&F times 2) and the minimal scholarships available 12.6 for the men and 18 for the women and those are spread over 100-120 athletes (this year we have 52 men and 60 women on the rosters) are there any more harder working and under-appreciated group of athletes at WSU than these young men and women.

Also consider that Shocker fans often complain that we don't keep enough of "local" athletes at home. For this discussion I will call kids from the State of Kansas as local. 33 members of the men's 52-man roster and 31 members of the women's 60-woman roster are Kansas kids. Not all are key contributors but many are. They all work hard.

There are only about a half a dozen or so opportunities to get out and support these athletes in any year and they really get very little support outside of family and personal friends. I suppose it is just the nature of the beast.

It is interesting when I have attended Shocker track meets and talk with the parents of the athletes which is just about any Shocker fan in attendance that you would strike up a conversation with. I generally ask them if they have a son or daughter competing and so far have not found one that did not. They usually ask me the same thing and when I tell them I am just there as a Shocker fan they appear quite surprised by that but also kind of tickled by that.

I can't say for sure how much non-family/friend Shocker support was in attendance at the recent MVC Outdoor Championships but I don't think there was very much. That is kind of hard to guage but I think it is also pretty normal.

I don't know if and when WSU will ever get a chance to host the AAC Track and Field Championships. The XC Championships have been hosted by UConn, Tulsa and ECU so far but XC is in no way a fan friendly sport. The Indoor Championships have been held twice in New York City and once in Birmingham, Alabama. I assume that is primarily facility related. I doubt that the Heskett Center is capable of hosting an AAC Indoor Championship. Cessna Stadium could probably handle an AAC Outdoor Championship. The track facilities themselves are good and WSU seems to know how to manage a well-run, efficient meet. However, from a fan amenity standpoint Cessna Stadium is not very good. Bottom line is that I don't think we will be seeing any of these Championships in Wichita.

The kids would probably really enjoy a trip to NYC especially when compared to Cedar Falls where the Valley typically holds its Indoor Championships. So far the AAC Outdoor Championships have been held in Tampa, Storrs and Orlando. I would think that might appeal to the athletes and their families as well. Whether or not that will provide any benefits for recruiting is hard to say as most of the meets outside of the AAC Championships will be about the same.

Here is a good article on the impact of the move to the AAC on the Track and Field program in case you missed it. Coach Rainbolt sees the AAC as a step up but not a dramatic one.

[goshox74]

I can't argue with most of your "ramblings" and I'm sure the T&F department appreciates their efforts being noticed.

In terms of the AAC Championships, Birmingham, AL, is the indoor host for the next 5 years (also hosting the NCAA Championships next year). Cross Country will be at Temple this year for the conference meet. Next year's outdoor meet will be at Cincinnati, whose facility is not nearly as "championship caliber" as Cessna Stadium. I imagine WSU will be put into the rotation for the outdoor meet but it may be a few years down the road. Personally I enjoy meets at Cessna, although I would prefer the stadium not host high school football anymore and make the infield a throws field with the Shot Put and Discus more visible to the rest of the meet.

With the graduation of a very senior heavy class on the women's side, it will be interesting how WSU fares in the new conference. I imagine they will be competitive and within a few years start to win some titles.

[1972Shocker]

If you are interested in following the Shockers at the West prelims starting today (May 25th) you can find the links in this GoShockers.com report.

The top 12 in each event move on to the NCAA National Championship meet in Eugene, Oregon.

Austin Corley, a redshirt Freshman, is the only Shocker male athlete with a top 12 mark in the West going in. He has the 9th best time in the 400H with the PR he set in the Valley Championships. That was the 2nd best time in Shocker history.

[WuDrWu]

Jr. John Hoplin, seeded 4th of 16 in the 1st flight of the javelin, out threw his seed and finished 2nd in the flight.

Highly unlikely he'll advance in the top 12, but with the winds I guess you never know. The Shocks best hope here is from sophomore Aaron True who throws in the 3rd and last flight. He is the 12th seed if I am reading things correctly. Probably going to need a throw over 70 meters to qualify for Eugene.

[1972Shocker]

Shocker John Hoplin has fallen to 8th at the end of the 2nd flight of the javelin which is actually a pretty solid performance. But that won't last with the 3rd flight still to go. At this point John has a top 25 finish locked up though.

[WuDrWu]

U of Missouri Jr. Alex Pascal caught a flyer on his 3rd effort, throwing the javelin 70.22 meters, a full 5 meters ahead of 2nd place.

WSU's John Hoplin has fallen from 2nd to 8th place with the 2nd flight almost complete.

Edit: John is still 8th after 2 flights are completed. Good stuff. Would have been seeded 20th out of the 32 so far (or 36th of 48th total).

[WuDrWu]

Aaron did not get off a particularly strong throw and fouled anyway on his 1st attempt in the javelin.

Aaron wasn't the only thrower to foul. Almost half of the 3rd flight fouled on their 1st attempt.


Ioannis Kyriazis did not. He uncorked a throw of 76.09, a full 15 feet ahead of the freshman from Utah State.

Texas A&M [JR]


We have a new leader. The freshman from Utah State does not disappoint and gets 76.18 with his 2nd throw!
Sindri Godmundsson

Utah State [Fr]

Aaron fouls on his 2nd attempt too. He doesn't look right at all. I'll be surprised if he gets a legal throw at this point, and it wouldn't even shock me to see him pass at his 3rd attempt.

For what it's worth, John Hoplin's mark has dropped to 17th.

[1972Shocker]

Was that an over-the-line foul or a tail-first landing for Aaron?

[1972Shocker]

Looks like Aaron has fouled again on his 2nd throw.

[WuDrWu]

Aaron will need a throw of 66 meters on his last throw.....and it looked like a really good one!!!!!!

Awaiting the distance.........


65.70 meters or 215'7 just missing the top 12. Great throw on a really tough day.

Aaron finishes 15th, 2 feet 2 inches from qualifying. John finished 22nd.

[1972Shocker]

Aaron will need a throw of 66 meters on his last throw.....and it looked like a really good one!!!!!!

Awaiting the distance.........

65.70 meters or 215'7 just missing the top 12. Great throw on a really tough day.

Unfortunate that Aaron fouled on his 1st two throws. He is certainly capable of making a throw that would have been top 12. As it was he only missed a top 12 throw by a couple of feet.

[WuDrWu]

I wonder if there is a chance that Aaron could still be named All America. Don't they award the top 9 American athletes?

A quick search shows (at least) Iceland, Greece, South Africa (X2), Cayman Islands, Germany (X2), Great Britain and Sweden represented in the qualifying 12.

[1972Shocker]

I wonder if there is a chance that Aaron could still be named All America. Don't they award the top 9 American athletes?

A quick search shows (at least) Iceland, Greece, South Africa (X2), Cayman Islands, Germany (X2), Great Britain and Sweden represented in the qualifying 12.

The top 8 are named All-American and the next 8 are 2nd-Team All-Americans. However, I think the way they do this is based on how you finish at the National Championship meet even if you have a Top 8 or Top 16 mark during the season. Maybe @goshox74 can confirm or correct this.

Maybe they should rename the event the 2017 NCAA World Championships.

[1972Shocker]

So despite neither Aaron True a sophomore and John Hopkins, a junior, performing at their season best levels they finished 15th and 22nd respectively. There were 5 seniors who finished ahead of Aaron and a total of 9 seniros that finished ahead of John. So with some hard work and diligence perhaps next year we can get one or both of these guys into the National Finals.