2020-21 Shocker Women XC and Track & Field

[WuDrWu]

Rebekah Topham's student athlete story should be told forever.

Her successes, both on the track, and more importantly off the track, are beyond remarkable.

[1972Shocker]

Tickets to Eugene Up For Grabs in College Station For Wichita State Track and Field

https://goshockers.com/news/2021/5/25/tickets-to-eugene-up-for-grabs-in-college-station-for-wichita-state-track-and-field.aspx

The regional round of the NCAA Track and Field Championships is here, and the Shockers are well-represented with 11 men and 6 women athletes slated to compete. Action in College Station takes place Wednesday through Saturday. 48 athletes enter the field in each event and 12 move onto the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Oregon in June. Running events will go through two rounds to decide the top 12 while the field-event athletes will have three attempts to put up a top-12 mark. The high jump will run as it would at any other meet.

Here's a breakdown of where the participating Shocker women are ranked heading into the meet.
Rebekah Topham - 3,000-Meter Steeplechase, 17th
Destiny Masters - High Jump, 23rd
Kourtni Hubert - Javelin, 37th
Nicole McMillen - 3,000-Meter Steeplechase, 39th
Yazmine Wright - 1,500 Meters, 42nd
Jacque Darby - Long Jump, 48th

Rebekah Topham in the Steeplechase and Freshman Destiny Masters out of El Dorado are the only Shocker women ranked in the top half of their events. Destiny has had a terrific first season. Her 2nd place high jump of 5-10.5 ties her for 3rd all-time at WSU with Tanya Friesen. Glad to see Senior Jacque Darby, out of Olathe South, just squeeze into the final spot on the long jump. Jacque has put in a lot of hard work to get the most out of her ability. Nice reward for her to get to participate in this regional.

Good luck, Ladies! Have fun. You have nothing to lose so cut it loose.

[1972Shocker]

Freshman Destiny Master in action at the AAC Championhsips:

[1972Shocker]

In the women's 3000m steeplechase Rebekah Topham finished 14th in 9:59.78 and Nicole McMillen finished 20th in 10:16.20 as both seniors finish up the Shocker careers. Rebekah, a future Shocker Hall of Famer, ran about 6 seconds off her her PR. She needed to run 3 seconds faster in order to advance to Eugene for the NCAA Championships. Just couldn't quite find it today. Nicole, a grad transfer, set a new PR by about 5 seconds as she had a very good year in her 1 year as a Shocker.

So the Lady Shocks were unable to advance any of their athletes to the NCAA Championships.

[1972Shocker]

Claudia Rojo Named AAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for Outdoor Track

https://goshockers.com/news/2021/7/8/track-and-field-rojo-named-aac-scholar-athlete-of-the-year-for-outdoor-track.aspx

Wichita State's Claudia Rojo is the American Athletic Conference's 2021 Scholar-Athlete of the Year for outdoor women's track and field.

Rojo posted a 3.950 GPA during the 2020-21 school year while pursuing a master's degree in Aerospace Engineering. Last spring, she completed her bachelor's degree (also in Aerospace Engineering) while maintaining a 3.84 cumulative GPA. For her outstanding academic achievements, WSU's chapter of Sigma Gamma Tau (the aerospace engineering honor society) named her its 2020 Outstanding Student Member.

Originally from Naron, Spain, Rojo has been a member of the Shocker program for six seasons. She missed the entire 2018 campaign to injury and received a bonus year due to COVID-19.

Rojo placed third in the heptathlon at 2021 American Athletic Conference Outdoor Championship and made the finals in the 400-meter hurdles. She holds WSU all-time top-10 marks in four different events.

Now that is what is very truthfully defined as a STUDENT-Athlete. Aerospace Engineering no less. Much kudos and respect for Claudia.