Track takes the field at Big 12s

Apologies for the tardiness of the Friday Slate. I figured you were all enjoying Friday-on-Thursday in yesterday’s Slate comment section, and I didn’t want to cut in on the fun. No, really.

Track

Let’s begin with track and field, since the men and women are headed to Norman for the Big 12 Championships, and there is real hardware on the line. The women are looking to defend their back-to-back Big 12 outdoor titles, and become the first conference team to win three The men too scored a program-best 103 points last year, and will look to build on that effort.

The action this weekend will feature Ranae McKenzie, defending 400m champion and holder of this season’s fastest time in the event, 56.11, along with Brett Neely (shot put) and Shardia Lawrence (triple jump), both former Big 12 title winners.

Five Wildcats currently hold the Big 12’s top spot in their respective events: Tejaswin Shankar (high jump), Kassidy Johnson, McKenzie (400m), Taishia Pryce (long jump), and Helene Ingvaldsen (hammer throw).

Competition is already underway in the combined events, and we already have a Big 12 individual title in the bag!

Also, in the women’s heptathlon, Kansas State’s Lauren Taubert is currently in the lead (after two events), with teammates Ariel Okorie and Morgan Coffman following closely behind.

A full schedule is available HERE, and results can be tracked by following @KStateTFXC on Twitter.

Baseball

In the last home series of the season, Kansas State will take on West Virginia. First pitch tonight is scheduled for 6 PM at Tointon Family Stadium.

Tomorrow, the team will honor its four seniors prior to the 4 PM game. One of those seniors is Mitch Zubradt who has taken a long and unusual path to become the BatCats’ top relief pitcher this season.

The entire series can be seen on ESPN3 and on streaming devices.

Meat Judging

If you had to guess a competitive endeavor where Kansas State is among the blueblood programs, your best choice would be meat judging, where (along with livestock judging), the school has won several titles.

Outside of the most committed ag schools, however, intercollegiate meat judging remains somewhat obscure. This article from Mike Piellucci of Sports Illustrated attempts to demystify what may be America’s coldest sport.

Miscellany

It’s rained a lot this spring, and especially in south-central Kansas, where 16 counties are reporting massive flooding (i.e. the proverbial “100 year flood”) and Governor Laura Kelly has signed a disaster declaration.

Parts of the Kansas Turnpike, especially near the border with Oklahoma, have been closed down, although the southbound section between Wellington and Oklahoma opened again on Thursday.

We all have some sort of connection to the state of Kansas and those who live there, so please join flood relief efforts to the extent possible.

Stay safe, stay dry.