The Kansas State track and field team opened up the outdoor season by traveling to San Angelo, Texas, to compete in the David Noble Relays on March 26-27. The Wildcats took six athletes who all competed in multiple events across their two days.

Freshman Lalie Pouzancre-Hoyer made a statement for K-State as she won the women’s heptathlon with 5,570 points. Now No. 9 in K-State women’s record books, she placed gold in three events and achieved two personal bests as well. 

Pouzancre-Hoyer placed first in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.89 seconds, along with 200 meters in 24.14 seconds. Off the lane lines and into the sand pit, she hit a personal record of 6.12m (20’1”), four inches better than her previous PR. Pouzancre-Hoyer wasn’t done, placing fifth in shot put with a throw of 10.78m (35’4.5”) and hitting another PR.

Two other Wildcats competed in the women’s heptathlon — freshman Zoey Brinker and senior Kayla Goodwin. 

Brinker was runner-up with 5,569 points, placing No. 10 in the school records. Clearing the bar at 1.85m (6’0.75”), Brinker hit a new personal record and won the high jump event. While she was able to take the title of one event, she was able to wrangle in a second-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.21 seconds. Brinker also had three third-place finishes — 200 meters with a time of 24.44, long jump with a leap of 5.87m (19.3.25”) and 800 meters clocking in at 2:20.57.

With 5,201 points, Goodwin found herself in fourth throughout the heptathlon events. She dominated in field events with first-place finishes in shot put and javelin, along with a second-place finish in long jump. Goodwin not only had a first-place finish in shot, but also PR’d with a throw of 12.25m (40’2.25”). To receive her second first-place finish for the meet, Goodwin skyrocketed her javelin, throwing a distance of 36.37m (119’4”). With a distance of 5.99m (19’8”), she also reached the second-place podium for long jump.

Competing in the men’s decathlon, all three Wildcats — senior Emil Uhlin and freshmen Dorian Charles and Mattix DaCunha — placed within the top five.

Leading the Wildcats on the men’s team, Uhlin placed second, racking up 7,773 points. Across the ten events, he finished within the top five, minus two events, placing tenth in the long jump and seventh in the 400 meters. Uhlin also made four second-place finishes, including shot put 13.49m (44’3.25”), high jump 2.01m (6’7”), discus throw 42.35m (138’11”) and lastly javelin 49.89m (163’8”). Capping off his performance, he placed first in pole vault, soaring 4.85m (15’11”).

Coming in right behind Uhlin was Charles, who finished with 7,720 points. Charles had quite the lineup of placings, including two first-place finishes: discus throw 42.99m (141’0”) and javelin 58.40m (191’7”). He also attained two second-place finishes in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 14.10 and in pole vault, clearing 4.55m ( 14’11”). Charles managed two third places as well, including a PR in one of those events. The PR came from a 7.14m (23’5.25”) jump during his run at the long jump. The other third-place finish happened in another field event, shot put, throwing 13.40m (43’11.75”).

DaCunha wrapped up the men’s decathlon for the Wildcats, finishing in fifth place with 6,959 points. DaCunha placed first in the 100 meters with a time of 10.58 and third in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 14.37. He also accumulated three fifth-place finishes — 400 meters 48.82 seconds, discus throw 34.66m (12’7.5”) and javelin 46.90m (153’10”).

The full track and field team will start the outdoor season on April 3-4 in Stanford, California, at the Stanford Invitational.