Lincoln – Nebraska track and field put together a strong showing in the season debut, earning event titles in 18 of the 29 events and setting two new school records at the Husker Holiday Open on Friday.

Highlighting the day, Axelina Johansson opened up her senior campaign breaking the school record and Swedish record in the shot put with a mark of 19.72m (64-8 ½) to win the event title.

Dyson Wicker broke a school record of his own, clearing 5.62m (18-5 ¼), earning the men’s pole vault title. Cade Moran won the men’s shot put title, moving up to fifth in school history with a mark of 20.07m (65-10 ¼). 

Donna Douglas made a strong debut for Nebraska, winning the all-Husker women’s weight throw with a mark of 19.33m (63-5), followed by Hillevi Carlsson (18.38m, 60-3 ¾), Harshita Sehrawat (18.33m, 60-1 ¾), and Sage Burbach (17.60m, 57-9). 

Aspen Fears won the women’s pole vault title, clearing 3.96m (12-11 ¾), and Arina Razina took second with a mark of 3.81m (12-6).

Seth Schnakenberg set a new personal best in the men’s weight throw with a mark of 20.87m (68-5 ¾), earning the event title. Noah Isaia (20.52m, 67-4), Brett Schwartz (20.08m, 65-10 ½), and Gustav Rydaker (19.83m, 65-0 ¾) rounded out the top four.

In the women’s 300m, Abrielle Artley won the event title, running 39.00. Sakena Massiah made her Husker debut, earning a third-place spot, running a 39.93.

Three Husker men made their program debut in the 300m. Emmanuel Rwotomiya finished second with a time of 34.28. Jacorric Allen (34.71, 3rd) and Richard Simpson (34.95, 4th) followed with quality showings for their first races as Huskers.

Elo Blessing Okpah raced as the only Husker in the women’s 60m and took first place with a time of 7.66. Ashriel Dixion also raced solo for the Huskers in the men’s competition and took second with a personal best 6.88.

In the men’s 60m hurdles, Brayden Bergkamp won the event, running a personal best 8.18. Kate Campos kicked off her career as a Husker, winning the women’s 60m with an 8.52.

Alea Hardie took the women’s mile title, running a new personal best of 4:56.18. Jaylee Wingate came in second, finishing with a 5:02.80. On the men’s side, Gabe Nash took the event title, running a 4:15.26. Grant Wasserman came in second with a 4:17.16.

In the men’s 600m, sophomore William McDavid won the event with a 1:20.05. On the women’s side in the 400m, Luciana Medina took second, running 58.12.

Ela Velepec hit a new personal best of 1.83m (6-0) to claim the title in the women’s high jump. Karsyn Leeing came in second, also clearing 1.83m (6-0). Junior, Luke Noland, from Kearney, Mo., took the long jump title at 7.04m (23-1 ¼). 

In the women’s 4×400, the Huskers (Sakena Massiah, Abrielle Artley, Kelsie Belquist, Luciana Medina) won the event title with a 3:43.41. The Husker men (Richard Simpson, James Ledbetter, Jacorric Allen, William McDavid) followed that up with another first-place finish in the men’s 4×400 with a time of 3:15.61.

Desire Tonye-Nyemeck took the men’s high jump title, with an indoor personal best, clearing 2.14m (7-0 ¼).

​​Up next, Nebraska hosts the Graduate Classic Jan. 16-17 at the Devaney Sports Center Indoor Track.

Husker Holiday Event Winners
Donna Douglas (Weight Throw)
Aspen Fears (Pole Vault)
Seth Schnakenberg (Weight Throw)
Abrielle Artley (300m)
Kate Campos (60m Hurdles)
Brayden Bergkamp (60m Hurdles)
Elo Blessing Okpah (60m)
Alea Hardie  (mile)
Gabe Nash (mile)
William McDavid (600m)
Dyson Wicker (pole vault)
Ela Velepec (high jump)
Axelina Johansson (shot put)
Luke Noland (long jump)
Sakena Massiah, Abrielle Artley, Kelsie Belquist, Luciana Medina (4×400)
Richard Simpson, James Ledbetter, Jacorric Allen, William McDavid (4×400)
Desire Tonye-Nyemeck (high jump)
Cade Moran (shot put)

MANHATTAN, Kan. – The K-State track and field teams will start the 2026 season in the new year as Travis Geopfert, Director of Track and Field/Cross Country, announced the season schedule on Friday (December 12). The season will feature four home meets, at the Cliff Rovelto Indoor Track and R.V. Christian Track.
 
The Wildcats will begin the indoor season on Friday, January 16, with the Thane Baker Invitational. Teams set to compete include Big 10 Champions Oregon, Oklahoma State, BYU Women, Kansas, Wichita State, Northern Iowa and Tulsa. The Wavelight Pacing System will be utilized for the final track events, the 800 meters, mile run and 3,000 meters.
 
Two weeks later K-State will host the DeLoss Dodds Invitational on Friday-Saturday, January 30-31. Participating teams will include Oklahoma, Baylor, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, USC, Nebraska and Air Force.
 
The meet will also serve as part of the 2026 World Athletics Indoor Tour featuring six field events showcasing the sports best athletes, including Olympians, World Championship Medalists and NCAA All-Americans. On January 30 there will be four World Athletics events, the women’s pole vault, men’s high jump and men’s and women long jump while the men’s and women’s triple jump will take place on January 31.
 
The Cats will hit the road just once in the regular season for the Tyson Invitational on February 13-14 in Fayetteville, Ark., before hosting the last meet, a tune up for the postseason, the Steve Miller Invitational on Friday, February 20.
 
The Big 12 Championship is back in Lubbock, Texas, on February 27-28 at the Sports Performance Center hosted by Texas Tech. On March 13-14 is the indoor NCAA Championship, where qualifying Wildcats will make a trip back to Fayetteville at the Randal Tyson Track Center.
 
Starting off the outdoor season three weeks later on April 3-4, K-State will fly to Stanford, Calif., for the first time since the 2014 season, for the Stanford Invitational.
 
The team will take back-to-back trips to participate in meets for a consecutive season, the Oregon Team Invitational on April 17-18 in Eugene, Ore., and the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 23-25.
 
The Cats will host one outdoor meet, the Ward Haylett Invitational, on Friday, May 8, prior to the postseason. The Big 12 Championship will take place in Tucson, Ariz., hosted by Arizona for the first time, on May 14-16 at Drachman Stadium.
 
The NCAA West Preliminary takes the team back to Fayetteville, Ark., on May 27-30 as Wildcats look to qualify for the NCAA Championship from June 10-13 back in Eugene at Hayward Field.
 

2025-26 Track & Field Schedule
Indoor Season
Jan. 16               Thane Baker Invitational
Jan. 30-31          DeLoss Dodds Invitational
Feb. 13-14          Tyson Invitational
Feb. 20               Steve Miller Invitational
Feb. 27-28          Big 12 Championship
Mar. 13-14          NCAA Championship
 
Outdoor Season
Apr. 3-4              Stanford Invitational
Apr. 17-18          Oregon Team Invitational
Apr. 23-25          Drake Relays
May 8                 Ward Haylett Invitational
May 14-16          Big 12 Championship
May 27-30          NCAA West Preliminary
June 10-13         NCAA Championship
 
 

— k-statesports.com —

 
How to follow the ‘Cats: For complete information on the K-State Track and Field and Cross Country Teams, visit www.kstatesports.com and follow the team’s social media channels on X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Facebook.

AUSTIN, Texas. — The No. 3 Texas Volleyball team rolled past No. 15 Indiana (25-20, 25-22, 25-22) to advance to the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament. In the last 20 regional semifinal appearances, the Longhorns have advanced to 18 NCAA Regional Finals, 12 National Semifinals and eight National Championship matches. 

Junior Torrey Stafford became just the second Longhorn since 2013 to reach 500 kills in a season and first since Madisen Skinner in 2023 who finished with 547. Stafford also reached 700 career digs (705) with eight on the day along with four blocks, which tied her season high. The outside hitter recorded a .679 hitting percentage, marking her season high. In addition, Stafford became the sole Longhorn since 2013 to register 500 kills and 250 digs in the same season. 

Texas put up .374 hitting percentage as a team, while limiting Indiana to .217. Freshman Cari Spears totaled eight kills and three digs while hitting .312. Middle blocker Nya Bunton recorded seven kills and five blocks, while outside hitter Whitney Lauenstein registered seven kills and season-high four blocks. Sophomore Ayden Ames contributed six of the 12 total blocks for the Longhorns, along with three kills. Libero Ramsey Gary reached 200 digs at Texas (201) with three while facing her former team. 

Set One: Texas extended the lead with a 4-0 run to 14-8 in the first set against the Hoosiers, taking the set 25-20. Stafford totaled six kills while hitting .750, with Bunton putting up three blocks amongst Texas’ four in set one. The Longhorns hit .323 while limiting Indiana to only .162 and one block. 

Set Two: The Longhorns won the second set 25-22. Texas put up five team blocks, with Ames leading the charge with four. Stafford recorded nine kills while hitting .818, with Ella Swindle contributing 11 of her 30 assists. 

Set Three: Texas completed the sweep over the Hoosiers with a  25-22 set three win. Lauenstein (6) and Bunton (5) combined for 11 kills for the Longhorns. Bunton hit perfect during the final set of the match (5-for-5). 

Texas will face the winner between No. 5 Stanford and No. 10 Wisconsin in the Regional Final of the NCAA Tournament. The game time is TBD for either 2:30 pm CT on ABC or 6:30 pm CT on ESPN.