MANHATTAN, Kan. – Five Wildcats qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championship on Saturday (May 31) on the final day of the NCAA West Preliminary at E.B. Cushing Stadium in Bryan-College Station, Texas.
Senior Shalom Olotu qualified for her second event at nationals in the women’s triple jump, juniors Sharie Enoe and Tamaiah Koonce each earned bids in the women’s high jump and discus, respectively, while fellow juniors Safhia Hinds and Jourdin Edwards collected nods in the women’s 400-meter hurdles.
All five are advancing to the NCAA Outdoor Championship for the first time in their respective careers. Olotu had already qualified in the women’s long jump on Thursday (May 29) with a new personal-best mark.
With its five national bids on Saturday, Kansas State will send a total of nine athletes in eight events to the NCAA Championship, which is set for Wednesday-Saturday, June 11-14 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. They will be joined by senior Monique Hardy (women’s hammer), sophomore Riley Marx (men’s javelin), freshman Selva Prabhu (men’s triple jump) and senior Emil Uhlin (men’s decathlon).
For the second time in three days, Olotu posted a personal-best mark to qualify for her second event at the national meet to place 11th and earn one of the 12 qualifying spots in the triple jump. Her leap of 13.45m (44’-1 ½”) was not only a personal high but ranks as the No. 5 all-time outdoor mark in K-State history. It is the best performance by any Wildcat in the event in four years since Chantoba Bright recorded a jump of 13.53m (44’-4 ¾”) at the 2021 Guyana Senior National Championships.
Olotu had already qualified in the long jump on Thursday (May 29) with a new personal-best mark of 6.44m (21’ 1 ½”) (0.7) to finish ninth. Her performance ranked as the No. 4 best outdoor mark in school history in the event, as she recorded a new personal best in the event for the first time in two years.
Koonce placed sixth in the discus with a season-best mark of 55.99m (183’-8”). It was her best throw in the event in more than a year since her personal-best toss of 56.14m (184’-2”) at the 2024 Ward Haylett Invitational. It was also more than 10 feet better than her effort at the 2025 Big 12 Championship (52.88m/173’-6”) and nearly 3 feet better than her mark at last year’s West Preliminary.
Enoe continued her impressive spring in the high jump, placing fourth in the event with a mark of 1.84m (6’-0 ½”). She was one of four athletes to hit 1.84m on her first attempt but placed fourth overall due hitting her previous heights of 1.76m (5’9 ¼”) and 1.81m (5’-11 ¼”) on her second attempt. She has now recorded a mark of 1.8m in the high jump in all four outdoor meets, including her season-best mark of 1.88m (6’-2”) to finish as the runner-up at the 2025 Big 12 Championship.
Enoe will look to replicate her First Team All-America honors in the high jump at the NCAA Indoor Championships, where she tied for eighth place with clearance of 1.85m.
Hinds and Edwards each qualified in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with fourth- and seventh-place finishes, respectively, while senior Ludivine Aubert placed 19th with a time of 58.38. Hinds recorded a time of 56.34, which was her second-fastest mark of the season and the fastest since winning the 2025 Big 12 Championship in 55.90 seconds. Edwards ran a personal-best time of 56.73, which represented the fourth- fastest time in K-State’s all-time top-10.
The NCAA Championship kicks off Wednesday, June 11 with Marx in the finals of the men’s javelin and Uhlin in the first five events of the decathlon. The full schedule for the Championship can be found here.
FROM THE TRACK
Head Coach Travis Geopfert
On five more Wildcats advancing past the preliminary round…
"We’ve had a phenomenal week overall. Ten tickets punched total with 5 of them on this final day. I love watching the kids develop. Some of them I believe even surprised themselves. Clutch efforts across the board! Proud of the athletes and the coaches. This is an exhausting week, and we flat out got it done! We’re taking a great group to the NCAA Championship and these young men and women are excited to go out to Eugene and compete!”
NCAA West Preliminary
E.B. Cushing Stadium
Bryan-College Station, Texas
Women’s Discus
6. Tamaiah Koonce, 55.99m (183-8)
Women’s Triple Jump
11. Shalom Olotu, 13.45m (44-1 ½)
34. Taylor Mayo, 12.61m (41-4 ½)
Women’s High Jump
4. Sharie Enoe, 1.84m (6-0 ½)
Women’s 400-meter hurdles
4. Safhia Hinds, 56.34
7. Jourdin Edwards, 56.73