Wichita State women want to end MVC track era with a record meet

Cessna Stadium is the site of the last Missouri Valley Conference championship decided on Wichita State’s campus. That is fitting, given the importance Wichita State’s track and field team puts on the conference meet.

From a team perspective, it is the priority. NCAA regional and national meets are largely about individual goals.

“The Valley has been the focus of our program,” WSU assistant director of track and field John Wise said. “We’re excited about the new conference, but we want to be respectful of the Valley. We want to give proper attention to our history.”

WSU will leave the MVC for the American Athletic Conference on July 1.

The MVC outdoor championships begin at Friday at Cessna Stadium and end Sunday. To celebrate its time in the MVC, WSU asked former Shocker champions such as Audacia Moore, Randy Smith, Mica Land, Natalie Morerod and Desiraye Osburn to hand out awards on Sunday.

The Shockers are favored to win both the men’s and women’s titles, as they did in 2016 and as they did in the indoor championships in late February. The last team to sweep the indoor and outdoor titles was Northern Iowa in 2008.

WSU’s men earned 63 points and seven of the eight first-place votes in a poll of coaches. Northern Iowa also received a first-place vote.

The Shocker women are a stronger favorite, grabbing all nine first-place votes and 81 points. Illinois State is second with 70 points.

“I think it’s the best women’s team that we’ve had,” WSU coach Steve Rainbolt said. “We’ve had some awfully nice teams, with some awfully good athletes. There’s more of those types of athletes on this team.”

Another title would continue a run of dominance by the Shocker women and they want to leave the MVC with a landmark performance. WSU has won the past three outdoor titles and five of the past six.

“We had a lot of people who could compete right off the bat in their freshman year,” senior distance runner Sidney Hirsch said. “Just being with those same people all three years has really made it a strong team.”

The MVC’s scoring record of 204 points, set by Southern Illinois in 2010, is one of the goals for this weekend. In 2011, WSU scored 194 points, its high mark.

WSU’s depth starts with its heptathletes, who rank 1-5 in the MVC. Leader Nikki Larch-Miller (5,551 points) is entered in the heptathlon, but may not compete so she can score points in other events. No. 2 is Breanne Borman (5,224), the defending champion.

In the javelin, Carlea Miles leads the MVC (155 feet, 4 inches) with two teammates in the top five. Courtney Mills (40-7) leads the triple jump with two teammates in the top five.

The Shockers lead the 400- and 1,600-meter relay standings. Nikki Larch-Miller is second in the 100 hurdles (13.35 seconds, with sister Taylor Larch-Miller (13.42) and Martiesha Caines (13.84) also in the top five.

On and on.

“It’s the balance and depth — that’s the defining characteristic of this team,” Rainbolt said. “In this meet, we’re going to look weak in the 800 meters. One event out of 21. The only reason is we didn’t enter anybody.”

This story was originally published May 9, 2017 at 6:09 PM with the headline "Wichita State women want to end MVC track era with a record meet."