With the opening of JRI Stadium and the Graves Family Sports Complex in October of 2015, Kansas Wesleyan’s goal was to routinely host large college track meets.
It became reality in 2019, when the Kansas Conference’s Outdoor Track and Field Championships were successfully staged there. But no full-scale meets occurred again for five years. The Coyote Distance Carnival was held in April each of the past two years, but that was running only and did not include jumps or field events.
The long drought comes to a screeching halt this spring when KWU is the site for not one but two events — the Coyote Challenge on April 18-19 and the KCAC Outdoor Championships on May 1-2.
“We’ve hosted our distance carnival, and it’s gone off without a hitch,” KWU track and field coach Kyle Hiser said. “The big thing we got was a lot of the other coaches from other schools saying how nice the facility is and the resources we have are top notch. So, the goal has been to do this distance carnival and then grow this into a full-size track meet.”
JRI Stadium features an eight-lane track and ample space for jumps on the artificial-turfed surface. Field events will be at KWU’s facility at the south end of Bondi Baseball Complex on Coronado Avenue behind UM Church of the Cross, about a half-mile away — the same location as 2019.
Hiser, who is in his sixth season at KWU, said the university is well-equipped and eager to tackle the task of staging the meets.
“I was confident in the meetings, saying that we can host these and we can do it well,” he said. “We have a big administrative staff, and we have the biggest coaching staff in the conference. They’ve been around the sport for a really long time, and they know what a successful track meet looks like.
“The KCAC office has been very helpful giving us the resources and having confidence in Kansas Wesleyan. We’ve hosted high-level championship events in other sports, so they know we do a good job.”
KWU Director of Athletics Miguel Paredes agreed.
“The support here from President (Matt) Thompson, (Executive Vice President for Advancement and University Operations) Ken Oliver and all the way down is just amazing,” he said. “It’s because of that support that we have the facilities and the structure to not only show off what we have but, more importantly, give the experience a student athlete would normally get at a higher level. We’re excited about the opportunity.”
Hiser is eager to showcase JRI Stadium and his team, particularly after the men’s squad won the first conference indoor title in school history Feb. 15-16 in Omaha.
“Now we get to try to defend it outdoors,” he said. “In 1942 was the only other men’s outdoor track and field championship here at Kansas Wesleyan. The last time we hosted the conference championships here, we had 18 student athletes competing in Kansas Wesleyan uniforms, men and women. This time, we will have a minimum of 60.
“We’ve had some upgrades and some newer things that are going to be available. There’s actually grass at the throws facility and, hopefully, we’ll cook up some better weather (the first KCAC meet was hampered by rain).”
Having the field events at a separate venue was not a problem in 2019. Some, in fact, view it as positive.
“To be honest, I prefer having it slightly off campus,” Coyote throws coach Shaquelle Lewis said. “Traditionally, when the runners are going on the track and the throws are going on, people are more likely to pay attention to the running events. But with it just being a throws venue, I think it’ll allow us to have our own little mini-meet.
“It does give people an opportunity to focus on the actual field events, rather than being distracted because the gun went off,” Paredes said.
Lewis offers anther pragmatic reason for hosting the meet here.
“My athletes love it because they can sleep in their own bed, they don’t have to travel and can be a little bit more relaxed, a little bit more comfortable in their environment,” he said.
Paredes said the benefits extend beyond the student athletes and the university.
“It gives the regular student body an opportunity to go out there — they may not have had a chance to watch their friends and classmates compete,” he said. “For local businesses, it will provide them with an opportunity to increase their revenues, as well. You have teams and parents coming in and having a chance to see what Salina looks like.”
For Hiser it is a chance to say thank you.
“From our coaching staff and an administration perspective, it’s giving the athletes who took a chance on us very early on that opportunity to go out on a high note,” he said. “They came into a program that was kind of a sleeping giant, and it’s awakened now. I take a lot of pride in giving our athletes the opportunity to compete in a championship event at home.”
Story by Bob Davidson
