[Outdoor Track & Field] Track teams ready for KCAC Championships on home turf

Kansas Wesleyan's Tyler Logan (SO/Loveland, Colo.) wants to compete well and succeed during the Kansas Conference's Outdoor Track and Field Championships on Thursday and Friday at Graves Family Sports Complex.

 

No matter how he fares, though, Logan will have a sense of accomplishment that few can appreciate.

 

Logan, a sophomore from Loveland, Colo., missed last season after having heart valve replacement surgery in December of 2017 – an intricate and serious procedure.

 

"I had some complications with my pulmonary valve and we decided the best thing to do was to quit activity because that was going to cause more harm than good," said Logan, who ran for the Coyotes as a freshman during the 2016-17 season.

 

Just being able to jog again would to be an accomplishment for many, but Logan vowed to return to the competitive level was at before the surgery.

 

"I was unable to do activity on my own for about three to four months," he said. "About two months out I was able to do cardio rehab just because that was controlled with physicians and stuff like that for two or three days a week.

 

"That was a lot of walking and monitoring and seeing how your heart reacts. I didn't have to do it, but did to get on pace faster and be more active."

 

He returned to KWU last fall and began preparations for the outdoor season under the guidance of Coyote head coach Luke Samford and assistant Garrett Young.

 

It was a long and arduous process.

 

"He basically had to start from square one this year," Samford said. "When he first came back it was pretty rough for him. He wasn't doing very well athletically compared to what he'd been used to."

 

"I think I had very unrealistic goals of how fast I could get back," Logan said. "I was always able to run but how far can I run and can I do the workouts I need to do? That was a long process to figure out what works for me best.

 

"There were ups and downs with how I could finish workouts with what I was able to do. Once I finally got a routine that I could slowly work into I was able to get back on pace."

 

Samford said his progress is a work in progress.

 

"He's still a couple of steps behind where he was his freshman year," he said, "but I think at the conference championship he'll have a little more fire in his belly and I think he's ready to go run a really fast time in the 400 meters."

 

Logan's thrilled to just be able to compete in the first KCAC meet at Graves and first in Salina since 1968.

 

"I'm very appreciative of the lengths I've had to go through," he said. "I'm very grateful for the opportunity I've been given."

 

Twenty-six conference teams (13 men, 13 women) will converge on Graves and the newly-constructed Bieber-Doherty-Scofield Throws Venue located at 1500 Coronado Street, at the south end of Sunset Park on the Earl Bondy Memorial Baseball Complex.

 

Friends is the defending women's team champion and McPherson the defending men's champion.

 

Samford said having the event at home is a plus for his athletes.

 

"They get to have a meet that's like a normal day for them," he said. "Every day at practice is a normal day but every time we go to compete it's something new. It's travel, they're not eating the food they that normally eat every day, so having it here is a big benefit for us. The athletes get sleep in their own bed the night before and show up for the races."

 

Stephanie Martinez (FR/Horizon City, Texas), a freshman middle distance runner, said there's some pressure running at home.

 

"There's not a lot of people on the track team so it's really nice for people to see what we're doing rather than just hearing about it," she said. "We've worked really hard all year and now it's all going to come down to this. We want to go out and show what we can do."

 

Martinez, who hails from Horizon City, Texas, is looking forward to building on the progress she's made since arriving at Wesleyan in the fall, most notably in the 5,000-meter run.

 

"Coach usually gives us times to hit at practice, which is funny because towards the end of cross country he's like 'I can't wait to see an 18-something time for your 5K.' I was like 'that's insane,'" she said.

 

"I could never break a 20 (minutes) back in high school and now I've broken a 20, I've broken 19 and I'm in the 18s right now, which is really crazy. I'm going to be (in the 17s) probably next year, hopefully."

 

Samford said he has high expectations for four Coyotes on the men's side.

 

"Lane Peters (FR/Scandia, Kan.) has qualified for the nationals in the 100-meters and hopefully he can hit the standard in the 200," he said. "Mickey Sarafin is the returning champion in the 1,500 meters and we're really excited for that. John Greening (SR/Goleta, Calif.) and Kaeori Giron (FR/El Paso, Texas) are really going to have good 10Ks on Thursday."

 

Samford looks for four individuals to lead the women's effort.

 

"Our three heavy-hitters in the middle distances races should do well," he said. "Tabetha Deines (FR/Salina, Kan.), a (Salina) girl, is ranked pretty high in the 800; Makenzie Tucker (FR/Grantville, Kan.) is ranked well in the 1,500, 800 and pole vault; and Stephanie Martinez is ranked really high in the 1,500 and 5K. Natalie Soukup (SO/Ellsworth, Kan.) is looking good in the hammer throw, so we're excited for her."

 

Field events begin at 1 p.m. Thursday and noon Friday. Running events begin at 4:45 p.m. Thursday and 5 p.m. Friday.

 

Single day admission is $12 for adults, $6 for seniors, faculty and staff and $3 for students. Two-day passes are $20 for adults, $10 for seniors, faculty and staff and $5 for students. There's no charge for children 5-under.