The stable of thoroughbreds for the Wichita State University track and field team have had another step to the forefront.
Great Bend High School graduate and school-record holder Alex Reed is already making his mark as a freshman sprinter for the Shockers.
Reed, a freshman, will be the lead runner for Wichita State in the men’s 4x400-meter relay, which has qualified for the NCAA outdoor track and field championships at Austin, Texas, on May 25-26.
Reed and his WSU teammates — sophomore DJ Lindsay, sophomore Kyle Long and senior Dylan Hartnett — finished second overall during the Missouri Valley Conference meet last weekend at Cessna Stadium in Wichita, clocking three minutes, 11.25 seconds.
“It’s pretty exciting because that’s the fastest relay team (Wichita State) has ever had,” said Reed of the group, which established a season-best 3:09.90 at the Kansas Relays at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence earlier in the season.
“To be the only freshman going, it’s really awesome.”
Reed narrowly missed qualifying for the national meet in his speciality, the 400, an event where he became a three-time Class 5A champion at GBHS, setting school records in the 400 (48.37), along with the long jump (23 feet, 10 inches).
Reed finished in third place at the MVC meet in a personal-best time of 47.9. The qualifying time for the national meet was 47.3.
“I had lane one at the conference meet and I was freaking out,” Reed said. “I’m way in the back and I have to catch everybody, but we had really good practices earlier in the week and I was feeling it, I guess.
“I was pretty excited because during the indoor season, I missed the 400 finals by three-hundreds of a second. I got ninth and the top eight places went.”
Reed’s workout partner has been Hartnett, a Dodge City product. Hartnett also became a two-time MVC champion in the 400, winning his second straight crown last weekend (47.49).