PITTSBURG, Kan. – The Pittsburg State men’s track and field team knows everyone is coming for them from here on out.
“We’re going to have that target on our backs,” says sophomore Braylen Brewer, “We have to let that pressure drive us and make us better.”
Pitt State has moved into the #1 spot in the USTFCCCA national rankings this week for the first time in program history.
“We’ve been hovering around the top-five the last few weeks,” Brewer says, “We finally got to that number one spot with the great weekend we had last weekend.”
The Gorillas posted seven new school records last weekend hosting the 7th annual Gorilla Indoor Classic.
That includes three school records for Brewer, who was named the MIAA Track Athlete of the Week this week after breaking PSU records in the 400 meter race (46.59), the 200 meter race (21.16) and helping the DMR team break the school record with a time of 9:37.45.
Freshman jumper LJ Kiner was named the MIAA Field Athlete of the Week this week. Kiner won the triple jump on Saturday with a mark of 52 feet, 125 inches. That distance is a new Pitt State record and is the #1 mark in all of Division II this season. He also earned an NCAA Division II provisional qualifying distance in the long jump with a mark of 23 feet, 10 inches – while helping the 4X400 relay team do the same with a time of 3:15.56.
“I feel like we should have been number one in the nation. We deserve it,” Kiner says, “We’re putting it all together in time for championships. There’s still a lot more we can do, and we’re still going to do a lot this indoor season. We’re not done.”
“We have to have that mentality that we can’t think about the rankings,” Brewer adds, “We just have to keep going, and act like we’re not even in the top 10. That’s our mentality.”
“They show up every day with a purpose of what they need to achieve. They really don’t get too wrapped up in the rankings,” says Pitt State head coach Kyle Rutledge, “It’s nice to have it and it’s nice to be recognized, but we all know that rankings don’t mean anything. What really matters is what you do when you show up that day. Our guys have had that mission to showing up every day since outdoor nationals of being better at the national level. Our guys are self-driven. We’re just trying to stay calm and show up every day and do what we need to do.”
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