Small-town Kansas produces Wichita State track’s first indoor high-jump All-American
Given its history of success with small-town Kansas kids, it probably shouldn’t be a surprise that Beloit is the hometown of the Wichita State track and field team’s first All-American in the indoor high jump.
Brady Palen, a former Kansas high school state champion high-jumper, cleared 7 feet, 1¾ inches to finish in a four-way tie for seventh place in the men’s high jump final at the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. this past Saturday.
The sophomore from Beloit’s All-American finish is the highest NCAA Indoor Championships finish from a Shocker since Hunter Veith, another small-town Kansas athlete from Cheney, placed second in the heptathlon in 2018.
“I’m incredibly proud of Brady and happy for him,” WSU head coach Steve Rainbolt told GoShockers.com. “People really do not realize how tough it is to go to your first NCAA meet and perform on that stage and do what he did. This was an incredible competitive effort. Major props to Brady.”
In fact, there were two small-town Kansas athletes who earned All-American honors in the same event, as KU sophomore Devin Loudermilk, who graduated from West Elk, finished third by clearing a personal-best mark of 7-3. South Florida junior Romaine Beckford won the national title with a mark of 7-4¼.
Earlier this season, Palen tied the WSU men’s indoor record by clearing the bar at 7-3¼, which matched Mark Todd’s school-record clearance set in 1985.
“It’s pretty exciting,” Palen told GoShockers.com. “I came in tied for seventh, and I’m leaving tied for seventh. My bar wasn’t super high, but I’m still proud of my first performance at NCAA Nationals.”
The WSU track and field team shifts to outdoor season with a season-opening meet scheduled this Saturday at Emporia State. WSU will host a home-opening meet from March 24-25 and host the Shocker Pre-State and K.T. Woodman Classic at Cessna Stadium from April 6-8.
