By Steve Holt, Sports Writer
Life is good for head track and field coach Jon Murray.
On Jan. 18, Murray’s wife, Samantha, gave birth to the couple’s third child.
Four days later, the most successful Division II track and field program in the nation kicked off its indoor season with a bang in Lubbock and Fayetteville, Ark., qualifying 13 individuals and three relay teams for the national meet.
Saturday, Murray will take his teams back to Lubbock for the Wes Kittley Classic and Masters Track and Field Meet. Murray, in his 14th season with ACU track and field and fourth as head coach, said his expectations are high for his squad of 51 men and women.
“I have been pleased with the shape the majority of the team came back from the holidays,” he said. “The team this year has worked hard all fall, and this work is going to pay off this spring.”
The men’s team has swept both the indoor and outdoor titles the past three seasons and has won 18 national championships with Murray coaching. The women have enjoyed similar success, claiming 13 national titles since 1991, but will look to return to the top of Division II this season after four seasons of sub-par finishes at nationals.
“I feel our women should be better than last year,” Murray said. “We have several new runners who will contribute right away on the national level.”
Leading the way for the women will be senior national pole vault champion Katie Eckley and teammate Val Gorter, who became the Nos. 1 and 2 Division II pole vaulters of all time in 2004. Eckley and Gorter likely will be pushed by sophomore Angie Aguilar, who already has an NCAA-leading vault of 12-5 _ under her belt this season.
“Our female pole vaulters are always special,” Murray said.
Adeh Mwamba returns to the roster after finishing second in the 1,500 meters and third in the 5,000 meters at the 2004 outdoor meet. Mwamba will add the 800 meters to her slate this season and will be joined by talented newcomer Denise Morgan, who already has the top time in the nation after last weekend’s meet in Lubbock.
The story of the season could be the sisters – the Hunt sisters, that is. Twin sophomore sprinters Brooklyn and Jessica are on the hunt for a family sweep in the 200-meter dash, the newest event added to the indoor national meet. Brooklyn finished seventh in the event in 2004, while Jessica was eighth. They’ll be challenged heavily, however, by newcomer Shawna-Kaye Thompson, one of the top high school sprinters and hurdlers from Kingston, Jamaica.
On the men’s side, the expectations will be high for athletes in the jumps and middle- and long-distance events.
Returning for the indoor season only, all-American Bernard Manirakiza will try to defend his indoor 800- and 1,500-meter titles. Joining him in the middle distance events will be South African transfer Lucky Hadebe, who specializes in the mile, and senior standout Martin O’Kello.
Leading the longer distances will be freshmen Nicodemus Naimadu and Laurent Ngirakamaro, who likely will focus on the 3,000 meters indoors and the 5,000 meters outdoors. Naimadu is coming off of a stellar cross country season, where he became just the second individual to win a Division II cross country title.
A senior from St. Louis and two Ukrainians will be the athletes to watch around the sand pits this season. Senior Ben Washington was the outdoor triple jump champion in 2003, but junior Yevgen Pashchenko took that title from him a year later. Newcomer Vladyslav Gorbenko should push both Washington and Pashchenko.
“They will be a fun group to see compete,” Murray said of the jumpers.
Nearly every notable ACU athlete will compete Saturday in Lubbock, including the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay teams, expected to post some good times this season.
Murray said the indoor season serves more as training ground for the outdoor season.
“Indoor is a great time to run competitive races while getting ready for the outdoor season,” Murray said. “We take it seriously and try to give our athletes plenty of opportunities to qualify for Nationals and do well in their races.”
Another thing Murray takes seriously is winning. Since joining the ACU coaching staff in 1991, Murray has been a part of Lone Star Conference and NCAA Division II championships in either cross country or track and field. He makes it crystal clear that the goal this spring is no different.
“One of our goals is always to get to the NCAA [Division] II National championship, and this group of athletes is committed to achieving this goal.”
