By Steve Holt, Sports Writer
ACU posted eight new and two improved qualifying marks at the 34th annual Angelo State David Noble Relays in San Angelo,Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Four women and three men added their names to the provisional qualifying list for the national meet in eight events, as just four meets remain until the NCAA Division II Outdoor National Track and Field Championships, which will take place at Elmer Gray Stadium May 26-28.
Head coach Jon Murray said he was pleased with the performances overall.
“Our main objective at the ASU meet was to concentrate on an individual event and get ready for the Lone Star Conference meet the next weekend,” Murray said. “I was especially pleased with the men’s and women’s 200 meters and the women’s 400 meters and 800 meters. We had some great performances in those races.”
Only the athletes who had not yet qualified for the national meet in their events or who needed to improve on previous provisional marks participated in San Angelo. Leading the way for the women was Brooklyn Hunt, who qualified provisionally in both the 200- and 400-meter dashes, finishing in 24.38 and 56.10, respectively. Both times should be fast enough to get her into the sprint races at the national meet.
Brooklyn’s twin, Jessica, also posted a provisional qualifying time of 24.42 in the 200-meter dash, finishing sixth in the race, immediately behind her sister. Keva Wilkins took first place in the women’s 400-meter dash with a fast provisional time of 55.49. Middle-distance star Addeh Mwamba finished second in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:09.13, one of the top times in the nation and a provisional mark.
For the men, Marvin Bien-Aime moved his name up the list of 200-meter dash qualifiers with his 21.07 performance, while teammate Ricardo Johnson ran a provisionally qualifying time of 21.29 in the preliminary race. Delt Cockrell also qualified provisionally in the preliminaries of the 200-meter dash, matching the provisional standard of 21.50.
Junior Cory Aguilar continued to improve his provisional mark in the pole vault, clearing 16-3 _ for second place in the event. In addition to winning the long jump Saturday, Ben Washington also improved his mark in the triple jump, placing first with a jump of 49-10.
The Wildcat men have posted provisional or automatic qualifying marks in 19 events to date, while the women have qualified in 20 events.
Murray said the teams are in a good position entering the post-season meets.
“We are in a great position for the national meet as relates to qualifiers,” he said. “I anticipate even more this coming weekend at the conference championship. We are strong in the sprints and distance areas for both the men’s and women’s team and the jumps in the men’s area. One area I would like for us to improve is the women’s pole vault and I think with the opportunity this weekend we can do it.”
The men and women will return to San Angelo Friday for the Lone Star Conference Championship Meet.
