By Jared Fields, Managing Editor
After splitting his teams across three meets last weekend, head coach Don Hood returned with three new automatic qualifiers and eight provisional marks.
All but two provisional marks came in Arkansas at the Tyson Indoor Invitational.
“The highlights there were probably Serge [Gasore] and Nicodemus [Naimadu],” Hood said. “Nicodemus wasn’t feeling well and still ran well.”
Gasore ran a time of 14:27.35 in the 5,000-meters for a provisional mark.
The women picked up automatic qualifiers in the 4×400-meter relay and in the pole vault, with Angie Aguilar posting the best height in the nation at 13-0.75 feet.
The women’s relay team notched the third-best time in Division II this with a time of 3:44.25.
Azraa Rounds, who anchored the relay, provisionally qualified in the 400-meters with a time of 56.37.
Hood said Denise Morgan and Mary Mwangi ran personal bests in their respective events.
“That’s people we didn’t have in nationals last year,” Hood said.
Morgan posted a provisional time of 57.04 in the 400-meters, and Mwangi ran a 2:13.80 to provisionally qualify in the 800-meters.
While the Arkansas meet saw success, the members of the men’s 4×400 relay, who went to the Iowa State Classic, saw different results.
Hood said he hoped to use the bigger track and tougher competition to his team’s advantage; however, the men failed to post a qualifying mark in the 4×400-meter relay.
“I don’t know what’s working there,” Hood said about the relay team. “We’ll try a different combo in Oklahoma.”
Hood sent most of the athletes to Texas Tech, where two people provisionally qualified.
Women’s shot-putter Liga Klavina posted a qualifying mark with a distance of 44-1.25, but Hood said she could do better.
“She’s still not quite where she wanted. It’s at least a start,” Hood said of Klavina, who has been bothered by injuries in her career. “Her knees are more healthy now than they have been since she’s been in Abilene.”
The men’s long jump saw a surprise qualifying. Campy Pounds, while competing in the pentathlon, jumped 23-5.50 feet to provisionally qualify for nationals. His mark currently puts him seventh in the nation.
Pounds said he thought he had a chance to qualify for Boston but not in the long jump.
“I’m not satisfied, I want to do more,” Pounds said. “Training wise it doesn’t change much, I’m still trying to make it on the pole vault.”
