By Jared Fields, Managing Editor
Despite a gusty Saturday at TCU, Nicodemus Naimadu set another record, and the men’s and women’s track and field teams managed to come away with new provisional qualifiers.
Naimadu set the meet record in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:13.54, beating the old record by just under 20 seconds.
Davy Manga, who already automatically qualified in the triple jump and provisionally in the long jump, threw the javelin 196-9.00 feet for a fourth place finish and provisional mark. Manga’s throw currently ranks him 21st in the nation.
“Sure enough, on his last one, he popped off a really good one,” said head coach Don Hood. “I think that’s going to get him really close.”
Hood said Manga is capable of throwing farther, but it may not enter him in the event until possibly the ACU Open on May 10.
“It depends on how his shoulder’s feeling. We just kinda have to wait and see,” Hood said.
Manga feels he can improve his mark.
“Coach Cook helped me a lot,” Manga said. “If I’m still learning then maybe I can throw farther.”
Manga said the javelin is his favorite event and has a competition going with teammate and fellow Frenchman Camille Vandendriescche.
“Camille challenged me in the javelin; he said he’d qualify if I did,” Manga said. “I’m on the list; I’m waiting for [him].”
This weekend Manga will compete in the 110-meter hurdles and the shuttle hurdles at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Manga ran a 14.88 at TCU but needs to drop a few tenths still to earn a qualifying mark. Manga said he trained hard at the hurdles a few years ago, but before coming to ACU he had not worked at them often.
“When I came here it was like I started again,” Manga said.
In the men’s 200 meters, Marvin Bien-Aime posted a provisional time of 21.23 with Mark Paige just behind, bettering his provisional time in eighth place at 21.24. The times place the two at seventh and eighth in the nation, respectively.
The men’s 4×400-meter relay finished fourth behind host school TCU with a provisional time of 3:13.84, good for ninth in the nation.
On the women’s team, Venessa Whittle placed fourth in the 800 meters with a provisional time of 2:12.79. Whittle was the only women’s athlete to add a new qualifying mark.
One of the athletes who bettered her time was Ohla Kryv’yak in the 1,500 meters. She won the event in 4:31.40 minutes, ranking her sixth in the nation.
“She ran a great time even with all that wind,” Hood said.
The women’s 4×400 relay finished second, bettering its automatic time with a time of 3:41.28 and is ranked first in the nation.
In the 400 meters, Keva Wilkins finished third to better her provisional mark with a time of 54.90.
Aside from the accomplishments on the track, Hood said he thinks the best part of the meet came afterwards when everyone returned home healthy.
“That was probably the highlight of it, and we had a great workout [Monday],” Hood said. “Everyone was in really good spirits today; I’m pretty encouraged by it.”
