By Jared Fields, Editor in Chief
The ACU men’s and women’s track teams didn’t let Friday’s cold weather hinder their performance at the ACU Triangular meet at Elmer Gray Stadium.
The Wildcats competed against Big 12 power Baylor and the Sun Belt Conference’s North Texas.
The highlight of the meet came at the throwers’ ring at the former intramural field. Freshmen Tyler Fleet and Nick Jones went head-to-head in the discus, where Fleet won and Jones placed second. Fleet’s mark of 184-1 is the best in NCAA Division II and Jones’ of 179-9 is second best. The two traded the top spot in the finals, before Fleet’s final throw bested Jones.
“The highlight, without a doubt, was our discus guys,” said head coach Don Hood. “Those are the best two freshmen throwers in the history of ACU. With our history of throwers and field event athletes, that’s pretty impressive.”
Both throws bested their previous automatic marks.
Also highlighting Friday’s meet were ACU jumpers Davy Manga and Ramon Sparks. Manga won the triple jump with the nation’s current top collegiate mark of 52-8.75.
Sparks provisionally qualified in the long and triple jump, winning the long jump with a distance of 24-6.25 and placing second in the triple jump at 48-9.00.
Desmond Jackson won the 100 meters with a time of 10.60, ranking him fifth in the nation.
On the women’s side Friday, Winrose Karunda, the 5,000-meter indoor champion, won the 3,000 meters which bettered her previous automatic time in the event. Loice Cheboi finished second, earning a provisional mark.
Kelli Clements and Callie Young posted provisional marks in field events. Clements won the shot put with a throw of 45-4.25 while Young’s pole vault of 11-11.75 earned her a provisional mark.
Four men’s pole vaulters posted provisional times with Cory Altenberg’s leading jump of 16-2.75 leading the way. Landon Ehlers, Stephen Toler and decathlete Camille Vandendriessche finished in second, third and fourth, respectively, at 15-9.00.
“I haven’t practiced much and did the pole vault four times in practice,” Vandendriessche said. “Started with the pole vault, used a short approach, and jumped 15-9, which is two inches off my [personal best], even though form was not good.”
Vandendriessche competes in his first decathlon of the year Wednesday and Thursday at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin.
Vandendriessche and teammate Campy Pounds will be the only NCAA Division II male athletes competing in Austin.
Jessica Withrow will compete under the same circumstances as Vandendriessche and Pounds. Withrow, last year’s national champion in the heptathlon, competes against 24 other heptathletes in her first Texas Relays in her three years at ACU.
“I’m kinda nervous and excited because I really don’t know how I am at this point in the season because practices have been going really great,” Withrow said. “But sometimes practices and meets don’t really turn out the same way. But if they do, then I think it’s going to be really awesome.”
