In a week dominated by the spontaneity and unpredictable nature of the weather, there remained one constant on the ACU campus: the continued and unrivaled success of the ACU track and field team.
The track and field team, minus the multi-athletes, split into two groups, with one group traveling to compete at the New Balance Invitational in New York City and the other competing at the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock last week.
The multi-athletes (men’s heptathletes and women’s pentathletes) were scheduled to compete at Wichita State, but were unable to attend because of Mother Nature. As a result, they will have to find another meet in order to post their first marks of the indoor season.
“Obviously, we were fighting a losing battle with the weather last weekend. It’s unfortunate that some didn’t get to post times, but there’s not a whole lot you can do in regard to that situation,” Head Track and Field Coach Roosevelt Lofton said.
The group that travelled to New York had the opportunity to compete at The Armory, a famed indoor facility, and run against Division I athletes.
All-American long distance runner Amos Sang set a new personal record and an automatic qualifying time of 14:05.82 in the 5,000-meter run in the process of winning the championship-level race there.
“My goal in that race was to just run fast and use this as an opportunity to train with some of the best runners around,” Sang said. “It was a huge meet and a great experience.”
Sang’s teammate, Cleophas Tanui set a new personal record as well in the 5,000 meter, posting a time of 14:30.05, seventh best among Division II runners.
Triple jumper Ramon Sparks jumped 51’10”, a jump which garnered him 5th place behind 4 Division I athletes and also moved him to the top spot in the Division II triple jump rankings in the nation.
Anais Belledant ran the mile race in 5:00.84, a mere 2 seconds behind her personal best. Amanda Ouedraogo also made a provisional-qualifying triple jump of 39’6.5″, her second best jump of the year. Thrower Nick Jones placed eighth in the shot put with a throw of 55’9.75″.
“I was very proud of our guys in New York,” Sang said. “It’s a very competitive meet, and we had a solid showing there.”
At the Texas Tech Invitational, Tyler Fleet set a personal record and provisional qualifying throw of 57’11.75″ in the weight throw. Fleet’s throw was the only national qualifying performance for ACU at the meet.
The track and field team’s next meet will be the Nebraska Tune-Up on Feb. 18 in Lincoln, Neb.
