The ACU track team split to participate in two different meets over the weekend, ending a week in which the men’s team kept its No. 1 national ranking.
One group traveled to San Angelo for the David Noble/Angelo State Relays. Angelo State dominated both the men’s and women’s overall team competitions by huge margins. The ACU men’s team finished in sixth place overall, and the women came in seventh.
The other ACU group journeyed to the 53rd Annual Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif., competing in select competitions and performing well.
“It was great to be able to compete, and especially compete well, at a meet like Mt. SAC,” said junior thrower Nick Jones. “It’s definitely one of the biggest meets in the West.”
Jones won the open discus contest and placed second in the open shot put with a personal best of 60′ 8″.
“It’s the first time I’ve broken 60 feet, so I’m extremely happy about that,” he said. “It was a huge mental barrier, and I’m glad it’s gone.”
Senior sprinter Desmond Jackson also turned in fine results at Mt. SAC, winning the 100- and 200-meter dashes and the 4×100 relay with Andrew McDowell, LaVance Williams and Paris Robertson. In the 100-meter Olympic Elite Dash, Jackson won with a time of 10.46, defeating runners from Division I schools such as the University of Texas, University of Southern California, and the University of Arizona.
“A lot of people really stepped up and showed they wanted to contribute to a title, either by hitting a mark or improving their place on the national list,” Jackson said. “You can really feel the team unity this year, and I honestly believe that’s setting us up for a great season.”
All of the Wildcat distance runners at Mt. SAC turned in personal records, including senior Amos Sang, junior Anais Belledant, junior Chloe Susset, and sophomore Alyse Goldsmith, who beat her previous personal best by 50 seconds. Sang also holds the best Division II 5000-meter time of 13:42.88.
In San Angelo, junior Michael Rasor won the men’s 110-meter hurdles, sophomore William Pike came in fourth in the men’s 5000-meter run and sophomore Sydney Smith finished fourth in both the women’s 100- and 200-meter dashes.
“This weekend was a good test to see where we are as a team,” Jackson said. “It’s a challenge when the teams are split, but we had some good things happen.”
