The quartet of track athletes known as the ‘Fab Four’ added another accomplishment to Abilene Christian’s storied track and field history by garnering another national championship May 28, this time at the NCAA Division II outdoor national meet in Turloch, California. The same group led the men’s track and field team to a national title at the indoor NCAA Division II indoor national meet.
The ‘Fab Four,’ composed of Desmond Jackson, Amos Sang, Ramon Sparks and Nick Jones, earned 60 of the Wildcat’s 68 total points at the meet, 13 more than second place Adam State. The first place finish is ACU’s 19th outdoor national championship and the school’s 57th overall.
“Like we’ve been saying around here for quite some time, those guys are the ‘Fab Four.’ We won’t be able to replace any of them. They’re such great competitors and have such tremendous heart. The thing about those guys is that 10-20 years from now we’ll still be talking about how special those guys were to this program,” ACU head track and field coach Roosevelt Lofton said. “I just hope the younger guys on our team have been watching those guys and will be ready to step into their shoes next year.”
Nick Jones won the discus to start the decisive last day of the meet. That marked the third time in the last four years that Jones has won the discus.
In the process, Jones broke Randy Heiser’s 28-year old meet record with his first throw before breaking his own record a mere ten minutes later with a heave of 199 feet, 3 inches.
Midland native Desmond Jackson, sprinter, followed suite by winning the 200 meters, leading from wire-to-wire. He also finished third in the 100 meter dash.
Senior Ramon Sparks finished third in the triple jump while Sang wrapped up his ACU career with a win in the 10,000. The long-distance star clinched the trophy by gliding to a fourth place in the 5,000 meter run.
The 400-relay team for the Wildcats also had a strong showing with a second place finish. That team, consisting of Jackson, Paris Robertson, Lavance Williams and Jordan Geary, picked up the other eight points for the ‘Cats.
The group of four has played the cornerstone role for the ACU men’s track and field team and were a part of two national championships in their final season together as a quartet. The quartet has played a major role in the prominence of the program during their tenure as well.
Sang summed up their accomplishments in a way that brings light to the special bond they have formed as a result of competing for four years together, but he did so in a less-than-analytical way and non-textbook way.
“This group of people is something you can’t put a number on no matter how many meets or championships we’ve won together. These four guys have poured everything they have into this program for four years, and as a result of that, the results speak for themselves.”
