Fresh off of being ranked No. 24 in the nation by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country pre-season rankings Tuesday, the ACU track and field team will look to defend that ranking Friday and Saturday at the Texas Tech Invitational in Lubbock.
The meet will mark the team’s second meet of the 2012 season, and head coach Roosevelt Lofton is looking forward to seeing his group perform.
“The meets at the beginning of the season are all about qualifying for nationals with your performance,” Lofton said. “That said, it’s both exciting as to what’s ahead and important to put our best foot forward at all of the meets prior to nationals.”
The ACU men’s team is the defending indoor and outdoor national champion, but the Wildcats lost 44 of the 49 points the team scored at last year’s indoor national championship with the quartet of athletes – Desmond Jackson, Ramon Sparks, Desmond Jackson and Nick Jones- known as the “Fab Four”, and will have to find ways to alleviate the loss of three of the four.
“Finding ways to counteract the loss of three very special athletes like those were is a challenge,” Lofton said. “You can replenish, but you can’t replace those guys. Those guys were on a different level-we may never see that type of thing again. They left an incredible legacy for our program.”
Jones is the lone returning member of the “Fab Four,” and his presence will be very important for the men’s team.
“Having Nick back for his senior year is very important for us,” Lofton said. “He brings experience and leadership to our fairly young team, and is a great example.”
Jones agrees and is excited for his senior campaign.
“I guess you could say I’m the old guy,” he said. “We’re a young team but have lots of talent and lots to prove.”
Having won the national championship in both seasons last year, Jones said that other teams will be gunning for them all the time, and Lofton agrees.
“Other teams are very aware of what we did last year, and they will be out to get us,” he said. “But we’ll use that as motivation and build off of it.”
Senior Paris Robertson is poised to have a standout year on the track. The sprinter was a part of last year’s championship team and has already provisionally qualified for nationals 60-meter run.
Levance Williams, senior, qualified provisionally in the 4×400 relay and the long jump at the Air Force Academy’s Blue and Silver Open in December, the first meet of the indoor season.
The goal for meets prior to Nationals on May 24-26 for track and field programs around the country will be getting their athletes to qualify provisionally or automatically for nationals based on their performances at the meets prior.
“We try to schedule lots of meets so our guys have numerous opportunities to perform well and qualify,” Lofton said.
On the women’s team, senior triple jumper Amanda Ouedraogo and long distance runner Chloe Susset headline a team that finished 22nd at last year’s indoor national meet.
“We have some great returning talent in Amanda and Chloe for this team, and I’m expecting big things out of them,” Lofton said.
Sprinter Shennae Steele provisionally qualified in the 60-meter dash at the Air Force Meet, as did freshman hurdler Lexus Williams in the 60-meter hurdles.
“We have so much potential around the board on this year’s team,” Jones said. “We also have a lot to prove. I’m excited to get this year off on the right foot in Lubbock.”
