The Wildcat track and field team traveled to Lubbock this past weekend to compete in the Texas Tech Red Raider Open. The team registered a total of eight individual season bests, led by junior Andrew Hudson and freshman Johnathan Farquharson.
“I was very pleased with our overall performance at Texas Tech,” Head Coach Jerrod Cook said. “I think we are on a great track for conference. There are still so many athletes that are close to having a break out performance and conference is the perfect time and place to do it.”
Hudson really stood out in the discus throw, as he registered a 181-1/55.19m. The throw finished fifth at the open and currently ranks fourth in Division II.
Hudson’s mark was more than three feet better than his previous season best of 177-06 recorded at last week’s Michael Johnson Dr. Pepper Classic.
In the hammer, Hudson missed the NCAA provisional standard by a mere six feet as his best throw landed at the 171-10 mark (52.37m), which was good for third place.
“I was very thankful that I threw well at the meet, but I am more excited to see our team coming together at the right time,” Hudson said. “It was a good meet that gave everyone a little confidence.”
Amelia Mitchell attained a personal record in the javelin (145-4/44.28m), as did Shalaina Lakey, who won the hammer with a toss of 168-7 (51.39m). Mitchell’s effort ranks 10th nationally, which should be enough to get her to nationals. Lakey’s mark ranks her 21st.
“I feel our performances are a testament to what all the athletes do on a daily basis to prepare for every moment in competition,” Cook said. “Everybody is pushing and elevating their performance to the next level each week and it is very exciting to see.”
Farquharson recorded a 10.36 second time in the 100-meter dash to finish third overall. His time was a season best by .18 seconds and currently ranks him fourth in all of Division II.
Farquharson also ran the third leg for a 4×100-meter relay that placed second with a 17th-ranked provisional time of 40.94.
“I felt really good about our teams performance overall,” Hudson said. “It was a very good meet for us. A lot of people are peaking at the right time and that is exactly what you want to see heading into the conference meet.”
On the women’s side, senior Chloe Susset recorded a personal record in the 800m of 2:15.88 and won the 1500 with a time of 4:38.66.
The women’s 4×400 ran for the first time of the season, bolstered by the return of Elea Diarra, and posted a provisional mark of 3:48.34 that ranks 19th in Division II.
Shennae Steele, Karolyn Palmer and Ayesha Rumble ran the first three legs prior to Diarra’s anchor lap. Diarra placed eighth in the 200m at 25.12 for her lone individual race.
“Many of my teammates did really well at this meet,” Susset said. “The throwers Amelia and Andrew, Jay on the 100 and 200, and Darian on the long jump and others, everyone contributed and helped out.”
The team will compete at the Lone Star Conference Championships at West Texas A&M in Canyon, TX this upcoming weekend.
