Track and field will travel to Lubbock this weekend for the Texas Tech Open, a one-day meet starting Saturday at 10:30 a.m. with the men’s javelin throw.
The Wildcats are coming off a respectable weekend in Austin and San Marcos. A handful of athletes traveled to the University of Texas to compete in the Texas Relays for the first time since 1973, while a second group of Wildcats went to Texas State University for the Bobcat Invitational.
ACU picked up several top-eight performances at the Texas Relays against some of the top schools in the nation, including University of California Los Angeles, University of Calfornia Berkeley, Baylor, Auburn, Duke and Oklahoma.
Senior Baptiste Kerjean, a native of St. Brieuc, France came in second place in the men’s hammer throw, falling short to Florida’s Kyle Strawn by only 22 centimeters. The men’s sprint medley relay team came in seventh overall with a time of 3:22.00, finishing behind Arkansas, Louisiana State, Texas A&M and UCLA. Freshman Johnathan Farquharson and freshman Maliek Golden each ran 200 to kick off the race, followed by sophomore Osie Alleyne-Forte in the next 400 and junior Daniel Block in the anchor 800. Block, a transfer from Canada, added yet another top-five performance to his season, placing fourth in section B of the men’s 1,500 meters.
The women’s team was best represented by senior Amelia Mitchell, who finished sixth in the women’s javelin. Junior Lexus Williams ran the women’s 100-hurdles in 14.39 seconds, finishing sixth in her heat and 54th overall.
“It was a good meet for everybody to get into their stride for the season,” Mitchell said. “I think everybody competed very well.”
Meanwhile in San Marcos, the other ACU group picked up eight personal records at Texas State. Senior Erik Forrester finished fourth in the men’s 3,000-meter run. Sophomore Jeremy Tatham also finished fourth in his event, conquering the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a personal best of 14.77.
Senior Darian Hogg earned two top-eight finishes, finishing in seventh and eighth place in the men’s triple jump and long jump, respectively. Right behind him was freshman Malcolm Barnes, who finished ninth and 11th in the same events. Senior Aaron Bynum came in sixth place with the men’s javelin.
Freshman Diana Garcia Munoz proved herself on the track, finishing ninth in the women’s 800-meter run with a personal outdoor record of 2:15.82. She defeated teammates Emily Hill and Cristian Engelmann, who finished 20th and 29th in the same event.
After this weekend’s meet at Tech, the Wildcats will be halfway through their regular outdoor season. They are looking to pursue a Southland Conference Championship at the beginning of May.
