Track and field head to Lubbock this weekend for its last regular-season meet of the year at the Red Raider Open.
The one-day meet begins at 10:30 a.m. tomorrow with the men’s javelin throw at the Terry and Linda Fuller Track and Field Complex at Texas Tech.
Field events end with the men’s and women’s high jump at 4 p.m., and running events begin at 6 p.m. with the women’s 3K Steeple. The event will wrap up with the men’s 4x400m relay.
This will be the third time ACU has competed at Tech this season, and the second time outdoors. The Wildcats’ last outing in Lubbock was an impressive one, earning them a handful of top-five performances including third-place finishes from Shalaina Lakey in the women’s hammer throw and Jelani Rainey in the men’s hammer.
The Red Raider Open will be the Wildcats’ last chance to fine-tune themselves for the Southland Conference Championships, which will be May 9-11 at Central Arkansas University.
ACU looks to be in a good position rolling into the championships, with many standouts on the team ranked high in the conference.
Baptiste Kerjean is ranked first in the conference in the men’s hammer throw with a season best of 66.33m, comfortably beating second-ranked competitor Jonathan Kinchen of Southeastern Louisiana by almost four meters. Kerjean’s season has included three victories and top-three finishes in every competition since the start of the season.
Junior Daniel Block, transfer from Canada, has also been outstanding for ACU and is ranked third in the conference in the men’s 800m and fifth in the men’s 1500m. Teammate Johnathan Farquharson is ranked first in the men’s 200-meter dash and second in the 100m.
The women of ACU are also well-represented in conference rankings. Junior Lexus Williams has been a top performer on the women’s team and is ranked third in 100-meter hurdles. Freshman Shaunice Guyton is ranked fourth in the women’s 200-meter dash, and Senior Amelia Mitchell is ranked fifth in the javelin throw.
The Wildcats have several other representatives ranked in the top-10 in their event in conference and hope to use the Red Raider Open as final preparation for championships.
“I think our success at conference will come from our ability to be competitive,” Kerjean said. “I will always remember the indoor conference last year and our amazing comeback. Everyone gave the maximum to win. We all transcended in this goal. That’s what I would love to see at conference.”
