The Wildcats held their own against strong competition in the Texas Tech Masked Rider Open this weekend, where they finished first in five events.
Two runners claimed four of the five titles – junior Jessica James and sophomore Alexandria Hackett.
Individually James stole first in the 600-yard run, and she took a late lead in the women’s 400-meter dash in 57.78 seconds.
Hackett placed top in her heat in the 3,000-meter run with a personal record of 10:00.86 and finished first in the 4x800m relay along with teammates Diana Garcia Munoz, Isabella Gutierrez and Marina Guerrero.
“I’m satisfied with the results,” said Guerrero. “My team did a really good job. We finished with a lot of personal records too.”
Guerrero finished ninth in the 3,000-meter run in addition to her contribution in the relay.
The men’s team also came ready to race this weekend.
Senior Daniel Block was the fifth Wildcat runner to finish first in his event.
Block claimed the 800-meter title with an impressive time of 1:51.65, which was less than a second quicker than the second-place runner from North Texas.
Sophomore Sterlen Paul followed Block in the 800-meter run, placing tenth with a time of 1:55.23.
“The entire team has been putting in the work to achieve better goals at this meet and other future meet as we progress through the indoor season,” said Paul.
The ‘Cats took home 22 other top-five placements at the meet, including field events such as pole vault and weight throw, but the runners stepped up their game the most this weekend.
Kimone Green placed ninth in the women’s 55-meter hurdles in the prelims, but later brought her speed to the next level in the semis when she finished with the sixth-fastest all-time record at ACU with an 8.02.
There were 11 additional events in which ACU competitors placed in the top 10 of the meet – women’s weight throw, men’s shot put, hurdles, men’s 55-meter dash and men’s and women’s distance races included – showing promise for the ‘Cats preparedness for the upcoming Southland Conference Indoor Championships.
“It was a great job for all my teammates,” Guerrero said. “I’m proud of them.”
The ‘Cats compete again Friday and Saturday at the New Mexico Track & Field Classic in Albuquerque.
