Last weekend, most of the ACU track and field teams competed in the UTA Bobby Lane Invitational, while some of the school’s throwers instead went to the Elite Discus section at the meet at Texas Tech on Friday and Saturday.
In the UTA Invitational, which took place over the weekend in Arlington, the men’s team as a whole finished in fifth place, while the women’s team scored enough for eighth.
At the Texas Tech meet, senior Paige Newby and junior Nick Jones were invited to throw in the Elite section on Friday and competed in the open section on Saturday. Newby threw an all-time best score at the meet, and all of her throws were personal bests. Nick Jones also threw a record for the season on Friday and continued to get better Saturday. Tyler Fleet, Jessica Sloss and Newby all improved their provisional marks in the hammer.
“I’m really glad that I was invited to compete with such great athletes,” Jones said. “I threw a season’s best on Friday, and then did even better on Saturday, and I’m glad that some of the younger throwers were able to come so they know that ACU can compete with the best in the country.”
The ACU men’s track and field team won the national championship in indoor competition, and begins the outdoor season with the No. 1 ranking in Division II. The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association released the rankings last week. This news comes in at the same time as Head Coach Roosevelt Lofton was named the Division II National Indoor Men’s Coach of the Year in 2011.
“I feel that as a team, we’re coming along great. Every week we’re getting better,” said senior sprinter Desmond Jackson. “We just have to keep qualifying and we have to stay focused on our goal of an outdoor national title.”
Both track and field teams will head to the Texas Relays in Austin on Wednesday for four days of competitions.
In Arlington, Jackson finished fifth in the 200-meter dash and anchored the 4×100-meter relay. Their relay time of 40.55 seats the Wildcats second in the nation.
As Jackson put it, “It was a good meet against great competition on a good day to run fast.”
