ACU puts LSC titles on the line
ACU's men's team looks for 10th straight LSC crown
ABILENE -- The ACU men's and women's track and field teams will put their respective Lone Star Conference championships on the line this weekend when they play host to the LSC track and field championships at Elmer Gray Stadium.
The meet is set to start at 3 p.m. Friday with field events, followed later that evening with the start of running-event preliminaries. Saturday's schedule will begin at noon with more field-event finals, followed by running-event finals later that afternoon.
The ACU women will be the favorite to capture the championship, which would be the Wildcats' 21st straight conference championship. ACU has won each women's LSC track and field championship dating back to 1983 (no conference meet in 1995 because of inclement weather).
The Wildcats won last year's meet by 92 points over runner-up Angelo State (248 points for ACU to 156 for ASU). The Rambelles, in fact, have finished second to ACU on 16 occasions.
The ACU men are the overwhelming favorite to win the conference title and continue on their trek to a possible outdoor national championship. The Wildcats have won nine straight LSC championships dating back to 1993 (discounting 1995), and have won 18 LSC championships since 1978.
The only other school to win an LSC men's track and field championship since in that time frame is Angelo State, which won in 1982 and 1983 and then again from 1989-1992. In ACU's nine-year winning streak, the Rams have finished as the runner-up on eight occasions (Texas A&M-Kingsville was second in 1999).
The most exciting race of the meet promises to be the men's 100 meters, which will feature the top three sprinters in the nation in Tarleton State's Olan Coleman and ACU's Christie VanWyk and Nic Alexander. Coleman has the nation's top time entering the conference meet at 10.20, while VanWyk is second at 10.22 and Alexander third at 10.31.
The 200 meters should also be entertaining with Coleman No. 2 in the nation (21.00) with VanWyk at No. 3 (21.05).
The ACU men's team has 14 athletes either automatically or provisionally qualified in 13 events, as well as in both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay events. Bernard Manirakiza, the reigning NCAA Division II indoor national champion in the 800 meters, is ranked No. 1 in the nation in both the 800 meters and the 1500 meters, and he will be running this weekend.
Also ranked No. 1 in the nation is freshman triple-jumper Yevgen Pashchenko (51-1.50), who will also be competing this weekend. His triple-jump teammate, Ben Washington (fourth in the nation at 50-3.50) will also be in action at the LSC championship meet. Angelo State's Ryan Wilhelm is seventh in the nation in the triple jump at 48-11.00.
The Wildcats would also like to see sophomore shot-putter Manuel Brandeborn - the defending outdoor national champion in the event - qualify for this year's national meet in the event. He has provisionally qualified in the discus (ninth at 170-4.25), but he has yet to compete in the shot put outdoors this season.
The men's shot put could also be interesting competition with ACU's Shai Shalev (third in the nation at
60-1.25) competing against a field that should include Brandeborn and Angelo State's duo of Quint Melius (fourth in the nation at 59-11.25) and Michael Mayo (sixth in the nation at 55-10.50).
In the long jump, ACU's Tarrant Fuller is ranked fourth in the nation (24-3.25), while Tarleton State's Jeremy Singleton is ranked seventh at 24-00.25.
On the women's side, ACU has either automatically or provisionally qualified 12 athletes in 11 events, as well as both the 4x100 and 4x400 relay events.
Freshman Yuliya Stashkiv has the nation's top times in both the 1500 meters (4:28.21) and 3000 meters (9:34.82), and should be favored to win those events this weekend at the LSC championships.
The short sprints should be interesting with Texas A&M-Kingsville's Lashawndra Ratcliff (third in the 100 meters at 11.68) headlining the 100 meters, along with Angelo State's Shavon Jackson (seventh at 11.84), ACU's Althea Johnson (ninth at 11.89), Angelo State's LaTaisha Burns (13th at 12.08) and Kingsville's Katrina Keith (15th at 12.09).
ACU's Sofi Hildenborg (seventh at 24.05) headlines the 200 meters, and she will be joined by Ratcliff (eighth at 24.12), Johnson (ninth at 24.24) and Jackson (11th at 24.42).
The long jump should also be hotly contested with ACU's Olessya Belyayeva (third in the nation at 19-8.25) leading a strong field that will also include ASU's Jackson (fourth at 19-7.50), ASU's Amber Miller (eighth at 19-5.50), ASU's Burns (13th at 19-2.50) and ACU freshman Angela Campbell (19-0.50).
The triple jump will also feature some of the top athletes in the nation in ASU's LaTasha Mosley (third in the nation at 41-4.00), ACU's reigning indoor national champion Lakeshia Finch (fourth with a mark of 40-0.75), Tarleton State's Lacey Adkisson (sixth at 40-4.00) and ASU's Whitney Barker (13th at 38-8.50).
The Rambelles' Miller -- perhaps the best all-around female athlete in Division II track and field -- will also compete in the javelin (Division II-best mark of 174-8.00), and, with her heptathlon background, could compete in several other events for ASU. She is the top-ranked heptathlete in Division II by more than 600 points.
