Wildcats to run at Texas, Tarleton State
ACU to send healthy contingent to Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays
ABILENE -- The ACU men's and women's track and field teams will be back in action this weekend with almost the entire roster of both teams competing at either the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin or the Tarleton State Relays in Stephenville.
The men's team will take five individuals and three relay teams to the Texas Relays, while the women will send six individuals and two relays to Austin. Meanwhile, both teams will be heavily represented at the Tarleton State Relays. The men will send 12 athletes to Stephenville, while the women will send 13 athletes to the meet, which will be run at Memorial Stadium.
Highlighting the men's entries at the Texas Relays are distance runner Bernard Manirakiza and thrower Manuel Brandeborn. Manirakiza -- the reigning outdoor national champion in the 800 meters and 1500 meters -- returns to Mike Myers Stadium to defend his title in the Invitational Mile. Manirakiza won last year's event with a time of 4:07.90. Three weeks ago in Boston, he won NCAA Division II national indoor titles in both the 800 meters and the mile, giving him five national championships.
Last week Brandeborn automatically qualified for the NCAA Division II outdoor national meet, posting a Division II-best throw of 183 feet, 5.0 inches to win the discus at the Oliver Jackson Open. The 2002 NCAA Division II outdoor national champion in the shot put, Brandeborn will compete in both the discus and the shot put in Austin.
On the women's side, junior pole vaulters Val Gorter and Katie Eckley, along with freshman Liga Klavina, highlight ACU's entries.
Last week at the Oliver Jackson Open, Gorter topped Eckley's NCAA Division II all-time best with a winning vault of 13 feet, 3.0 inches, a mark that automatically qualifies her for the outdoor national championship meet. Eckley is still No. 2 on the all-time best list with a mark of 13-2.50, also an automatic qualifying mark.
Gorter is the fourth ACU vaulter to hold the NCAA Division II record, joining Jane McNeill, Meredith Garner and Eckley.
Klavina -- the reigning indoor national champion in the shot put -- posted the nation's top shot-put mark last week with a winning mark of 47-10.50, a solid provisional qualifying mark for the national championship meet. She'll also try to qualify for the national meet in the 100 hurdles.
Senior Stephanie Warren will compete in both the high jump and triple jump, and ACU will send two relay teams -- 4x100 and 4x400 -- to the meet.
In Stephenville, reigning indoor national triple jump champion Yevgen Pashchenko will compete in both the triple jump and the long jump on the men's side, while on the women's side, throwers Amy Williams and Brandy Lynch will try to close in on provisional qualifying marks in the shot put and discus, respectively.
