By VICTORIA WATSON
Special to acusports.comHOUSTON -- The ACU Wildcats had a solid opening day at the 2009 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships at the Yeoman Field House on the University of Houston campus.
On the men's side, the Wildcats qualified three competitors for Saturday's final, while heptathlete
Camille Vandendriessche finished day one in good position.
At the end of day one, Vandendriessche, a senior from Paris, France, was in third place with 2909 points, 48 points out of second place and 63 points out of the lead. Darius Walker of Central Missouri led the competition with 2972 points and Wayne Durham of Adams State was in second with 2957 points.
Vandendriessche opened the day running 7.40 in the 60 for eighth place. He moved into fourth place after the long jump where he jumped 21-3.5. Vandendriessche took second in the shot put with a throw of 47-4.25 and moved into third place overall. He managed to hold his position by jumping 6-2.75 in the high jump. The heptathlon continues Saturday, beginning with the 60-meter hurdles at 9:30 a.m.
Defending outdoor 400-meter champion
Raymond Radway ran away from the pack to win his heat and lead the qualifiers for the 400 finals with a time of 48.04. Radway, a senior from McKinney, finished seventh last year at the NCAA Division II indoor national meet in Mankato, Minn.
Julius Nyango, a senior from Aldai, Kenya, qualified for the finals in the mile winning his heat in a time of 4:24.38. Nyango finished eighth in the mile last year at the NCAA Division II indoor national meet.
Andrew McDowell led the 60-meter hurdles finalists with a time of 8.00. McDowell, a junior from Kansas City, Mo., finished fifth last year at the NCAA Division II indoor national meet.
“That is probably one of the fastest prelims I've run all season,” McDowell said. “I always end up running faster in the finals. I am confident in myself.
“Me and (assistant) coach (Abe) Brown are going to be standing out there, standing on the top. My goal for (Saturday) is to be a national champion. I want to take care of business.
“I feel like I've missed a lot of opportunities to be a national champion in the past. This is my chance. I'm ready for it and I feel like it's going to happen tomorrow.”
Ramon Sparks, a sophomore from Kansas City, Mo., failed to qualify for finals in the long jump.
The women also qualified for finals in three events.
Kim Prather, a senior from St. Louis, Mo., qualified for the 400 finals, winning her heat in a time of 56.80. Prather ran lead leg of the 1,600 relay team that finished second at the 2008 NCAA Indoor Championships at Mankato State University in Mankato, Minn. Prather also qualified in the 200 with a time of 25.04.
Wanda Hutson, a junior from Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, qualified for the 60 finals with a time of 7.60. Huston is a two-time Olympian for Trinidad and Tobago. She was a member of the 400-relay teams in 2004 and 2008.
Jessica Sloss, a junior from Amarillo, finished ninth in the women's 20-pound weight throw. Her throw of 55-10.25 bettered her personal record by more than a foot and a half. Sloss is the 2008 Lone Star Conference (outdoor) hammer throw champion.
Callie Young, a junior from Brady, had no height in the pole vault.
“I feel good about where we are,” coach Don Hood said. “With the women's side we qualified pretty much everyone that I thought we would.
“On the men's side it's been better than we predicted. Radway in the 400 was good. Everyone has advanced that was supposed to advance. Right now, we're sitting really well.”
2009 NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships
Yeoman Field House, University of Houston
Day 1 Results
Men
Team Standings ? 1. Saint Augustine's 24; 2. Western State 16; 3. Adams State 14; 4. Central Missouri 13; 5. Ashland 12; 6. Virginia State 11; 7. Colorado School of Mines 10; 8. Lincoln 8; 8. Southwest Baptist 8; 10. Hillsdale 7.5; 11. Grand Valley State 6; 12. Minnesota State-Mankato 5; 13. Indiana (Pa.) 4; 13. Metro State/Denver 4; 15. Lock Haven 3; 15. Pittsburg State 3; 17. Findlay 2; 17. Stonehill 2; 19. University of Colorado-Colorado Springs 1.5; 20. Massachusetts-Lowell 1; 20. Saginaw Valley State 1
Finals
Heptathlon (day 1) ? 1. Darius Walker, Central Missouri (868-750-614-740?297); 2. Wayne Durham, Adams State (775-769646-767?2957); 3. Camille Vandendriessche, ACU (745-695-755-714?2909); 4. Phillip Horn, Missouri Southern (765-739=549-850?2903); 5. Zac Preble, Bemidji State (752-664-798-661?2875); 6. Alex Lohman, Central Missouri (726-666-706-636?2734); 7. Kyle McDaniel, Saginaw Valley State, (785-648-468-794?2695); 8. Nathan Thomas, Pittsburg State (775-630-478-740?2623); 9. Cody Sanders, Western State (665-704-554-687?2610); 10. Jason Mannerberg, Adams State (636-661-562-610?2569); 11. Donnie Graybill, Shippensburg (678-619-452-661?2410); 12. Craig Saalfeld, Emporia State (792-646-553-0?1991)
Prelims
400 ? 1. Raymond Radway, ACU, 48.04; 2. Leford Green, J.C. Smith, 48.32; 3. Antonio Abney, Saint Augustine's, 48.32; 4. Josh Scott, Saint Augustine's, 48.36; 5. Donte Brown, Massachusetts-Lowells, 48.44; 6. Josh Streeter, Adams State, 48.47; 7. Dane Hyatt, Lincoln, 48.47; 8. John Guagenti, Findlay, 48.83; 9. Christopher Edelman, Lock Haven, 49.11.
800 ? 1. Anthony Luna, Metro State/Denver, 1:52.71; 2. Drew Graham, Adams State, 1:53.86; 3. Charlie Richards, Saginaw Valley, 1:54.14; 4. Julius Nyango, ACU, 1:54.33; 5. Zeke Van Patten, Western Oregon, 1:54.18; 6. Nick Maynard, Colorado School of Mines, 1:54.63; 7. Mark Husted, Colorado School of Mines, 1:54.25; 8. Corey De La Cruz, Adams State, 1:54.62; 9. Matt Jozwiak, Ferris State, 1:54.65.
Mile ? 1. Rueben Chebon-Mwei, Adams State, 4:16.06; 2. Julius Nyango, ACU, 4:24.38; 3. Mack McLain, Colorado School Mines, 4:16.33; 4. Daniel Kirwa, Harding, 4:25.13; 5. Aaron Braun, Adams State, 4:16.73; 6. Brian Medigovich, Adams State, 4:25.34; 7. Michael Pierce, Southwest Baptist, 4:17.06; 8. Florian Teophile, Adams State, 4:17.89.
60 hurdles ? 1. Andrew McDowell, ACU, 8.00; 2. Melvin Edison, Virginia Union, 8.16; 3. Brice Myers, California (Pa.), 8.08; 4. Rusty Smith, East Stroudsburg, 8.08; 5. Tyler Shaw, Northwest Missouri State, 8.12; 6. Allen Osborn, Nebraska-Kearney, 8.28; 7. James Knaperek, Lewis, 8.28; 8. Jason Boyd, Saint Augustine's, 8.37 .
Women
Team Standings ? 1. Ashland 29; 2. Grand Valley State 20; 3. Lincoln 18; 4. Minnesota State Mankato 13; 5. Shippensburg 10; 6. Northern State 8; 7. Minnesota State-Moorhead 6; 7. Minnesota-Duluth 6; 9. Western Washington 5; 9. Lewis 5; 9. Winona State 5; 9. Clarion 5; 13. Southern Indiana 4; 13. Indianapolis 4; 15. Massachusetts-Lowell 3; 15. New Mexico Highlands 3; 15. Western State 3; 18. Nebraska-Kearney 2; 18. American International 2; 18. Wisconsin Parkside 2; 21. Saint Cloud State 1; 21. Northwest Nazarene 1; 23. Southern Connecticut State 0.25; 23. Mary 0.25; 23. Truman State 0.25; 23. Missouri Southern 0.25.
Finals
Weight throw ? 1. Tara Cooper, Ashland, 64-10.50; 2. Amanda Madden, Northern State, 59-4.75; 3. Michelle Stark, Ashland, 59-2.00; 4. Rebecca Stier, Wiona State, 58-3.75; 5. Amy Schmitz, Indianapolis, 57-5.50; 6. Kelly Ash, Ashland, 57-0.75; 7. Bidemi Balogun, American International, 56-8.75; 8. Ashley Stephens, Western State, 56-7.50; 9. Jessica Sloss, ACU, 55-10.25.
Prelims
60 ? 1. Barbara Pierre, Saint Augustine's, 7.29; 2. Janika Martell, Lincoln, 7.37; 3. Samoy Hackett, Lincoln, 7.35; 4. Brittany Henderson, Minnesota State-Mankato, 7.46; 5. Nandelle Cameron, Lincoln, 7.52; 6. Shanna-Kay Wright, Lincoln, 7.52; 7. Jody-Ann Powell, Lincoln, 7.55; 8. Wanda Hutson, ACU, 7.60.
200 ? 1. Samoy Hackett, Lincoln, 24.17; 2. Angelique Smith, Saint Augustine's, 24.53; 3. Pinar Saka, Nebraska-Omaha, 24.54; 4. Shermaine Williams, J.C. Smith, 24.55; 5. Nandelle Cameron, Lincoln, 24.71; 6. Janika Martell, Lincoln, 24.85; 7. Brittany Henderson, Minnesota State-Mankato, 24.89; 8. Shannon Gagne, New Haven, 25.00; 9. Kim Prather, ACU, 25.04.
400 ? 1. Pinar Saka, Nebraska-Omaha, 56.01; 2. Michele Williams, Adams State, 56.40; 3. Kim Prather, ACU, 56.80; 4. Moriah Jubrey, Cal State-L.A., 56.90; 5. Angelique Smith, Saint Augustine's, 57.05; 6. Carla Thomas, Lincoln, 57.13; 7. Krisiti Buerkle, Bemidji State, 57.25; 8. Shaina Dochterman, Truman State, 57.45.
ACU Men's Qualifiers (3)
Raymond Radway - 400
Julius Nyango ? mile, 800
ACU Women's Qualifiers (3)
Wanda Hutson - 60
Kim Prather ? 400, 200
