AUSTIN – Two all-America performers in the field events turned in impressive performances for Abilene Christian University here Friday on the third day of the 85th annual Texas Relays.
Levance Williams, senior from Colfax, La., won the university-college men's section B long jump with his best performance as a Wildcat. The JC transfer in his second season at ACU jumped 24-10 to claim the title here at Myers Stadium and move to second on the 2012 performer list for NCAA Division II.
He also had the second best jump of Friday's competition (24-7). His top mark came in the sixth and final round. Williams ran on Abilene Christiain's winning 4x100 relay at last year's Lone Star Conference meet and placed seventh at the NCAA Division II national meet in the long jump.
Amanda Ouedraogo, junior from St. Anthony, France, who recently won the NCAA Division II indoor title after NCAA runner-up finishes last year both indoor and outdoor, placed fifth among 16 competitors in the women's university-college triple jump with her collegiate best of a wind-aided 43-3.25. Her mark in the sixth round moved her into the lead in NCAA Division II on the 2012 outdoor performer list.
Ouedraogo's performance Friday included the first two 13-meter jumps of her Wildcat career. She leaped 13.01 meters (42-8.25 with 4.3 wind) in the third round of preliminary jumps to advance to the final, then after fouls in the fourth and fifth rounds she leaped 13.19 (43-3.25 with 2.8 wind).
She is second on the ACU all-time list in the women's triple jump with a legal best of 42-5.5 behind school record holder Stephanie Warren at 43-4.24 (13.21 meters).
Friday's winner was Florida State senior Michelle Jenije with a windy 44-2.5.
In relay event finals Friday night, the ACU men placed third in the sprint medley relay college division in 3:23.68 behind JC national champion South Plains (3:18.13) and NAIA power Wayland Baptist (3:21.95).
Also Friday, three members of the Wildcat men's team qualified for Saturay's finals, and the women's 4x400 relay team turned in its best time of the season in the university-college women's preliminaries with 3:49.58, one of the top 10 times this season for NCAA Division II.
Advancing to Saturday's finals in the men's college division were Dennis Bain (14.23) and Kevin Johnson (14.74) in the 110-meter hurdles and Paris Robertson (10.56) in the 100-meter dash. Neither women's relay team advanced in the university division (also 48.27 in the 4x100).
Also failing to advance were Lexus Williams in the 100 hurdles (14.36) and Shennae Steele (12.03) and Karolyn Palmer (12.68) in the 100.
Also competing here Saturday will be four-time NCAA Division II champion
Nick Jones in the university-college men's section A of the shot put and discus throw and the Wildcat men's team 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams in the college division. ACU newcomer Baptiste Kerjean started the weekend of ACU field event success here Thursday with his collegiate best of 207-5 for third in the men's university-college hammer throw.
