ABILENE - In what definitely has become a pattern this spring, members of the Abilene Christian men's and women's track and field teams were again selected as the Lone Star Conference Athlete of the Week.
This time, however, it's a pair of first-time winners who are receiving the weekly citation as senior long jumper LeVance Williams and junior sprinter Shennae Steele were both recognized for last Saturday's performances at Baylor's Michael Johnson/Dr. Pepper Classic.
With this honor Williams and Steele join a long list of Wildcat conference honorees that also includes throwers
Nick Jones (3x), Baptiste Kerjean and Shalaina Lakey, triple jumper Amanda Ouedraogo (2x), and runner Banjo Jaiyesimi.
A native of Colfax, La., Williams climbed to third in the DII national rankings after recording a winning long jump of 25 feet - 01.25 inches (7.65 meters), which is his longest legal distance of the outdoor season. His jump of 25-02.75 (7.69m) from the UTEP Invitational held two weeks ago was nullified due to a 8.0mps wind. The two DII long jumpers currently ranked ahead of Williams are Keenan Soles of Pittsburg State (25' 7.25”, 7.80m), and Aaron Hill of Grand Canyon (25' 2.5”, 7.68m).
Williams' competition in Waco included student-athletes from Baylor, Texas State, and several DII schools. Jarvis Gotch, a freshman from South Plains, finished second with a mark of 24-08.50 (7.53,).
Steele, a native of Brampton, Ontario, recorded a pair of season-best and NCAA provisional times in the 100m and 200m that improved her DII national rankings to 13th and 11th in each event.
Steele ran a 11.94 in the 100m, and a 24.33 in the 200m, and later helped the ACU 4x100m relay post a 14th-ranked time of 46.51. She was joined on the relay by Sydney Smith, Lexus Williams, and Karolyn Palmer.
The Wildcats are in action this week at three separate locations. Chloe Susset will be ACU's lone representative at the
Payton Jordan Invitational hosted by Stanford, while Jones and Williams will lead a small Wildcat contingent at the prestigious
Penn Relays. The rest of ACU's student-athletes will compete Saturday at the
West Texas A&M Open.
ACU's Penn Relays roster also includes several relays, and Ouedrago competing in the the
college women's triple jump championship. Williams is one of ten individuals entered in the
college men's long jump championship, and Jones will go against the nation's best collegians in the
shot put and
discus.
