Oliver Jackson Twilight Meet
ABILENE – ACU will host the annual Oliver Jackson Twilight Track and Field Meet a Elmer Gray Stadium on Wednesday, one of the final chances athletes will have to qualify for the NCAA Division II outdoor national championship meet.
ACU will host teams and athletes from Hardin-Simmons, Wayland Baptist, McMurry, Angelo State, Tarleton State, Northwood, Southwest Christian Community College, Wiley, Lubbock Christian, and Dallas Baptist.
Field events are scheduled to start at 1 p.m. with preliminary races in the short hurdles races and the 100 meters and 200 meters set to start at 3 p.m. Other running event finals are set for a 5 p.m. start.
Student-athletes trying to qualify for the outdoor championship meet only have another week to get a qualifying mark before the NCAA announces the field next week. The national championship meet is set for May 24-26 at the DeRose ThunderBowl in Pueblo, Colo.
The ACU men enter Wednesday's meet having just won their 19th straight Lone Star Conference championship last weekend in Commerce. The Wildcats are ranked No. 3 in the nation, according to the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association poll.
Adams State (Colo.) is ranked No. 1 in the country, followed by St. Augustine's (N.C.) at No. 2, ACU at No. 3, Lincoln (Mo.) at No. 4 and Western State (Colo.) at No. 5. The ACU men are the defending national champion and have won three of the last five outdoor national championships.
On the women's side, the ACU women enter Wednesday's meet having finished second to Angelo State by one-half point at last weekend's LSC championship meet. ACU is ranked No. 13 in the latest USTFCCCA poll.
Grand Valley State (Mich.) is ranked No. 1 in the country, followed by Lincoln (Mo.) at No. 2, Adams State (Colo.) at No. 3, Central Missouri at No. 4 and Grand Canyon (Ariz.) at No. 5.
