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ABILENE – Abilene Christian's celebrated era as the preeminent NCAA Division II track and field program reaches its conclusion this weekend as 16 Wildcats head to Pueblo, Colo., and the Neta and Eddie DeRose ThunderBowl for their final national outdoor meet.
ACU's men's and women's teams have combined to win 29 championships since 1982, with the men's most recent title coming in 2011. The Wildcat women's team earned its 10th championship in 2008.
This season's women's team is ranked 15th and is sending 10 individuals and its 4x100-meter relay to nationals. The men are ranked 25th and will be represented by freshman sprinter Johnathan Farquharson, senior throwers Baptiste Kerjean and Andrew Hudson, and the 4x100 relay of Farquharson, Osei Allyene-Forte, Devan Brown and Jordan Geary.
Kerjean will be one of the first Wildcats to compete this week as looks to improve on last year's third-place hammer throw distance of 210 feet-9 inches (64.25 meters). He is currently ranked second in this event behind Ashland's Garrett Grey (225-5/68.70m) with a personal record of 218-0 (66.44m).
Hudson, who is ranked sixth in the discus (181-1/55.19m), will compete Friday afternoon, while Farquharson will take part in the 100-meter dash prelims Thursday evening. Farquharson was an indoor all-America last February after placing seventh in the 60m with a time of 6.80 seconds. He ranks eighth in the outdoor 100m with an altitude-adjusted time of 10.36 seconds.
The men's 4x100, which was last year's national runner-up (40.31) with Geary and former Wildcats Dennis Bain, Paris Robertson and Levance Williams, will have its prelim race today at 6 p.m. (CT). This year's relay just made the cut with a NCAA provisional time of 40.78 seconds that ranks 24th in all of D-II.
Senior Cassie Brooks will be ACU's first competitor on the track as she makes her second consecutive appearance at nationals in the heptathlon. She placed 15th last season with 4,377 points, and set a personal record this spring of 4,954 points at West Texas.
Brooks earned her first and only all-America citation as part of the Wildcats' 4x400m relay at the 2012 indoor championships.
Also on the track Thursday for ACU will be senior Chloe Susset in the prelims of the 1500m and 3000m steeplechase and sophomore Elea Diarra in the 400m. Diarra should additionally run anchor for the 4x100m relay, which features returning all-Americas Karolyn Palmer, Shennae Steele and Lexus Williams.
Palmer, Steele and Williams were on last year's 4x100m that placed fourth in 45.87 seconds. This year's relay owns a 20th ranked time of 46.25 seconds, which it recorded at a last-chance meet on May 8.
Diarra earned indoor all-America honors this winter in the 400m and with the 4x400m. She then missed a large portion of the outdoor season before coming back to score 10.75 points at conference, which included a win in the 4x400 and second-place finish in the 200m.
Susset, an all-America in the indoor mile and two-time NCAA qualifier in the steeplechase, will have approximately 85 minutes of rest between the end of her 1500m race and start of the steeplechase. Susset claims the 28th fastest 1500m time of 4:32.87, but ranks ninth in the steeplechase with a mark of 10:39.43.
Steele and Williams compete as individuals Friday in the 200m and 100m hurdles, respectively, while senior Ayesha Rumble – a three-time all-America – will go in between them in the 800m. Rumble placed fourth in the 800m at last year's NCAA meet with a time of 2:12.65, and her season best this year stands at 2:11.08.
Williams earned three all-America certificates as a freshman last spring after placing sixth in the hurdles, fourth with the 4x100m and fifth with the 4x400m.
Steele has won all four of her all-America titles on relays. She came closest to winning her first individual citation last year after placing 11th in the 200m with a personal record of 24.04 seconds.
Representing ACU in the field events are senior hammer thrower Shalaina Lakey, junior javelin thrower Ameilia Mitchell and senior triple jumper Amanda Ouedraogo.
Ouedraogo is making her sixth consecutive NCAA appearance in the triple jump. She won the indoor title during her junior year, but has been forced to settle for runner-up status four other times. Ouedraogo has lost the national title to Angelo State junior Kearah Danville at the last two national meets: 2012 outdoors and 2013 indoors.
Ouedraogo last defeated Danville head-to-head at the 2013 indoor conference meet. Danville would later edge the Wildcat senior by less than a meter at indoor nationals and LSC outdoors.
Danville's season best this spring of 43-7 (13.28m) is only an inch better than Ouedraogo's personal record of 43-6 (13.26m).
Lakey and Mitchell are each making their NCAA debuts. Mitchell is the 11th ranked javelin thrower in D-II behind a top throw of 145-3 (44.28m), while Lakey – a two-time conference champion this year – ranks 18th in the hammer.
Lakey will compete today at 4:30 p.m., and Mitchell – a three-time conference runner-up – will go Saturday at 3:50 p.m.
