Southland Conference Indoor Championships Web Page
ABILENE - Abilene Christian's track and field program will look to accomplish the impossible this week by becoming perhaps the first ever school to win consecutive indoor conference titles between two different leagues and NCAA divisions.
The Wildcats' men's and women's teams left the Lone Star Conference in 2013 as its defending indoor conference champions. The women won the inaugural indoor LSC track and field championship with a decisive 150-98 advantage over runner-up West Texas A&M, while the men came back late in the meet to edge Texas A&M-Kingsville, 149-142.
Now the Wildcats are in NCAA Division I as members of the Southland Conference. And as one of only a few ACU programs allowed to compete in a postseason environment during the transitional process, the teams should be expected to take advantage of this rare opportunity and add another chapter to their already dynamic legacy.
The Southland Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships take place Feb. 26 and 27 at the Birmingham (Ala.) CrossPlex, which is where the Wildcats sent nine student-athletes to compete at last year's NCAA D-II Championships. The facility is one of only six 200-meter hydraulically banked tracks designed by Mondo in the United States and one of eight in the world.
The championship starts Wednesday with the men's and women's multi-events at 8:30 a.m. Select field events will start Wednesday at 1 p.m. with the preliminary rounds of running events beginning at 3 p.m. On Thursday, field events resume at 11 a.m. with running-event finals starting after the opening ceremony at noon.
Team championship trophies and the meet's top male and female high-point scorer will be presented at approximately 5 p.m.
This year's championship also will feature a record number of teams with 14 league members competing for the conference title. ACU's competition includes fellow newcomers Houston Baptist, UIW and New Orleans, plus Central Arkansas, Lamar, McNeese State, Nicholls, Northwestern State, Oral Roberts, Sam Houston, Southeastern Louisiana and the defending men's and women's champions from Stephen F. Austin.
The Ladyjacks are in search of their sixth consecutive title and eighth in 10 years. On the men's side, SFA will look to become the first team to repeat as champions since former Southland member Texas-San Antonio, which won seven consecutive titles (2006-2012).
But how will the Wildcats do in the Southland? Well for starters, ACU returns a tremendous amount of experience, including seven defending indoor conference champions as well as senior Darian Hogg who was an all-region honoree in the triple jump. Hogg was the LSC's runner up in the triple jump (47 feet-11.25 inches / 14.61 meters) and its fourth-place finisher in the long jump (22-10.5 / 6.97m).
Entering this week, Hogg owns the Southland's fourth-best triple jump distance of 48-3.5 (14.72m) and its sixth-ranked long jump of 23-2.75 (7.08m).
Hogg is joined in the Southland's top-10 rankings by 14 of his teammates spread across 13 individual events.
Beginning with the sprints, ACU's combination of sophomore Johnathan Farquharson and senior Reyare Thomas can help lead their respective 4x400 relays to victory while contending for the 60 and 200-meter tiles.
Farquharson, who won the 60m and 200m crowns at the Husky Classic, ranks first in the 200m at .03 seconds ahead of Northwestern State senior Justin Walker, but currently trails Walker by a 10th of a second in the 60m.
Thomas, meanwhile, is the only Southland runner this winter to run under 24 seconds in the 200m (23.86) and is tied for the second-fastest time in the 60m (7.48) with SFA's Brarysheyia Simpson. Only McNeese State senior Jasmine Webb has been faster in the 60m with a time of 7.47.
In the 4x400, look for Farquharson to be paired with junior Osei Allyene-Forte, sophomore Devan Brown and newcomer Daniel Block. This combination recorded the second-fastest mark in the Southland this season of 3:17.31 at a meet held by Texas Tech. SFA, however, has a team that ran four seconds faster (3:13.85) at Samford in early February.
Thomas should run the lead leg for her 4x400 and be joined by newcomers Shaunice Guyton, Ramesheon Marine and Taylor Yantis. Other relay candidates include the league's eight-ranked sprint hurdler Lexus Williams and junior mid-distance runner Emily Hill.
Thomas is the only Wildcat left from last year's winning 4x400 team that clocked a first-place time of 3:45.41 - a mark that would rank the Wildcats second in the Southland. Thomas has competed on just one relay this winter, but that team owns the fourth fastest conference time of 3:51.12.
In addition to being possible relay candidates, freshmen Marine and Yantis provide ACU with solid depth in the pentathlon. This duo placed sixth and seventh, respectively, with point totals of 3,122 and 3,092 in their lone multi competition at the Masked Rider Open on Jan. 31.
Marine's score was the third-highest point total in ACU history, while Yantis' was fourth. Their point totals rank only behind Jessica Withrow (3,653 pts.) and Cassie Brooks (3,407).
That same weekend saw Wildcat sophomore Luke Woods win the heptathlon behind a personal record 4,880 points, which is the second highest score in the Southland behind Jamal Davis' (SFA) 4,982. Woods' overall performance included personal records in the 55-meter dash (6.79), shot put (39-10.50), high jump (6-0), 55 hurdles (7.95) and pole vault (13-5.25).
Sophomore Jeremy Tatham - who ranks ninth in the Southland heptathlon and seventh in the 60 hurdles - totaled 3,850 points after competing in his first collegiate career multi-event. During his first day of competition, Tatham registered a personal record long jump of 20-04.5 (6.21m), and on day two he scored points in the hurdles and 1000m.
Block, a junior transfer from the University of Saskatchewan, has been a tremendous addition to the Wildcats' roster. Not only is he an option for the 4x400 relay, he also is the league's top runner in the 800m with a season best time of 1:51.34.
Block's toughest competition in the 800m this week will come from Sam Houston State sophomore De'Quad Binder (1:52.13) and Lamar junior Aaron Bennett (1:52.34).
In the field events, ACU has freshman Kenzie Walker tied for second in the pole vault, sophomore Josh Bloom ranked sixth in the shot put, and four student-athletes listed among the league's top-10 weight throwers, including last year's LSC champions Baptiste Kerjean and Shalania Lakey.
Kerjean recorded a personal record launch of 62-6 (19.05 meters) earlier this year to win the weight throw at Oklahoma's J.D. Martin Invitational. His toss was a career best by more than two feet and stands as the third best mark in Abilene Christian history. The senior - who ranks fifth in the Southland - also has finished second this season in Lubbock, fourth at Texas A&M and sixth in Seattle.
Kerjean should be joined in the weight throw finals by sophomore Jelani Rainey, whose best effort of the season (56-3.25 / 17.15m) placed him second at the Feb. 14 meet in Lubbock.
Lakey (56-1.75) and junior Lauren Hartwick (54-1.25) are currently ranked eighth and 10th, respectively, in the women's weight throw and will likely have to add at least two feet to their season bests in order to score points. McNeese State senior La'Shantena Rounds is the far-and-away favorite to win this competition as she's the only Southland competitor to eclipse 60 feet (68-9 / 20.95m), while the rest of the conference leaders have topped out between 17 and 18 meters.
Walker - a 2013 graduate of nearby Wylie HS - has continually shown improvement in the pole vault, going from 11-5.75 in week one to 12-7.5 in week three. Her most recent performance earned her first place at Texas Tech and pushed her into the fifth spot on ACU's all-time performance list.
