Track & Field | 4/8/2016 11:43:00 AM
Meet Information and schedule (UPDATED Friday at 2 p.m.) | Heat Sheets ABILENE – Abilene Christian track and field will host the third edition of its Wes Kittley Invitational Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. as part of the program's Alumni Weekend. In town to compete against the Wildcats at Elmer Gray Stadium are men's and women's teams from nationally ranked Texas Tech and the defending Southland Conference Indoor Champions from Sam Houston State.
NCAA DII program Central Oklahoma and nationally ranked NJCAA institutions South Plains and Western Texas also will be part of the six-team field.
Tickets are $8 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under, and can be purchased at the ticket trailer between Elmer Gray and Poly Wells Softball Field. Meet programs and heat sheets will be sold there as well for $1.
Field events begin at 11 a.m. The men's and women's hammer will be contested across Ambler Avenue at the throwing field, while the javelin will take place on the Elmer Gray infield. The long jump and pole vault run simultaneously as well.
The throwing field also will be home to the discus, which is slated to start at 2 p.m., followed by the shot put. This area will feature some of the Southland's top-ranked throwers, including Wildcats Morgan Knight, Kai Schmidt and
Jelani Rainey and Sam Houston senior Ashley Jenkins, who ranks 11th nationally in the hammer (203-10).
Schmidt (178-6) and Knight (174-6) are the conference's top-two throwers in the discus and will be joined in the ring by the Bearkats' third-and fifth-ranked Kalvin Singletary (173-5) and Aaron Akens (170-0). Singletary additionally is the Southland's No. 1 hammer thrower (204-9) and ranks fourth in the shot put (52-2.75).
A rolling schedule of 26 men's and women's races commences at 12:20 p.m. with the 3,000-meter steeplechase and concludes with what should be a stellar 4x400-meter relay. Sam Houston's and ACU's women's 1600m relays rank first and second in the Southland Conference, while on the men's side the second and fourth ranked Wildcats and Bearkats take on a Texas Tech squad that's 21st in the nation.
Additional meet highlights include a recognition ceremony for ACU's senior class and team captains, which will take place prior to the playing of the Star-Spangled Banner. There also will be a pair of fun runs during the 2 o'clock hour. A social club 4x100m relay is scheduled for 2:15 p.m., and later a 100m dash for elementary school-level girls and boys.
The Wildcats are coming off an exceptional weekend during which they combined for six victories and 14 personal bests between the Texas Relays and invitationals hosted by Texas State and Hardin-Simmons. Juniors
Alexandria Hackett and
Taylor Yantis were honored as Southland Conference Track and Field Athletes of the Week this Wednesday for winning the Texas Relays 5K and Bobcat Invitational heptathlon.
Michaela Hackett and the men's 4x400 also won at Texas State with season-best times, and freshman thrower McKennon Cecil was triumphant at HSU in the discus and javelin.
Alexandria Hackett will not compete Saturday as she prepares for next week's Mt. SAC Relays, but her twin, Michaela, is entered in the 1500m and 5K, events in which she's conference ranked fifth and second.
Yantis will be pitted against one of the nation's top sprint hurdlers in Sam Houston's Danielle Demas and is one of eight entrants in the high jump. The men's high jump also should be fun to watch with NCAA No. 1 Trey Culver (7-5) and No. 15 Bradley Adkins (7-1) signed up to represent the Red Raiders.
Texas Tech also will bring its No. 9 and No. 20 pole vaulters Brandon Bray (17-5) and Haley Cook (13-7.75) and sixth-ranked long jumper Charles Brown (25-8.25). Tech's triple jumper Viershanie Latham returns as well with the nation's No. 7 leap of 42-7.5. She won here last season with a wind-aided 42-4.75.
ACU's annual track and field reunion takes place in the Elmer Gray team room tonight at 6 p.m.s
About Wes KittleyCurrently the Texas Tech Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, Kittley's Wildcats thrived during a 16-year tenure (1983-99) that included a record 29 NCAA Division II national team championships, 10 Olympic qualifiers, three Pan-American Games athletes, five World University Games athletes, 16 world championships qualifiers and three United States national champions.
Kittley won his first national championship in 1985 when his women's Wildcat squad won the NCAA D-II outdoor championship, a title he would win again in '86, '87 and '88. When ACU combined their programs in 1993, Kittley was selected to head the men's team and won the D-II indoor title in his first season.
Since leaving Abilene for Texas Tech at the start of the 1999-2000 season, Kittley has greatly added to his championship legacy as he has coached 205 First Team All-Americas, 127 Big 12 Champions, 19 NCAA Champions and 10 Olympians (six medalists). His teams have combined to win five conference titles and posted 12 top-10 NCAA finishes.
ACU SeniorsMarina Guerrero-Puigdevall
Jessica James
Petrene Plummer
Daniel BlockTaylor OchsKeaton HartLuke WoodsJeremy TathamDeandre McBride
Devan BrownJelani RaineyMalcolm Barnes CaptainsJessica James
Diana Garcia-Munoz
Kimone Green (Sophomore captain)
Daniel BlockDevan BrownJelani RaineyLuke WoodsMorgan Knight (Sophomore captain)
Taylor YantisKenzie Mascorro
