Wildcats' outdoor season begins at TCU

ABILENE – Abilene Christian track and field begins its first outdoor season under head coach Lance Bingham Friday for the TCU Invitational. A handful of Wildcats are entered into the hammer and discus Friday morning with the rest of the team coming up Saturday for 12 field events and 20 races.

Saturday's slate of competitions begins at 9:30 a.m. with the javelin and is expected to conclude around 5:30 p.m. with the 1,600-meter relay.

With nine veterans redshirting this outdoor season presents a three-month opportunity for a new set of Wildcats to emerge as team leaders. Freshmen sprinters Avery Williams and Ryan Linton did well at the Southland Conference indoor championships, scoring second-place points on the 4x400-meter relay with junior Lee-Andrew Bloomfield and senior Rosen Daniel, but a majority of ACU's all-conference honorees all are redshirting.

This talented and robust list of redshirts includes Southland Indoor Runner of the Year Michaela Hackett, and throwers Annina Brandenburg, Morgan Knight, Kayle Melgar, Kai Schmidt and Lonnie Smith. Schmidt was runner up in the shot put indoors, while Smith was the league's champion in the weight throw. Knight, Melgar and Brandenburg also brought home points for the Wildcats.

ACU's women's distance crew (Alexandria Hackett, Diana Garcia Munoz, Gabby Thompson) will continue to redshirt as well, giving the Wildcats a chance to really clean up at the three conference meets plus regionals and nationals throughout the 2017-18 season. Sophomore Carnley Graham, however, will compete this outdoor season and is entered in the TCU 3K with senior Sierra Bennett. Graham was fourth at conference indoors in both the 3K and 5K runs.

Additional headliners coming back for the Wildcats this outdoor season include former Southland Conference champions Kimone Green and McKenzie (Walker) Mascorro. Green won last year's outdoor title in the 400m hurdles with a time of 57.78 seconds, and Mascorro won her most recent pole vault crown at the 2016 indoor meet (4.00m / 13-1.5). 

Others returning who scored at last year's league outdoor meet are multi-athlete Taylor (Woods) Yantis, Samuel Garcia and Sterlen Paul. Woods Yantis was seventh last May in the heptathlon. Paul was sixth in the 800m, and Garcia was part of the eighth-place 4x100m relay.
 

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2017 Outdoor Season Redshirts: Kai Schmidt, Morgan Knight, Lonnie Smith, Kayla Melgar, Annina Brandenburg, Alexandria and Michaela Hackett, Diana Garcia Munoz and Gabby Thompson.