Wes Kittley Invitational | Mar. 24, 2018
Elmer Gray Stadium | Abilene

 

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ABILENE – The Abilene Christian track and field team is set to host the Wes Kittley Invitational on Saturday starting at 9 a.m. On Friday the team will be holding a reunion for all of its former track and field members starting at 7 p.m. in the team room. Food will be provided.
 
Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under, and can be purchased at the ticket trailer parked near the track and field clubhouse off Campus Court.
 
Field events are slated to start at 9 a.m. with the javelin, while running events will start at 9 a.m. with the 5,000-meter run.
 
The Wildcats also will be sending all their throwers with the exception of Josh Hunter and Natalie Jackson to participate at the McMurry War Hawks Classic.
 

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LAST MEET: Kayla Melgar set two new school records in discus and the hammer throw. Melgar first broke Monique Kuenen's 21-year-old discus record of 54.22 meters with a launch of 55.51m, which is currently the fifth-best mark in the nation. The Tempe, Ariz. native then snapped Ranessa Crawford's 20-year-old hammer record of 54.06m with a toss of 54.82m.
 
Morgan Knight finished among the top-five in three events. He tossed a mark of 54.88m in the discus to take second, reached a distance of 17.48m in the shot put that was good for third, and the hammer 54.52m to finish fifth.
 
Meanwhile on the track, senior Ryan Cleary finished the 3,000-meter steeplechase in 9:28.43 to take the second spot to SFA's Erick Rotich (9:24.56), while Avery Williams and Jared Williams went fourth and sixth, respectively in the 400m dash with times of 47.85 and 48.04.

Alexandria Hackett finished second to SMU's Hannah Miller (4:28.11) in the 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:34.53 and twin sister Michaela clocked a time of 4:38.10 that was good for sixth.


 

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About Wes Kittley
Currently 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 225 First Team All-Americas, 145 Big 12 Champions, 21 NCAA Champions and 13 Olympians (eight medalists). His teams have combined to win five conference titles and posted 12 top-10 NCAA finishes.
 

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ACU's Wes Kittley Invitational Entries
Women's Javelin:
Brielle Collett
Megan Kirby
Annina Brandenburg
Reagan Mabery
 
Men's Javelin:
McKennon Cecil
Ryan Simmons
 
Women's Long Jump:
Irene Akwitti
 
Men's Long Jump:
Noah Herring
Riley Ellis
Cole Palka
 
Women's Hammer Throw:
Kayla Melgar
Reagan Mabery
Taylor Posey
Lonnie Smith
 
Men's Hammer Throw:
Ryan Simmons
Morgan Knight
Thomas Wilson III
 
Women's Shot Put:
Kayla Melgar
Annina Brandenburg
Taylor Posey
Jaycee Pannell
Brielle Collett
Irene Akwitti
 
Men's Shot Put:
Josh Hunter
Kai Schmidt
Ryan Simmons
Morgan Knight
Riley Ellis
 
Women's Pole Vault:
Mackenzie West
 
Men's Pole Vault:
Justin Haines
Jaden Dement
Kyle Mann
Jancen Power
 
Women's High Jump:
Irene Akwitti
Megan Kirby
 
Men's High Jump:
Riley Ellis
Cole Palka
 
Men's Triple Jump:
Noah Herring
 
Women's Discus:
Kayla Melgar
Annina Brandenburg
Lonnie Smith
 
Men's Discus:
McKennon Cecil
Josh Hunter
Kai Schmidt
Ryan Simmons
Morgan Knight
Thomas Wilson III
Riley Ellis
Cole Palka 
 
Women's 5,000m Run:
Briahna Gerlach
Hannah Marut
Aubrey Young
 
Men's 5,000m Run:
Travis Nichols
 
Women's 3,000m Steeplechase:
Lindsey White
 
Men's 3,000m Steeplechase:
Seth Crockett
 
Women's 4x100m Relay:
Tori Hardy, Mya Henson, Taylor Tolen, Karrington Lewis, Jessica King, Jamie Kennedy

Men's 4x100m Relay:
Le'Gari Daniels, Avery Williams, Wyatt Duvall, Ryan Linton
 
Women's 1,500m Run:
Carnley Graham
Alexandria Hackett
Michaela Hackett
Soren Underwood
 
Men's 1,500m Run:
John Gomez
Conner Miller
 
Women's 100m Hurdles:
Irene Akwitti
Brielle Collett
Megan Kirby
Jaycee Pannell
 
Men's 110m Hurdles:
Riley Ellis
Cole Palka
 
Women's 400m Dash:
Jamie Kennedy
Karrington Lewis
 
Men's 400m Dash:
Taylor Williamson
Jared Williams
 
Women's 100m Dash:
Tori Hardy
Taylor Tolen
 
Men's 100m Dash:
Le'Gari Daniels
Wyatt Duvall
Ryan Linton
 
Women's 800m Run:
Diana Garcia-Munoz
Lauryn Asiedu
 
Men's 800m Run:
Blaze Brownlow
Drew Cummings
Lincoln Jones
Roy Kipkorir
Taylor Williamson
Ryan Cleary
 
Men's 400m Hurdles:
Lee-Andrew Bloomfield
Samuel Garcia
 
Women's 200m Dash:
Tori Hardy
Mya Henson
Jessica King
Taylor Tolen

Men's 200m Dash:
Le'Gari Daniels
Wyatt Duvall
Ryan Linton
Avery Williams
Jared Williams
 
Women's 4x400m Relay:
A – Jessica King, Taylor Tolen, Jamie Kennedy, Karrington Lewis, Mya Henson, Soren Underwood
B – Mya Henson, Soren Underwood, Tori Hardy, Lauryn Asiedu
 
Men's 4x400m Relay:
A – Avery Williams, Jared Williams, Lee-Andrew Bloomfield, Ryan Linton, Blaze Brownlow
B – Blaze Brownlow, Wyatt Duvall, Ryan Cleary, Samuel Garcia, Taylor Williamson
 
McMurry War Hawks Classic Entries
 
Women's Javelin:
Annina Brandenburg
Reagan Mabery
 
Men's Javelin:
McKennon Cecil
Ryan Simmons
 
Women's Hammer Throw:
Kayla Melgar
Reagan Mabery
Taylor Posey
Lonnie Smith
 
Men's Hammer Throw:
Ryan Simmons
Morgan Knight
Thomas Wilson III
 
Women's Shot Put:
Kayla Melgar
Annina Brandenburg
Taylor Posey
 
Men's Shot Put:
Kai Schmidt
Ryan Simmons
Morgan Knight
 
Women's Discus:
Kayla Melgar
Annina Brandenburg
Lonnie Smith
 
Men's Discus:
McKennon Cecil
Kai Schmidt
Ryan Simmons
Morgan Knight
Thomas Wilson III