Brandenburg shatters ACU's indoor shot put record

COLLEGE STATION - Junior and 2019 outdoor All-America Annina Brandenburg Saturday added her name to another corner of the Abilene Christian Track and Field records book after winning the shot put competition at Texas A&M's Ted Nelson Invitational.

A native of Dusseldorf, Germany, Brandenburg's winning throw landed at 15.94 meters (52 feet - 3 inches) on her second of six attempts to defeat competitors from Kentucky, UTSA, SFA, UT Arlington, Sam Houston State and host Aggies. 

Her mark not only was the best among 14 competitors at Gilliam Stadium, but it also eclipsed Marlene Lewis' previous school record of 15.46m (50-9) that was recorded in Lubbock in December 1987. Last spring Brandenburg set the school's record in the discus throw at the Sacramento State-hosted NCAA West Prelims, hitting a distance of 56.86m (186-6) that propelled her to the national meet in Austin.

This victory for Brandenburg was her seventh as a Wildcat and first in the indoor shot put since last January's Texas Tech Classic (14.88m / 48-10).

One of the more interesting aspects about yesterday's record-breaking performance is that all six of ACU's women's school throwing records belong to student-athletes coached by associate head coach Jerrod Cook. In addition to Brandenburg's efforts in the indoor shot put and discus, Lonnie Smith registered ACU's hammer record (61.35 // 201-3) in May 2019 and its top weight throw (19.55m // 64-01.75) last February at Texas Tech, while 2019 NCAA qualifier and Southland Conference MVP Kayla Melgar tossed the shot put 55-01.0 (16.80) at NCAA West Prelims.

Cook's success on the women's side started with Linda Brivule. In the midst of winning three consecutive NCAA DII javelin titles from 2008-10, she broke the school and NCAA DII record in this event at the 2009 Texas Relays behind a launch of 184-6 (56.25).

Within the men's throwing events, three of the school's six record holders have been mentored by Cook: shot putters Nick Jones (64-2.5 // 19.57) and Kai Schmidt (63-05.00 // 19.33), and hammer thrower Baptiste Kerjean (218-00 // 66.45).

ACU's longest throws records on the books are Mike Marsh's 1988 javelin toss of 218-5 (66.57m) followed by Andy Kokhanovsky's 211-5 (64.44m) discus throw and Glenn Griffin's 1997 weight throw of 65-0 (19.81).

Four additional Wildcats Saturday joined Brandenburg on the school's top-10 lists. Distance runners Briahna Gerlach and Irene Rono clocked second and eighth-place 3K times of 9:53.10 and 10:22.29 to land at fourth and 10th in the school rankings. Freshman sprint hurdler Jeremy King and first-year weight thrower Jacob Melcher also slid into the 10th spot of their respective events with marks of 8.28 seconds and 17.45 meters.

Overall, ACU student-athletes recorded 11 personal records.

Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to Lubbock the weekend of Jan. 30 for the Texas Tech Invitational.
 

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Abilene Christian Results at Texas A&M
Women 60m Preliminaries
8. Taylor Tolen - 7.71
14. Mackenzie West - 8.17 (PR)

Women 60m
8. Taylor Tolen - 7.75

Women 200m
6. Savannah Walker - 25.19
8. Taylor Tolen - 25.31
13. Irene Akwitt - 26.61

Women 400m
10. Rylee Jordan - 58.69

Women 800m
10. Julia Perry - 2:24.00

Women Mile
13. Grace White - 5:21.47

Women 3,000m
2. Briahna Gerlach - 9:53.10 (PR and 4th all-time at ACU)
8. Irene Rono - 10:22.29 (PR and 10th all-time at ACU)
10. Sarah Wagler - 10:36.88

Women 5,000m
3. Aubrey Young - 20:01.25
4. Loren Rivera - 20:13.87 (PR)
5. Lindsey White - 21:19.20

Women 60m Hurdles
9. Megan Kirby - 8.84
12. Irene Akwitti - 9:03
19. Amy Ambelang - 9:43
22. Julia Perry - 9.55
25. Janae Phoenix - 10.11

Women 4x400m Relay
7. Mya Henson, Savannah Walker, Rylee Jordan, Megan Kirby - 3:54.79
10. Payton Kirk, Karrington Lewis, Amy Ambelang, Janae Phoenix - 4:04.00

Women High Jump
6. Zoe Spinn - 1.68m
12. Kyla Peeples - 1.53m

Women Pole Vault
5. Mackenzie West - 3.53m
9. Kenna Calliham - 3.38m
12. Payton Kirk - 3.23m

Women Long Jump
6. Megan Kirby - 5.65m
8. Payton Kirk - 5.60m
13. Ella Anttila - 5.22m
19. Amy Ambelang - 4.61m

Women Shot Put
1. Annina Brandenburg - 15.94m (PR and school record)

Men 60m Prelims
16. Le'Gari Daniels - 7.07
20. Caleb Lawrence - 7.31
21. Riley Ellis - 7.44

Men 200m 
8. Ryan Linton - 22.03
12. Addison Franklin - 22.70
16. Caleb Lawrence - 22.95
20. Grant Baker - 23.21
21. Daniel Wheeler - 23.25
23. Harrison Manuel - 23.37

Men 400m
6. Avery Williams - 48.71
7. Jared Williams - 48.97
14. Addison Franklin - 50.94

Men 800m
9. Cole Palka - 2:05.89 (PR)
10. Jimmie Horton - 2:12.25 (PR)

Men 3,000m
7. Denis Lagat - 8:46.02 (PR)
10. Conner Miller - 9:00.05
12. Levi Chambers - 9:02.28 (PR)

Men 5,000m
2. Trevon Hardy - 16:57.14

Men 60m Hurdles Preliminaries
6. Jamal January - 8.21
7. Jeremy King - 8.27
10. Harrison Manuel - 8.54
16. Ryan Bornemeier - 8.73
21. Ethan Christian - 8.85

Men 60m Hurdles Finals
6. Jamal January - 8.28
7. Jeremy King - 8.28 (PR and 10th all-time at ACU)

Men 4x400m Relay
7. Jared Williams, Ethan Christian, Ryan Linton and Avery Williams - 3:17.35
11. Jeremy King, Jamal January, Ryan Bornemeier, Le'Gari Daniels - 3:27.12

Men Distance Medley Relay
5. Seth Crockett, Ethan Christian, Daniel Campos, Gabriel Trevino - 10:54.03

Men High Jump
8. Daniel Wheeler - 1.94m
12. Riley Ellis - 1.84m

Men Pole Vault
7. Cole Newman - 4.76m
14. Ross Dean - 4.61m

Men Long Jump
6. Jamal January - 6.90m
10. Ethan Christian - 6.61m
11. Daniel Wheelers - 6.60m
16. Ryan Bornmeier - 6.28m
17. Riley Ellis - 6.26m

Men Shot Put
3. Tyler Richardson - 16.87m

Men Weight Throw
4. Jacob Mechler - 17.45m (PR and 10th all-time at ACU)
5. Thomas Wilson - 17.28m
8. Tyler Richardson - 16.73m
 

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Women - Team Rankings - 16 Events Scored
1) Texas A&M 171
2) Kentucky 143
3) Stephen F. Austin 88
4) UTSA 71.5
5) Abilene Christian 53.5
6) UT-Arlington 44
7) Sam Houston St. 14

Men - Team Rankings - 16 Events Scored
1) Texas A&M 153
2) Kentucky 125
3) UT-Arlington 96
4) Sam Houston St. 71.5
5) Stephen F. Austin 57
6) Abilene Christian 53.5
7) UTSA 31