Thursday, March 17
Abilene, Texas
Abilene Christian
vs
Wes Kittley Invitational and Multi
Photo by: Jeremy Enlow
Wildcats open outdoor season with Wes Kittley Invitational
3/17/2022 11:21:00 AM | Track & Field
ABILENE, TEXAS – The Abilene Christian track and field programs are set to open the outdoor season on Thursday, hosting the eighth-annual Wes Kittley Invitational at Elmer Gray Stadium. The Wildcats will also be hosting an alumni reunion on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. at the Club Level of Wildcat Stadium.
Live Results | Meet Schedule | Heat Sheets
Events begin later this afternoon with the decathlon 100m dash beginning at 1:30 p.m., followed by the heptathlon hurdles at 1:50.
While the multis conclude Friday afternoon, field events will get started at 3 p.m. at the Wildcats' throwing arena located on the southeast corner of Ambler Ave. and Judge Ely Blvd.
Friday's track event include the men's and women's steeplechase, 1,500m run and 5K.
Saturday's full slate of events includes the javelin throw at 10:30 a.m., followed three hours of track events, starting with the 4x100-meter relay and concluding with the 4x400-meter relay.
ACU is one of nearly 20 schools entered at this weekend's meet, which is named after the former Wildcat and current Texas Tech Track and Field head coach Wes Kittley.
While at ACU, 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 257 First Team All-Americas, 173 Big 12 Champions, 28 NCAA Champions and 13 Olympians (eight medalists). His 2019 men's team claimed the first NCAA Championship in the history of men's athletics at Tech, and his teams have combined to win nine conference titles and posted 14 top-10 NCAA finishes.
The Red Raiders and Wildcats will be joined by a bevy of regional teams including neighboring McMurry and Hardin-Simmons, as well as former DII rivals Texas A&M-Kingsville, Angelo State and Cameron.
ACU is coming off a strong showing at the program's first-ever Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championship Meet that saw five Wildcats win conference titles, 34 personal bests and three school records fall. The men finished the weekend in fifth place as a team, while the women came in third place and less than six points out of first.
Peyton Kirk became ACU's first-ever WAC indoor champion with a long jump distance of 6.10m (20' ¼"), while Kirby came in fourth with a PR of 5.94m (19' 6").
Ella Anttila brought home a conference title in the triple jump with a personal best distance of 12.92m (42' 4 ¾"), while Luize Velmere (11.68m/38 3 ¼") added points to ACU's total.
The Purple and White 60m hurdle crew showed up ready to go, as Jamal January (2nd place, 7.97), Harrison Manuel (3rd, personal best 8.07), and Jeremy King (5th, 8.03), all qualified for Saturday's final. On the women's side, Megan Kirby broke a school record, finishing in fourth with a qualifying time of 8.52.
January became ACU's first-ever Division I hurdle event title with a PR time of 7.89 in the 60m hurdles, while Harrison Manuel (8.03) came in sixth place in the same event.
Taylor Tolen won the 60m dash with a PR time of 7.40, good enough for third on the ACU record book. Less than an hour later, she added a third-place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 24.23.
The Wildcats turned in three of the top eight finishers in the women's 3K, with Irene Rono taking the bronze with a time of 16:42.11 to lead the way. Tessa Holderman (17:50.93) finished in seventh, while Prudence Kiyeng came in eight place with a time of 18:08.11.
For more information, visit ACUSports.com or follow @ACU_TFXC on Twitter.
#GoWildcats
Live Results | Meet Schedule | Heat Sheets
Events begin later this afternoon with the decathlon 100m dash beginning at 1:30 p.m., followed by the heptathlon hurdles at 1:50.
While the multis conclude Friday afternoon, field events will get started at 3 p.m. at the Wildcats' throwing arena located on the southeast corner of Ambler Ave. and Judge Ely Blvd.
Friday's track event include the men's and women's steeplechase, 1,500m run and 5K.
Saturday's full slate of events includes the javelin throw at 10:30 a.m., followed three hours of track events, starting with the 4x100-meter relay and concluding with the 4x400-meter relay.
ACU is one of nearly 20 schools entered at this weekend's meet, which is named after the former Wildcat and current Texas Tech Track and Field head coach Wes Kittley.
While at ACU, 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 257 First Team All-Americas, 173 Big 12 Champions, 28 NCAA Champions and 13 Olympians (eight medalists). His 2019 men's team claimed the first NCAA Championship in the history of men's athletics at Tech, and his teams have combined to win nine conference titles and posted 14 top-10 NCAA finishes.
The Red Raiders and Wildcats will be joined by a bevy of regional teams including neighboring McMurry and Hardin-Simmons, as well as former DII rivals Texas A&M-Kingsville, Angelo State and Cameron.
ACU is coming off a strong showing at the program's first-ever Western Athletic Conference Indoor Championship Meet that saw five Wildcats win conference titles, 34 personal bests and three school records fall. The men finished the weekend in fifth place as a team, while the women came in third place and less than six points out of first.
Peyton Kirk became ACU's first-ever WAC indoor champion with a long jump distance of 6.10m (20' ¼"), while Kirby came in fourth with a PR of 5.94m (19' 6").
Ella Anttila brought home a conference title in the triple jump with a personal best distance of 12.92m (42' 4 ¾"), while Luize Velmere (11.68m/38 3 ¼") added points to ACU's total.
The Purple and White 60m hurdle crew showed up ready to go, as Jamal January (2nd place, 7.97), Harrison Manuel (3rd, personal best 8.07), and Jeremy King (5th, 8.03), all qualified for Saturday's final. On the women's side, Megan Kirby broke a school record, finishing in fourth with a qualifying time of 8.52.
January became ACU's first-ever Division I hurdle event title with a PR time of 7.89 in the 60m hurdles, while Harrison Manuel (8.03) came in sixth place in the same event.
Taylor Tolen won the 60m dash with a PR time of 7.40, good enough for third on the ACU record book. Less than an hour later, she added a third-place finish in the 200m dash with a time of 24.23.
The Wildcats turned in three of the top eight finishers in the women's 3K, with Irene Rono taking the bronze with a time of 16:42.11 to lead the way. Tessa Holderman (17:50.93) finished in seventh, while Prudence Kiyeng came in eight place with a time of 18:08.11.
For more information, visit ACUSports.com or follow @ACU_TFXC on Twitter.
#GoWildcats
Players Mentioned
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/ Track & Field
/ Track & Field
/ Track & Field
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