COLLEGE STATION - A contingent of ACU Wildcats kicked off the 2026 indoor track season in at the McFerrin 12-Degree Invitational, with several successful times and marks.
Highlights in the meet were two victories for the Wildcats, as
Vincent Luffey won the men's mile with a personal best time of 4:12.16 (with teammate
Benjamin Castro close behind in 2nd in a personal best time of 4:13.06) and
Rhet Punt, last season's National Junior College Athletic Association national champ, winning the weight throw handily with a toss of 62-10.25/19.16m.
There were several other highlights, including:
- Miguel Hall finishing in 3rd in the 60 hurdles with a time of 8.03, a few fractions off his personal best, with Canaan Fairley in 6th in a time of 8.18
- Mariana Van Dyk in 5th place in the shot put with a big personal best throw of 46-2/14.07m, with freshman Ciera Tilley close behind in 6th with a throw of 44-3.25/13.49m. Mariana also finished 5th in the weight throw with a strong season opening throw of 47-8.25/14.46.
- In the men's 3K run, Mark Barajas finished in 3rd in a time of 8:19.52, with Carlos Cortez close behind in 5th with a time of 8:20.41 – both times substantial improvements over their previous personal bests.
- Running in the 1000-meter run, Emma Santoro finished 3rd in the women's race with a time of 2:57.96 and Evan Martin placed 4th in the men's race running a time of 2:28.74.
- In the women's 600-meter race, Madelyn McFadden finished in 2nd with a time of 1:35.12 and Jalyn Childers was just behind her in 3rd running a 1:36.23.
- ACU had a large group of freshmen running in the women's 60-meter dash, led by Kee'Lani Whitlock, who finished in 7th with a time of 7.66
- The women's 4x400 relay finished in 2nd with a team made up of 800-meter runners – Anna Vyn, Emma Santoro, Gracee Whiteaker, and Madelyn McFadden, in a time of 3:50.94 and Gracee with the fastest split time of 56.45.
The Wildcats will now enter a season of hard training over the holiday break, before the team's next indoor track meet, the Texas Tech Corky Classic on January 16-17, 2026.
Â
