ABILENE - The Wildcats started the season at home, hosting the Wes Kittley Invitational. The Wildcats won four events and there were numerous "personal bests" (PB). With this being the first outdoor meet for ACU, this is also the first time this season for the Wildcats to see how the athletes compare to the WAC schools on the performance list.
Event Winners
- During the Distance Carnival on Friday night, Andruw Villa won the 1500 with a time of 3:58.90 with a well-timed burst over the final 100 meters of the race.
- Freshman Aaralyn Strambler won the long jump with a leap of 19-1.5/5.83, bettering her all-time best in high school and landing her #2 on the WAC list.
- Sutton Welch won the hammer throw with a throw of 188-3/57.38, only 2 centimeters off his PB in the event. This puts him #2 on the WAC performance list. Sutton also threw a PB in the shot put – 49-8.25/15.14 – for 2nd place in the event.
- Freshman Benji Castro won the 800 in a time of 1:54.33 in a wild finish that saw three runners hold the lead over the final 20 meters. Teammate Vincent Luffey finished a few fractions behind the top spot with a time of 1:54.95.
Key Wildcat Performances
- Horatio Brooks, who just converted from the sprints to the long jump during indoor season, finished 2 nd in the LJ with a jump of 24-4/7.39 that will not appear on the WAC performance list because the wind gusted too high during the jump. But his 2 nd best jump places him at #4 in the WAC.
- Sterling Glenn had a fantastic debut outdoors as she threw all 4 outdoor throwing implements during the 2-day meet. Her shot put throw of 43-10.5/13.37 placed her 2 nd in the event (#3 in the WAC); 120-11/36.85 in the javelin for 5 th place; and 133-8/40.74 in the discus for 6 th place.
- In the 110 hurdles, Miguel Hall (14.12 for 3 rd place) and Canaan Fairley (14.14 for 4th place), both times a new PB. Miguel moves to #2 in the WAC and Canaan to #3 on the WAC list.
- On the women's side in the 100 hurdles, Hana Banks grabbed 5 th place with a PR time of 14.20. Heptathlete Natalie Poe also ran well, with a time of 14.88, which would have been a PB, but the wind gusted too high during her heat to enter the performance list. Freshman Laya'Lapri Ratney ran her first collegiate 100 hurdles and finished in 9 th place with a time of 14.74, which puts her just outside the top-10 in the WAC.
- Donovan Ramirez, coming back from an injury that took away his entire 2023-2024 season, placed 2 nd in the triple jump with a leap of 48-0.5/14.64 – placing him #1 on the WAC performance list.
- Three freshmen women ran well in the 400, as Emma Santoro placed 4 th (#5 in the WAC) with a time of 57.54; Jalyn Childers clocked a 58.12 for 6 th place (#7 in the WAC); and Gracee Whitaker placed 58.96 for 8 th place (#9 in the WAC).
- Mark Barajas finished 3 rd in the steeplechase with a time of 9:46.81 (#9 in the WAC).
- Peyton Bornstein finished 3 rd in the women's steeplechase, clocking a time of 11:31.95, putting her #5 in the WAC.
- Both Ja'Dasia Sims and Ja'Kaylon Record had strong efforts in their last competition in Elmer Gray Stadium. Ja'Dasia ran her first-ever 100 in college and placed 10 th in the event (#6 in the WAC) and placed 5 th in the 200 with a time of 24.21, ranked #3 in the WAC. Ja'Kaylon just missed her PB in the 100, placing 12th , but her time still puts her #7 in the WAC. In the 200, Ja'Kaylon also fell short of her PB in finishing 10 th , but she is now ranked #7 in the WAC in that event.
- Ethan Krause ran the 100 in what would have been a new PB of 10.29, but the wind reading was too high to be counted on the WAC performance list. Ethan also ran a terrific 2 nd leg on the 4x100 relay.
- The other women throwers also had a good performances: Avery Myrick just missed her PB in the hammer with a throw of 140-7/48.26 for 4 th place (ranked #4 in the WAC). Kailey Roskop placed 3 rd in 2 events – the discus with a throw of 146-7/44.69 (#3 in the WAC) and the hammer throw with a throw of 154-8/47.15 (#3 in the WAC). Heptathlete Nele Huth placed 4 th in both the shot put with a throw of 42-4/12.90 (#6 in the WAC) and javelin with a throw of 128-6/39.16 (#9 in the WAC). Freshman Mariana Van Dyk finished 7 th in the hammer throw throwing 136-6/41.60, ranking her #7 in the WAC.
- The men throwers also had some other strong performances as a group: Stone Smith finished 5 th in the discus with a toss of 154-10/47.20 (#3 in the WAC); and Rylan Smart placed 6 th in the hammer throw, placing him #6 in the WAC.
- The men's 4x100 relay placed 4 th in the field on Saturday with a time of 41.28, which stands #4 in the WAC. The relay consisted of Kenan Reil, Ethan Krause, Miguel Hall, and freshman Tristian Smalls. As this foursome have more time to work together, their time should drop substantially.
This next weekend, the Wildcat T&F squad will split up, with qualifiers going to Texas Relays at the University of Texas and a portion of the squad headed to the Bobcat
Invitational in San Marcos.
