ACU Wins Five Events at 2026 Wes Kittley Invitational

Friday, March 20

Abilene, Texas

Abilene Christian

Wes Kittley Invitational

Photo by: Sarah Eunyoung

ACU Wins Five Events at 2026 Wes Kittley Invitational

3/23/2026 10:58:00 AM | Track & Field

Meet Results

By: Don Garrett

ABILENE - The Abilene Christian track and field team battled near record-heat to come away with five first place finishes and a larger number of persona best performances at the 2026 Wes Kittley Invitational at Elmer Gray Stadium.

The meet was highlighted by ACU victories by Mark Barajas in the steeplechase (9:37.64); Chloe McLellan in the 1500 (a personal best time of 4:42.02); Donovan Ramirez in the triple jump (an outdoor personal best jump of 48-6.75/14.80m); and heptathlete Nele Huth in the high jump, in a personal best jump of 5-5/1.56m (also gathering personal bests of 14.58 in the 100 hurdles and 26.60 in the 200). The women's 4x100 relay also won with a quartet made up of three freshmen (Lauren Foxworth, Kee'Lani Whitlock, Morgan Morris) and transfer Chianel Asobruenwu, in a time of 45.46, the fastest time in that relay since 2023.

The Wildcats also saw several second place finishes: Saylor Stevenson in the steeplechase (11:20.26); Miguel Hall in the 110 hurdles (14.22); Madelyn McFadden in the 400 (55.22); Mackenzie Flaugher in the triple jump (39-9.75/12.13m); Vincent Luffey in the 800 (a personal best time of 1:50.70); and Rhet Punt in the hammer throw ( with a personal best throw of 204-3/62.27m). The men's 4x100 ran a time of 40.27, the fastest time in the relay since 2021, to grab second place. The relay was composed of Abraham Olufemi-Dada, Canaan Fairley, Durrell Collins, and Miguel Hall.

The meet also featured several third place finishes for the Wildcats: Justin Smithey in the discus (167-5/51.03m); Horatio Brooks in the long jump (22-6.5/6.87m); Ryan McMeen in the 400 hurdles (52.19); Chianel Asoburuenwu in the 100 (11.72); Sterling Glenn in the hammer throw (with a personal record toss of 170-4/51.92m); Mariana Van Dyk in the shot put (with an outdoor personal record distance of 46-3.5/14.11m, as well as a personal record of 160-2/48.83m in the hammer throw); and Rylan Smart in the hammer throw (167-1/50.43m).

There were many other outstanding performances, such as Ella Cockrum in the discus throw (141-5/43.12m); Lola Buentello with a personal best time of 4:54.21 in the 1500; Morgan Morris in the 400 (56.46); Gracee Whiteaker with a personal best time of 56.92 in the 400; and Anna Vyn with a 4th place finish in the 800 (2:11.90). Two additional heptathletes also gathered personal best in multiple events – Natalie Poe (14.85 in the 100 hurdles, 25.37 in the 200, and 117-7/35.83m in the javelin) and Skyla Riedel (26.30 in the 200, 15.51 in the 200, 17-2.75/5.25m in the long jump; and 123-8/37.70m in the javelin).

During the meet, the event's namesake Wes Kittley, former ACU and current Texas Tech track and field coach, was honored along with the Wildcats' 12 seniors.

Several Wildcat athletes are still nursing minor injuries from the indoor season and will not debut until later in the season. ACU will next compete in the Masked Rider Invitational at Texas Tech on Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28. The Texas Relays has also released the names of the athletes accepted into the heptathlon and decathlon and ACU decathlete Canaan Fairley and heptathletes Nele Huth and Natalie Poe have been accepted into that prestigious meet. Accepted athletes for the other events at the Texas Relays will be announced this week and ACU will have a clearer picture of who will be competing in Austin in early April.

Coach Miles Smith: "We got a jump start on what it feels like to compete in really hot weather. I think our kids handled themselves well. To see Vincent Luffey, Rhet Punt, Ryan McMeen, and Anna Vyn come out and achieve personal bests right out the gate was exciting. Our Multis showed some grit in some individual events and our sprint relays dropped some times that we hadn't seen on campus in a while. Glad we were able to get some momentum."