Wednesday, April 1
Austin, Texas
Abilene Christian
at
Texas Relays
Photo by: Sarah Eunyoung
Wildcats Compete Well at Texas Relays in Austin
4/6/2026 12:26:00 PM | Track & Field
AUSTIN, Texas - The Abilene Christian track and field team spent the weekend in Austin at one of the largest track meets in the country, the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays. Two of the highlights in the meet were second-place finishes in the decathlon for Canaan Fairley and in the 10,000 run for Kevin Castruita. For Castruita, it was the 2nd time to place 2nd in the event at the Texas Relays, matching up with his 2024 finish. Fairley finished day one of the decathlon, but on the second day, it took a gutty performance in winning the decathlon 1500 to jump him from 7th to 2nd.
Besides Castruita, the Wildcats scored a 6th place finish in the steeplechase from Mark Barajas, a 4th place finish in the women's 10,000 run from Hannah Kasper (plus, a 7th place finish from Hadley Phillips), and freshman Saylor Stevenson with a 10th place finish in the women's steeplechase with a season best time of 11:04.66. In the combined events, ACU received a 11th place finish from Natalie Poe in the women's heptathlon as she scored 5,111 points and moved up to the #4 spot on the all-time list for ACU.
Highlights in the throws included a 4th place finish from Rhet Punt in the men's hammer throw, whose throw of 208-4/63.49m moves him to #4 all-time in the event. Freshman Justin Smithey continues his impressive inaugural season for ACU as he finished 2nd in the "B" Discus throw with a season best toss of 177-6/54.11m. Meanwhile in the jumps, another freshman, Arthur Jenkins, was winning the men's "B" triple jump with a mark of 50-7.25/15.42m, a mark that has him nearing the top-10 all-time for ACU.
The Wildcats performed well in the Friday prelims in the sprint races. In the men's "A" 110 hurdles, Miguel Hall placed 14th in a season best time of 13.96. In the women's 100, Chianel Asoburuenwu placed 3rd in the "B" 100 with an all-time best time of 11.42 (now #5 all-time on the ACU list) and freshman Kee'Lani Whitlock was 17th in the "B" with a season best time of 11.63, moving her onto the top-10 performance list in the #9 spot. Abraham Olufemi-Dada placed 4th in the men's "B" 100 with a time of 10.31, good enough to place him on the all-time list as well at #9. Ryan McMeen also placed 20th in the "A" 400 hurdles, just a few fractions off his all-time best.
In the relays, the ACU women finished 14th in the 4x100 prelims with a time of 45.96, with a relay made up three freshmen (Lauren Foxworth, Kee'Lani Whitlock, and Morgan Morris) and a transfer junior (Chianel Asoburuenwu). In the 4x400 relay prelims, the Wildcats also placed 14th in the prelims for the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:46.02 (relay members were Morgan Morris, Madelyn McFadden, Gracee Whiteaker, and Emma Santoro. The 4x800 relay finished in the 5th place in the finals with a relay made up of 2 freshmen (Madelyn McFadden and Anna Vyn) and 2 sophomores (Emma Santoro and Jalyn Childers). For the men, the 4x100 relay finished 20th in the prelims, with a relay composed of Abraham Olufemi-Dada, Ethan Krause, Miguel Hall, and Jaylen Thomas in a time of 40.97. In the men's 4x400 relay, a relays consisting of Ryan McMeen, Nickens Lemba, Jaylen Thomas, and Abraham Olufemi-Dad placed 20th with a time of 3:15.97.
Coach Miles Smith: "This was one of our most fruitful Texas Relays outings in a while. While we didn't have a lot of relay success, there were a lot of personal best and ACU all-time performances. Our freshmen and transfers showed up and did some cool things and the few seniors that we have showed they were the class of the field. AJ Jenkins (winning the Triple Jump), plus Justin Smithey's and Abraham's performances were big performances for freshmen on such a huge stage. Rhet's improvement in the Hammer Throw was electric and Kevin's runner up finish were the kind of boosts our men's team needs. Personal records for Natalie, Chianel and Kee'Lani gave our women's teams much needed momentum. We know what we need to work on as we inch closer to the middle of the outdoor season. I'm excited!
UP NEXT
ACU will travel across town to McMurry War Hawk Classic, where virtually every member of the roster will be competing, on Friday and Saturday.
Besides Castruita, the Wildcats scored a 6th place finish in the steeplechase from Mark Barajas, a 4th place finish in the women's 10,000 run from Hannah Kasper (plus, a 7th place finish from Hadley Phillips), and freshman Saylor Stevenson with a 10th place finish in the women's steeplechase with a season best time of 11:04.66. In the combined events, ACU received a 11th place finish from Natalie Poe in the women's heptathlon as she scored 5,111 points and moved up to the #4 spot on the all-time list for ACU.
Highlights in the throws included a 4th place finish from Rhet Punt in the men's hammer throw, whose throw of 208-4/63.49m moves him to #4 all-time in the event. Freshman Justin Smithey continues his impressive inaugural season for ACU as he finished 2nd in the "B" Discus throw with a season best toss of 177-6/54.11m. Meanwhile in the jumps, another freshman, Arthur Jenkins, was winning the men's "B" triple jump with a mark of 50-7.25/15.42m, a mark that has him nearing the top-10 all-time for ACU.
The Wildcats performed well in the Friday prelims in the sprint races. In the men's "A" 110 hurdles, Miguel Hall placed 14th in a season best time of 13.96. In the women's 100, Chianel Asoburuenwu placed 3rd in the "B" 100 with an all-time best time of 11.42 (now #5 all-time on the ACU list) and freshman Kee'Lani Whitlock was 17th in the "B" with a season best time of 11.63, moving her onto the top-10 performance list in the #9 spot. Abraham Olufemi-Dada placed 4th in the men's "B" 100 with a time of 10.31, good enough to place him on the all-time list as well at #9. Ryan McMeen also placed 20th in the "A" 400 hurdles, just a few fractions off his all-time best.
In the relays, the ACU women finished 14th in the 4x100 prelims with a time of 45.96, with a relay made up three freshmen (Lauren Foxworth, Kee'Lani Whitlock, and Morgan Morris) and a transfer junior (Chianel Asoburuenwu). In the 4x400 relay prelims, the Wildcats also placed 14th in the prelims for the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:46.02 (relay members were Morgan Morris, Madelyn McFadden, Gracee Whiteaker, and Emma Santoro. The 4x800 relay finished in the 5th place in the finals with a relay made up of 2 freshmen (Madelyn McFadden and Anna Vyn) and 2 sophomores (Emma Santoro and Jalyn Childers). For the men, the 4x100 relay finished 20th in the prelims, with a relay composed of Abraham Olufemi-Dada, Ethan Krause, Miguel Hall, and Jaylen Thomas in a time of 40.97. In the men's 4x400 relay, a relays consisting of Ryan McMeen, Nickens Lemba, Jaylen Thomas, and Abraham Olufemi-Dad placed 20th with a time of 3:15.97.
Coach Miles Smith: "This was one of our most fruitful Texas Relays outings in a while. While we didn't have a lot of relay success, there were a lot of personal best and ACU all-time performances. Our freshmen and transfers showed up and did some cool things and the few seniors that we have showed they were the class of the field. AJ Jenkins (winning the Triple Jump), plus Justin Smithey's and Abraham's performances were big performances for freshmen on such a huge stage. Rhet's improvement in the Hammer Throw was electric and Kevin's runner up finish were the kind of boosts our men's team needs. Personal records for Natalie, Chianel and Kee'Lani gave our women's teams much needed momentum. We know what we need to work on as we inch closer to the middle of the outdoor season. I'm excited!
UP NEXT
ACU will travel across town to McMurry War Hawk Classic, where virtually every member of the roster will be competing, on Friday and Saturday.
Players Mentioned
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/ Track & Field
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