Before ACU: Mariana had a sterling career at Cypress Christian that including 3 gold medals at the TAPPS
4A State meet and 8 visits to the medal stand. As a senior in 2023-2024, she would place 2 nd in the SP
and 3 rd in the discus at the TAPPS 4A meet and she was ranked #79 in the DT among all Texas HS
throwers. Her Junior year, she won the DT and was 2 nd in the SP, as well as anchoring the Cypress
Christian 4x400 to a 5 th place finish. That year, she was ranked #64 among all Texas throwers. As a
sophomore, she was 2 nd in the SP and 2 nd in the DT at the state meet and started off her HS career by
winning the DT and getting 2 nd in the SP as a freshman. She set the school record in the DT for Cypress
Christian as a freshman and extended that record each year through her senior year. She has all-time
bests of 38-7 in the SP and 129-6 in the DT. At ACU, she trains in the SP and DT and has started learning
the hammer throw and possibly even the javelin.

Personal: Mariana is a 2024 graduate at Cypress Christian HS, where she was also an Academic All-state
and All-District athlete. Her parents are Clare and Frans Van Dyk. At ACU, she is majoring in Sports and
Recreation Management. She is also an active volunteer at her home church, The Met in Houston, and
The Well in Abilene.

On my visit, I felt a sense of peace and satisfaction that I believe will allow to grow as an athlete and as a follower of Christ. I felt like even if I was not an athlete at ACU, I will be able to still continue thriving and will love to be a part of ACU.

What is your favorite thing about ACU? The community and friendships I have found. My community if mainly the track and field team and even though the throwers do not practice with the rest of the team, my best friends are still sprinters and jumpers and we are a pretty tight group.