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Post by wildcatter on May 11, 2023 22:04:49 GMT -6
sorry, I guess I should have asked ‘why is she not running?’
Our top thrower gone from the team and our most prolific runner not running doesn’t seem promising for the program.
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Post by bogeyman on May 13, 2023 20:25:56 GMT -6
Men finish 5th and women finish 6th at the WAC conference meet at SFA.
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Post by Outsider on May 13, 2023 20:41:14 GMT -6
Men finish 5th and women finish 6th at the WAC conference meet at SFA. There were some really nice finishes and PRs for us.
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Post by Cap'n on May 14, 2023 18:55:14 GMT -6
Men finish 5th and women finish 6th at the WAC conference meet at SFA. The men’s 4x100 had a DNF so I assume they dropped a baton or something. They were one of the top 3 teams and we got zero points from them. The men finished 4 points behind SFA so 4th place finish in this event would have moved us to 4th.
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Post by Outsider on May 24, 2023 14:19:23 GMT -6
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Post by acutrackfan on May 24, 2023 16:16:26 GMT -6
Meeuwenburg was the first choice all along -- he has already had a big impact on retaining runners who had entered the portal. Most of the holdup was around him balking at a big pay cut to leave a D-2 program and come to ACU. I think ACU finally got it up to being a lateral move on pay. I hear from some of my D-2 coaching friends thst he is a great recruiter. I love seeing that.
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Post by Outsider on May 25, 2023 6:55:54 GMT -6
Meeuwenburg was the first choice all along -- he has already had a big impact on retaining runners who had entered the portal. Most of the holdup was around him balking at a big pay cut to leave a D-2 program and come to ACU. I think ACU finally got it up to being a lateral move on pay. I hear from some of my D-2 coaching friends thst he is a great recruiter. I love seeing that. Glad we could get our pay up to DII level and glad he decided to still come. Hopefully the new VP & Ass. to AD position will help with that.
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Post by acutrackfan on May 29, 2023 12:09:48 GMT -6
Here it is Memorial Day and I finally get to catch up a bit on posting about the WAC T&F championship. I will start with the ACU women's team. My predictions were largely on target (I will brag a little bit on my T&F prognostication, because my football and basketball picks are typically terrible). NMSU and SFA finished 1-2, just as predicted, although both scored a little better than I expected. The next batch of teams in my prediction were very close together -- GCU, UVU, UTA, ACU and CBU. GCU, UVU, UTA and ACU went 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th -- only CBU dropped way off the pace, finishing a distant 10th, which I really don't mind as I have developed a dislike for CBU. I had hoped to see ACU finishing 5th-7th and the Wildcat women followed form rather well, finishing 6th. Actually a pretty good spot for this year's team. My biggest team surprise was UT-RGV, who finished 7th with a vastly improved team that finished next-to-last in 2022.
This has been a hard year for the ACU T&F team however you cut it. ACU hired a long-time D-1 coach for the jumps and multis and she failed miserably -- she did not show up for workouts and had to let go in the middle of the outdoor season. JJ Ply did an admirable job moving from grad assistant to full-time assistant coach, but several of the young jumpers had their development delayed by a year. Coach Jelen left to take a HC job between the indoor and outdoor season and it was impossible to find someone who could come in at mid-year. Coach Jelen continued to write workouts for the distance runners since there was not a new coach in time to work with the distance runners this year, but he obviously could not be at the meets and provide on-site coaching. (ACU has now hired a distance coach, Nathan Meeuwenberg, from D-2 Edinboro in PA, and my first impressions of him are VERY good.) For 2 seasons, ACU has used a volunteer (unpaid) vault coach, who has done an admirable job -- in fact, an ACU vaulter won the WAC women's PV this year -- but as a young Mother, Coach Knight is unable to continue that role starting next school year. There is no budget money to hire a stipend coach for vault, so the decision has been made to discontinue having any vaulters at ACU. Rather tragic if you know the history of PV at ACU.
Here are some of the performances that really stood out to me for the women at the WAC meet:
-Zoe Burleson looks like a worthy successor to Annina B, as she wins the discus and gets 2nd in the SP for 18 big points. As you may have read, Zoe barely missed going to nationals in the discus, literally losing her 12th place spot to the final thrower of the competition by a few inches.
-JaDasia Sims gets 2nd in the HJ and 5th in a strong 400 field, but it was on the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay that she really made her mark -- going from 5th to 2nd in a stunning anchor leg that in the 53 second range. An incredibly gutty effort.
-Payton Kirk was the co-champ in the PV and got 5th in the LJ. She also moved onto the 4x100 relay after Amy Ambelang's injury indoors, but that relay only mustered an 8th place finish. Payton is an athlete who improved every single season she was at ACU and after being a lightly recruited high schooler, she became a consistent top-3 competitor in both the PV and LJ -- a kid who got absolutely everything out of her athletic ability. She has used up all of her eligibility and will be sorely missed.
-Ella Anttila continues to dominate the triple jump in the conference and she actually was pretty close to scoring in the long jump as well.
-Savannah Walker - got 8th in the 400 and just missed the 200 finals by a few fractions. Ran strong legs on both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Has become a valuable member of the team.
-JaKaylon Sabbath did not make the finals in the 400, but she has forced her way onto both the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. JaKaylon is a walkon kid who has worked hard to become a valuable member of those relays. If she continues her improvement trajectory, she could be a factor in the 200 and 400 as well.
-Grad transfer Kaitlyn Callaway grabs a 5th place in the javelin after a transfer from HSU. She has one more year to compete for the Wildcats
-Courtney Latham did not make finals in the 400 hurdles, but she did run a solid leg on the 2nd place 4x400 relay.
-Jessica Campbell placed 9th (again) in the heptathlon, but slipped in for a point by getting 8th in the javelin throw.
-D'Anna Smith appeared to become a major contributor outdoors last year as she made the finals in the 100 and 200, but took a step back this year not making the finals in either event -- scoring .25 of a point in dividing up the 1 point for the 4x100 with the other 3 relay members.
There were several athletes who competed, but did not score. They were all underclassmen - sophomores Kailey Roskop (9th in both the discus and hammer) and Paige Boucher (100 hurdles). Redshirt freshman Mackenzie Blain in the pole vault (she will go to Texas Lutheran next year with the closure of the vault program). True freshmen Hannah Foster (100, 200), Gracyn Reed (400), Riley Pyeatt (800), Peyton Bornstein (steeple, 5K), and Natalie Poe (heptathlon). I think ALL of these freshmen will be contributors during their ACU careers.
Disappointments: No doubt the biggest one was Irene Rono, who was entered in the 5K and 10K at the WAC meet, but chose to stay behind in Abilene to go through graduation. I think that not having a distance coach on-site cost ACU with Irene. I have no doubt that Irene could have moved ACU into 5th place as a team. Prudence Kiyeng dealt with injuries all year and did not make the trip to Nacogdoches at all. 400 hurdlers Rylee Jordan and Julie Perry both spent the past 2 years mostly injured after being contributors early in their ACU careers.
ACU will be getting several redshirts next year and several will be contributors: Tessa Holdermann (injured in the steeplechase in the first outdoor meet of the year); Kate Williams (medical redshirt - lots of potential in the distance races); Luize Velmere (triple jumper taking a medical redsbirt); Amy Ambelang (injured indoors at a Tech meet, if she can rehab her Achilles, she will be a key member of the relays); Kiley Kjellstrom (transfer from HBU/HCU with lots of potential in the javelin who had to redshirt due to a botched surgery when she was at HBU/HCU); and Avery Myrick (the only female freshman redshirt in the throwers -- freshmen throwers ALWAYS benefit from a redshirt year -- Avery has shown an ability to throw all 4 implements.)
This team suffered from the loss of key athletes from last year. This year's 6th place finish is about as good as we could hope for this year with the injuries and disappointments from this year. The potential is there for a rebound next year -- possibly even up to the top-3.
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Post by acutrackfan on May 29, 2023 17:49:47 GMT -6
Here is the story on the men's team race at the WAC Championship. Just like I thought, GCU ran away with the team championship, scoring 20 points more than I ever expected. Southern Utah was the biggest surprise as they finished in a strong second place -- I had them picked for 3rd. On the other hand, UVU underperformed and ended up in 3rd. As I mentioned in my prediction - SFA, ACU, UTA and Tarleton - were going to fight it out for 3rd-7th and I really thought ACU would end up in 6th-7th, so the 'Cats finishing in 5th was really a good thing. ACU got hit with some hard things that the team simply could not allow the 'Cats to finish in the top 3. In another note, the loss of SHSU and NMSU to the CUSA will have very little impact on the WAC next year -- NMSU is one of the largest schools in D-1 that does not field a men's team and SHSU finished next-to-last in the men's team race.
Some key performers include:
-The throwers led the way as Athan Huelskamp -- who got 2nd place in the SP throwing on a broken foot! He broke his pivot foot during some warmups at the final Tech meet. What a gutty effort to throw the SP over 55 feet on a broken foot using a partial spin. Also, RS Fr Nathanial (Nate) Collier had to have hernia surgery at the beginning of the semester, but he ended up getting 2nd in the discus and 4th in the SP. Look for BIG things from Collier and Huelskamp in the coming years.
-Jack Marshall gets 2nd in the 100 and 200, for 16 points. Jack has been the best sprinter ACU has had in the past decade or more -- very steady and disciplined. Jack has one more season he can compete (his COVID redshirt year) - he will head to Texas Tech for that season - to work on the 1-year MBA program the Red Raiders have, where he will run for ACU alum Wes Kittley.
-Jamal January continued his leadership of the ACU hurdle crew by breaking the WAC record in the 110H, a record that has stood for over 30 years, BUT the UTA runner finished .02 ahead of him. It was a terrific race with Jamal closing dramatically over the final 3 flights of hurdles. If the race was 2 meters longer, Jamal would have won the championship. Jamal has made ACU a terrific hurdler for 5 years. Another hurdler, Jeremy King, had been waiting to break out for 3 years, but he finally hit it as he gets 3rd in the 110H a few tenths behind Jamal.
-Jared Williams is one of my favorite runners for ACU -- a guy who battles in every race. He got 2nd in the 400 by a few fractions and made in the 200 finals (7th). Another guy who has given ACU 5 good years of running.
-Will Harris had another solid conference meet -- 4th in the long jump and 5th in the triple jump. Will was lightly recruited and has been a solid jumper for the 'Cats. He can come back for another year, but he has received his degree and is still trying to decide whether to return for one more season.
-A big surprise was when Kevin Castruita, who transferred from Chicago State to ACU this past summer, ran his first 10K ever and got 4th place. Five points that ACU never expected.
-Ethan Christian set a PR in the decathlon as he grabs 5th place in the grueling 10-event dec.
-Cooper Goggans finished 7th in the race, but you had to watch the race in person to understand his great effort. At 600 meters, Coop went for the gold when he moved up even with the leader, but he was not quite able to maintain that momentum, but I love that he gave it everything.
-Quartermilers freshman Tyce Chaney and JC transfer sophomore Matthew Mills did not score in the individual 400, plus Addison Franklin did not wcore in the 100 and 200, but all three ran on the 7th place 4x400 relay and divided the 2nd points for 7th place.
-Non-scorers include: freshmen Donovan Ramirez (LJ, TJ) and Jacob Thomas (PV - with the demise of the PV program at ACU, he will transfer to Tarleton St); steeplechasers Gabe Embree (muscles seized up just before the race and he was unable to push through it) and Maxwel Kiplagat (10th in the race). Walkon halfmiler John "JP" Trook and distance runner Neal Helgerson (1500 and 5K).
Big disappointments included: losing Tyler Richardson, who was dismissed from the team earlier in the season; Ryan Bornemeier took a medical redshirt due to a auto wreck last December; Colt Cooper was throwing really well, when he has an emergency appendectomy; Levi Chambers sustains an injury at the indoor championship and is never able to compete outdoors; Harrison Manuel was injured and took an medical redshirt; freshmen Keaton Raney (800, 1500) and Charlie Lee-Alliston (100, 200) never got untracked this season and did not compete at conference.
ACU has some redshirts who will be big contributors in the future: sophomore Garrison Shindler, who scored in the 800 last year in his first year at ACU; Tiras Reed was supposed to be a big part of the sprint relay, but had to take a medical redshirt with an injury. Throwers Ryan Smart and Stone Smith, as I mentioned just above, are freshmen who are redshirting, the best thing you can do for throwers who throw 2 implements that are heavier than the HS implements (SP and discus), plus 2 implements that are not contested by Texas high schools (hammer and javelin). Also, decathlete Canaan Fairley redshirted as he was learning several new events - javelin, discus, pole vault, 1500. He competed in his 1st decathlon competing unattached ("not attached to a team") which is the way redshirts still compete and keep their redshirt, and he almost scored enough points to score at conference. He is going to be a good one.
Even with the loss of Jack Marshall, Jamal January, and Jared Williams, there is potential for this to be a good team in 2024. I will roll out some of the additions I have heard of later in the summer.
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Post by bucfan on Jun 1, 2023 22:04:43 GMT -6
Really disappointed to hear about pole vault being discontinued. Just for historical sake I wish we would fund T&F completely. That sport was the first thing that really put ACC/ACU on the map.
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Post by acutrackfan on Jun 2, 2023 9:29:58 GMT -6
Really disappointed to hear about pole vault being discontinued. Just for historical sake I wish we would fund T&F completely. That sport was the first thing that really put ACC/ACU on the map. Bucfan, I agree totally. I hate seeing PV discontinued at ACU, but I also realize the reality of funding. ACU was lucky enough to find someone who was willing to work for free on the PV for the past 2 seasons, but that could not last forever. More and more the pole vault is being coached at the D-1 level by "stipend" coaches -- club coaches that work for a stipend. Texas Tech does it that way (they have the #2 male pole vaulter in the country) and SFA does it that way (they had the 2021 male national champ), but SFA's stipend coach is retiring this summer. ACU used a stipend coach in the past -- Cory Aguilar -- but his stipend eventually was rolled into another coach's salary. Sometimes, you will get someone who knows the vault well among the coaching staff. Harding's head T&F coach is Don D Hood, and the Hoods know more about the vault than 99.9% of any coaches in the country. A male Harding vaulter won the D2 title last weekend. Don D had the D-2 national champ last year as well - that vaulter transferred to Youngstown St and is ranked in the top-10 in the country at the D-1 level this year. D-1 track is allowed 1 head coach, 5 assistant coaches, and 1 Director of Ops. Stipend coaches do not count against the assistant coach count. ACU has 1 HC and 4 assistants (1 of the assistants gets higher pay by doubling as the Director of Ops.) A quick primer on pole vaulting history at ACU. Pole vaulting came to the forefront at ACU when Paul Faulkner (yes, THAT Paul Faulkner) won the Texas Relays PV and javelin in the same year in the 1950's. In 1964, Billy Pemelton from ACC made the U.S. Olympic team and placed 10th at the Tokyo Olympics. Like the rest of the T&F program, vaulting dropped precipitously in 1973 when ACU dropped from NCAA to NAIA (the Lone Star Conference). However, the elder Don Hood came to ACU in the late 70's and by the 1980's ACU had the premier vault program in the country. In the 1984 U.S. Olympic Trials there were 18 vaulter in the competition and 6 of them were current or former ACU students! After Hood, Sr left the program, it sagged again, but when Don D Hood came back as the HC, there was a resurgence. This year, Payton Kirk, won the WAC women's vault title, so the program is going out on a high note.
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dje
Rookie
Posts: 16
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Post by dje on Jun 7, 2023 8:56:43 GMT -6
Thank you acutrackfan for your ongoing coverage of ACU TF. I can't imagine how much time it takes to research, prep, and report on everything. it is greatly appreciated. ACU is blessed with amazing student athletes who deserve to be recognized and celebrated and you do such an incredible job highlighting their journey through college - highlights, struggles, and everything in between.
Quick question... as you see it, acutrackfan... What are some missing pieces on both the men's and women's sides that would help ACU TF get to the next level -- maybe not compete for a conference championship right away, but -- step up into the top 3 in the conference?
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Post by bogeyman on Jun 7, 2023 9:39:21 GMT -6
Trackfan, is it possible that Chris Herpin will participate in track as well as football? Seems to be a pretty good shot putter at 61'+.
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Post by dallasalum on Jun 7, 2023 13:41:47 GMT -6
The first thing that T & F needs is $$$$$.
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Post by acutrackfan on Jun 8, 2023 9:02:12 GMT -6
Thank you acutrackfan for your ongoing coverage of ACU TF. I can't imagine how much time it takes to research, prep, and report on everything. it is greatly appreciated. ACU is blessed with amazing student athletes who deserve to be recognized and celebrated and you do such an incredible job highlighting their journey through college - highlights, struggles, and everything in between. Quick question... as you see it, acutrackfan... What are some missing pieces on both the men's and women's sides that would help ACU TF get to the next level -- maybe not compete for a conference championship right away, but -- step up into the top 3 in the conference? DJE, that is a great question. ACU was not far off from being conference top-3 THIS year. And, the 'Cats came very close to sending someone to nationals -- Zoe Burleson in the discus. There are two items that I think it will help move ACU to that top-3 level on a regular basis: -Consistency in the coaching staff. ACU lost our distance coach between indoor and outdoor season when Jarvis Jelen left to become the HC at Jametown University in North Dakota (he is a native of the Dakotas -- in Jamestown, he is within 3 hour drive off all of his and his wife's extended family). Jarvis tried all he could to mitigate the situation -- even provided virtual coaching from a distance after he had taken the new job, something that he did not have to do. However, there was a dropoff in performance from several of the distance runners after his departure. I simply don't think that Irene Rono would have skipped conference if Jarvis had still been in town and she alone could have elevated the women's team to 5th or even 4th place. ACU hired a seasoned jumps/multis coach last fall who I thought would have had a tremendous impact on the team. But, it certainly appears that she was burnt out after years in coaching and she simply did not apply herself to the task and had to be terminated after the outdoor season had begun -- and, there were some young jumpers who saw their development stunted. When JJ Ply moved to a full-time staff member, I saw an improvement from virtually all of the jumpers. I hope that JJ is kept in the role for next year and I think you will see some of the jumpers blossom -- kids like Donovan Ramirez and Paige Boucher -It will be difficult to be consistently be in the top-3 in the conference while we give 75% of the scholarship max and the top T&F teams in the conference - GCU, SFA, UVU, NMSU -- all give 100% of the scholarship max. Now, when the men give out 10 scholarships, that does not represent 10 athletes (like football and basketball which are "head count" sports). The average scholarship at ACU in T&F is a 1/3rd scholarship. Now, T&F tends to have athletes who receive substantial academic scholarships -- several key athletes on the team receive little or no athletic scholarships, but rather receive academic scholarships. I think that ACU will benefit from working the transfer portal more actively and I think this will give the team a little more balance this coming year. I do like that ACU tends to do what is best of the development of the athlete, redshirting young athletes who need development -- Rylan Smart, Stone Smith, Avery Myrick, Canaan Fairley -- and that is a tough thing to do when you are already short on scholarships. But, I think you will see if pay off in the long run -- just as it did with Annina B and even Tyler Richardson (although ACU will not get the benefit of his final year). I am very impressed with my first contact with Nathan Meeuwenberg -- he has an excellent track record in recruiting distance runners. Kristian Dillard continues to be a strong recruiter in the sprints and Michael Rasor has done an outstanding job recruiting hurdlers. And, HC Jerrod Cook is terrific recruiter for throwers. If ACU athletics add just a scholarship or two a year to both genders over the next few years, I think ACU could be in that conference top-3 steadily.
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