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Post by stickman1 on Oct 27, 2023 11:46:13 GMT -6
Seemed like a tough day. I was hoping for more but they came up a little short. I am hoping they can rally a bit more for regionals. Maybe the 10k distance on the men's side will play into their strengths? I do not know. One positive from today is Kevin earning All-Conference honors. He has led well this year.
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Post by ACU XC FAN on Oct 27, 2023 13:53:36 GMT -6
The men finishing 8th was disappointing but not too bad considering that Gabe Embree & Garrison Schindler were very sick today. If they are healthy, this is a better result. Hopeful for next year and proud of KC.
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Post by acutrackfan on Oct 28, 2023 9:32:54 GMT -6
Good thoughts from both stickman and XC fan. Both the ACU men and women finished in the range I had predicted -- although both were at the bottom of the range. The flu wreaked havoc with both teams. The men had Garrison Shindler drop out of the race -- he has run consistently 2nd or 3rd for the team. Gabe Embree struggled with flu effects. Kevin Castruita also had the flu, but he fought through it to actually get all-conference honors. A good note for the team this year is how walk-on Samuel Lanham has really stepped up his game. With every healthy, the men could we have finished 7th or even 6th with a perfect day, but this probably the limit this year.
The women were also hit lightly by the flu, but even worse for them was Tessa Holderman fighting with food poisoning just 2 days before the race. She finished 57th this year and was 21st just 2 years ago. With a perfect race, the 'Cats might have moved up from 9th to 8th, but that would probably be the best this year. I was very impressed with year with Katelyn Coldicott, who has improved dramatically in the past 2 years for ACU.
As expected, the 5th ranked CBU men's team ran away with the men's race -- scoring an almost perfect 17 points (perfect score is 15 points). UVU and Southern Utah fought it out for 2nd and 3rd, then a big drop off to the Texas schools. The women's team race had a big upset was 12th ranked CBU fell to the 27th ranked UVU team. I talked with several of the UVU runners and they loved this ACU course - much flatter than at home (obviously) and no sharp curves. This win could well move UVU into the top-15 in the country.
Both Southern Utah and UVU will be back in Texas in 2 weeks for the Mountain Regional XC meet, which will be held in Lubbock (Tech is in the Mountain Region). The Mountain region is usually considered the premier region in the country -- having XC giants like Northern Arizona, BYU, Colorado, New Mexico, UVU, Utah -- getting top-2 in the Mtn Region to get the auto bid to nationals is a battle. The NCAA takes 6 at-large teams to nationals and the Mountain region often gets 2 or even 3 of the at-large bids. The South Central region -- where ACU competes with Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana rarely gets 1 at-large teams to nationals.
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Post by acutrackfan on Nov 4, 2023 19:54:51 GMT -6
I saw that Andruw Villa, the distance runner from Abilene HS, placed 2nd in the 5A boys XC meet. I have heard that the Wildcats are recruiting him hard. I have heard that ACU already has several commits from distance runners. The signing period opens on 11/8 -- I think we may see several T&F signees. I have also heard that the 'Cats may be getting a few mid-term reinforcements, but I have not confirmed anything.
I did hear some hard news a few days ago, ACU's best female thrower (Zoe Burleson) and one of the 2 best male throwers (Nate Collier) have entered the transfer portal for a midterm transfer. Zoe apparently will finish her degree in 3.5 years, in December, and does not have a Master's plan she can pursue at ACU. I expect to see her end up at one of the P-5 schools in the Southwest. Nate has dealt with lots of injuries, but the guy has the potential to be a stud. I hear he wants to be closer to his home in OK and he will probably end up with a P-5 school in the OK/KS area. Hate to see it -- they were both capable of making it to nationals this coming season.
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Post by acutrackfan on Nov 21, 2023 15:06:17 GMT -6
I meant to post a review for XC after the Regional meet, but have been too covered up with things. This season was a strange season. Losing the distance coach last year between indoor and outdoor season was very tough. I suspect that he was already thinking about leaving by the time that the signing date for ACU (the November before he left in early March), because he only signed 1 male runner in the 4 months after the signing window opened and when he left. There is just about no way to hire someone in the middle of the season. By the time we hired Nathan Meeuwenberg, he was not able to get to ACU until June. It was just about impossible to come out and see any improvement to a team that lost a lot of firepower from last year -- for both genders. I was able to see the team live in 3 meets this year and there is some talent, but it still was a year of trying to improve the relatively small batch of returnees.
MEN -- I had some hope for this season, but when I found out Levi Chambers, who ran #1 all year for ACU in 2022, had exhausted his eligibility, I had to re-evaluate quickly. When Neal Helgerson decided to leave the team (he graduates next month), it was another blow as he ran #4-#5 virtually all year in 2022. And, then it was discovered that an injury would keep Maxwell Kiplagat, who ran #2 for ACU all of 2022 would not be able to run due to an ongoing injury. Cooper Goggans ran distance his first few years at ACU (1500-steeple-5K), but he was so successful at the 800 last season that the decision was made to make him a full-time 800 guy, who might also run on the 4x4 relay.
Still, there were some good signs from this season. Virtually all of the runners improved each week and all of the returnees ran big PR's in the Regional meet, where ACU placed 15th, ahead of 10 teams, including Baylor, SFA, Central Arkansas, Texas State and others. That is significant because we should open up on the regional poll next year -- the USTFCCCA regional polls have a top-15 for each of the 9 regions in the country.
-Kevin Castruita - ran #1 for ACU at every meet, building off a breakthrough year on the track last spring. He was the only Wildcat All-Conference runner at the WAC meet as he placed 18th and only missed All-Region honors as he placed 28th. Kevin is a gutty kid who has improved drastically at ACU since transferring from Chicago St. In the regional race, he improved his PR in the 10K race by almost 3 minutes.
-Samuel Lanham - a walk-on kid in 2022, Samuel has improved drastically as well -- running #2 for ACU in 3 of 6 races, including most importantly the conference meet. He improved his PR in the 10K at regionals by over 3 minutes and has become a competitive college runner.
-Gabe Embree - Gabe ran #5/#6 for ACU all year in 2022, but stepped up to be the #2 finisher in 2 of 6 races, including the regional meet, where he ran a PR almost 2 minutes ahead of his previous best. I expect to see him have a big year on the track in the steeplechase
-Mikhail Fortner - a walk-on freshman, he got better and better each week and by conference time, he ran #3 for ACU and then finished #4 for ACU at the regional meet. One of the most pleasant surprises of the year.
-O'Brien Verdin - was coming off a medical redshirt that cost him all of the 22-23 school year (XC, indoor T&F, Outdoor T&F) and started the season very slowly, but by conference he ran #4 for ACU and #3 in the regional meet with a PR in the 10K race of over 2 minutes. I hope to see him flourish in the 10K on the track -- he seems to like the long distance races.
-Zach Martin - the freshman from McKinney was the only male runner signed by ACU in the early signing period and he looked very solid in the first 2 races, but he was injured in the 3rd race and never was able to bounce completely back. He did run #5 for the 'Cats at conference, which means that he did count toward the point total (at conference a school can run any number of runners, but only the top-5 count in the scoring race.
-Garrison Shindler - no one had a harder luck season than Garrison. He looked outstanding in the first 2 races, but had to drop out of the 3rd race. The week of the conference race, he spent all week sick and was not able to finish the race at all. He only had 2 weeks to bounce back for regional and while he did run #7 for ACU in the race, he was capable to running several minutes faster and moving up several places. If he is healthy next year, he will be a force for ACU.
-Jacob Russell - another walkon from 2022, when he was a a very pleasant surprise finishing #4 for ACU at the conference meet. Ran #6/#7 all year for ACU, although he did have a strong race at the Chile Pepper race, running #3 for ACU.
Of these 8 runners, only 1 is a senior (Gabe Embree) and 1 is a redshirt junior -- O'Brien Verdin. I know that Coach M is pursuing as many as 5 new scholarship kids, so the roster may still look quite different next year.
WOMEN -- so the 'Cats lost their 3-time national qualifier in Irene Rono (quite possibly the best distance runner in ACU history) and another national qualifier in Prudence Kiyeng (who was injured most of 2022-23). And, due to the absence of anyone to recruit distance runners for most of the past season, the 'Cats ended up with a depleted roster. Several of the returnees DID run PR's at the 6k distance this year (which is the primary distance run by the women at the D-1 level).
-Katelyn Coldicott - an academic scholarship kid who ran #6-#8 for ACU most of 2022, Katelyn turned the corner in the 2023 campaign -- finishing #1 for ACU in all 3 of the final races of the year, including conference and regional. She took 1.5 minutes off her previous PR in the 6k. I hope to see her continue to see this big improvement on the track this fall.
-Peyton Bornstein - finished #1 for ACU in the first 2 races and #2 in the final three races, including conference and regional. But, she never got close to a 6K PR, only getting within a minute of her best time in the regional meet. She is still capable of helping ACU immensely in the future, it is not unusual to see someone have a sophomore slump and Peyton appears to have suffered that slump.
-Tessa Holderman - finished #1 in the first race, #2 in 2 races, but she was hit with food poisoning in the week prior to the conference meet and it was only her gutty attitude that helped her finish that race and the 2 weeks after conference to regional was not enough. I think Tessa could have a huge season indoors and outdoors.
-Bella Evans - ran #4/#5 for ACU most of the year, but jumped up to #3 at the regional meet. During the season, she came within a few seconds of running a PR in the 6K. Bella's best races are the 800/1500 which comes into play much more on the track.
-Kate Williams - ran #4/#5/#6 in the meets before the 2 championship meets, but finished a season best #3 at the conference meet and #4 at the regional meet - saving the best for last. Coming off an injury outdoors last spring, Kate seemed to get better each meet during the fall, which hopefully means she will run well in the spring on the track.
-Autumn Smith - a true freshman, Autumn came from a small town (Wink, TX) which means that he never ran further than 2 miles in XC, but you could see her getting more familiar with the longer college 6k distance as the season progressed. She ran #6 for ACU both at conference and regional.
-Kate Hansen - a kid who came to ACU on academic scholarship in 2022, she ran really well early in the season (#4 in the first meet and #3 in the 2nd meet), but seemed to struggle a bit as the season progressed -- running in the #7 spot in each of the final 4 meets.
-Hadley Phillips - a walkon freshman who ran in the first 5 meets of the year, including #8 at conference.
The potential is there for all of this year's team to return. Coach M has already signed 2 new kids and has offers out to more. And, he also has commitments for several walkons as well. XC seems to have an inordinate number of athletes who qualify for big academic scholarships, which helps to build a bigger roster for next year.
NOTE: I had the privilege of working the Mountain Region XC meet in Lubbock the same weekend as ACU was in Fayetteville for the South Central meet. The Mountain region is THE powerhouse region in NCAA XC. The NCAA championship meet is composed of the top 2 teams from each of the 9 regions, then 12 teams are picked as at-large teams. The Mountain Region got 4 at large teams in both genders of the 12 at-large teams nationally. No other region got more than 2 in either gender and the South Central Region got none. It was pretty cool for me to see many of the XC national powerhouses - Northern Arizona, BYU, Air Force, Colorado, Utah, Utah Valley (who I got to see at the WAC meet), and Montana State -- those distance runners love to train at altitude.
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Post by stickman1 on Nov 27, 2023 15:59:50 GMT -6
Thanks for that extensive write-up, acutrackfan. I appreciate it and look forward to your analysis! Seems like the men's team bounced back for the regionals meet after battling the sickness at conference. Being unranked, to top 15 is a good way to end the season for them. Im am glad that the women's team is building back some strength after losing such strong runners - Irene and Prudence.
I am hoping for a great track season! It will be interesting to see which runners pursue different events. I wonder how the sprints team, throws team, jumps, dec/pent, etc. are training currently. Do you have any "way-too-early" predictions for the men and women indoor track teams standings in the WAC?
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Post by acutrackfan on Dec 9, 2023 11:29:49 GMT -6
ACU is running in early season meets for the first time in my memory. The December meets have proliferated in the NCAA in the recent years and they make a lot of sense. Competing in a December indoor meet allows coaches to evaluate the progress of their athletes before the Christmas holidays. For ACU T&F is also makes good sense budgetarily. Whenever a team brings their athletes to campus before opening day of a semester, they have to "reimburse" the school for room and board for those days or weeks. It is only a budgetary move, but when you are pinching pennies, it can make a difference. By attending these meets in December, the T&F coaches will not have to bring back their athletes until the first of the semester -- then not attend their first indoor meet of the new semester until early February (instead of mid-January like in previous years).
ACU had 4 athletes attend the Holiday Open at Grand Valley State in MI yesterday -- one of the best indoor facilities in the country. It appears to have paid off rather well. Cooper Goggans ran a BIG PR in winning the 800 in a time 1:49.92 -- the first ACU runner to run under 1:50 indoors in 25 years. Coop has changed his training procedure -- he will not run anything further than the mile indoors (he used to run the 3K frequently) and he may even be a possible runner on the 4x400. He switched over to training with lower mileage/higher intensity in the middle of last spring and has responded to this new regimen very, very well.
Riley Pyeatt ran her first indoor mile and ran a 5:07.47 -- she is very close to being conference competitive, the 8th place time last year at conference was a 5:03. Katelyn Coldicott, who has made major progress toward being a conference-competitive runner this year, ran a 5K PR of 18:04 -- an improvement of a full minute over her previous best. She still has about 30 seconds to go to be competitive at the conference meet, but she so much closer than in past years. Finally, Levi Chambers ran a very good 14:37 in the 5K at GV - only 6.5 seconds off his all-time best and his all-time best put him in the top-8 at conference 2 years ago. If Levi can drop his time by 15-20 seconds he will be vying for a podium finish at conference.
The preponderance of ACU athletes are competing today (Saturday, 12/9) at the JD Martin Invitational in Norman, OK. I will keep my eye on results during the day and see if there are really strong performances to highlight.
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Post by acutrackfan on Dec 10, 2023 7:23:32 GMT -6
It was a good meet for the Wildcats at OU's indoor track. Lots of solid performances and some really good things from ACU's newcomers.
-Athan Huelskamp had a huge weight throw best -- at 64-4.5, a PR by over 2 feet (he threw his previous PR in getting 2nd at the WAC meet last year) and the 2nd best WT in ACU history. This is more important because ACU is losing ACU's other top thrower at midterm.
-Speaking of another thrower, RS-Fr Rylan Smart had a good WT as well -- a 58-0.25 -- in his first official competition for ACU. That throw would have easily placed him at conference last year.
-Ja'Dasia Sims had a good meet -- winning the HJ with an indoor PR of 5-7. And, she anchored the 4x400 with an all-time best indoor split of 54.91. She took the baton in 3rd place in the fast section and chased down the anchor leg for the OU "B" team and almost chased down the OU "A" team anchor.
-Speaking of the women's 4x400, it was the best relay time that ACU has seen in a few years. Their time of 3:46.30 was 3 seconds faster than ACU ran all of last indoor season. Newcomer Sheian Walters (a grad student in the Occupational Therapy program) ran a fast 55.71 out of the blocks -- ACU led after the 1st leg over both OU relays. Savannah McCaleb (who ran as Savannah Walker until her marriage to Gary McCaleb's grandson this past summer) ran the 2nd leg in 57.62; Gracyn Reed ran the 3rd leg in 58.02 (her indoor best split ever) and Ja'Dasia anchored in that 54.91. I truly believe this relay can run close to a 3:40 and the school record is a 3:40.16.
-Newcomer Sheian Walters ran the 7th fastest time in the 60 in ACU indoor history -- a 7.71. And, the 60 is not her event -- she is a 200-400 runner who was getting in some speed work. Sheian is going to have a profound impact this year.
-The 60 hurdles was a good race for ACU this weekend. On the women's side, Paige Boucher won the event in a 8.88, her 2nd fastest time ever and the 7th fastest in ACU history. Freshman Hana Banks got third in a 8.96 (9th fastest in ACU history). Pentathlete Natalie got 6th in a big PR of 9.25 -- I am excited to see her in an indoor pentathlon soon. On the men's side, freshman Kenan Reil placed 2nd with an excellent time of 8.19, RS-Fr heptathlete Canaan Fairley gets 3rd in a fine time of 8.25 and a walkon kid training as a heptathlete, Dillon Soileau, squeezed to the finals and place 6th with a 8.48.
-This is a good place to talk about the men's 4x400 relay, which placed 1st. It should be noted that OU scratched its 4x400, but it was a solid effort by the Wildcat quartet. RS-Fr Canaan Fairley led off with a 51.20 out of the blocks, true freshman Kenan Reil has the fastest split on the team with a 48.97 (see both Reil and Fairley in the 60H results above), soph Tyce Chaney split a 51.25, and junior Matthew Mills split a 49.98. It will be interesting to see how this relay fares through the rest of the year -- there are others who will vie to run on this relay, including Cooper Goggans, who was running in Michigan the evening before.
-The men's 60 fared very well. Freshman Sean Cooksey, got 2nd in a time of 6.87, already the #9 time in ACU history. Fellow freshman Ethan Krause got 5th in 6.96 -- just .01 outside the top 10. ACU chose to run all sprinters in the 60, including the 200 and 400 guys, this week to see how everyone was faring in the short sprint. Quartermiler Tyce Chaney ran a very solid 7.13, as did Jayme Wooley.
-Another heartening performance came from a redshirt -- Hayden Norwich, the new thrower who is redshirting this year, competed unattached and he finished 3rd with a solid throw of 50-2. Many throwers redshirt, because they are having to move up to a heavier implement in college -- the college SP weighs 16 pounds and the HS SP weighs 12. Hayden has a shot to be really good in the throws, but ACU will have to wait another year to see results at the conference level.
-In the HJ, RS-Fr heptathlete Canaan Fairley won the event, with a jump of 6-6.75. Pairing with his outstanding effort in the hurdles, Canaan is a threat to score at conference in both events, even before he gets to the heptathlon itself.
-400 hurdler Courtney Latham competed in the 600 yard run (which is not contested at the WAC conference meet), getting 2nd place with a PR of 1:27.40 -- almost 2 seconds better than her previous PR. AND, freshman Jess Reyes matched her exactly in the same time of 1:27.40 -- Courtney beat her by .003 of a second. On the men's side, Noah Jones, got 6th place among the men with a solid time of 1:16.80.
-Early in the day, freshman Autumn Smith ran pretty well in getting 2nd in the mile with a 5:16.07 in her first race ever indoors. She is around 10 seconds off of being conference-competitive.
-The 3K was good to ACU - the women go top-4 with Bella Evans winning with a 10:31.72, just off her PR; Peyton Bornstein getting 2nd with PR of 10:48.09; Kate Williams getting 3rd with a 10:56.06; and freshman Hadley Phillips getting 4th in a 11:24.98. On the men's side Garrison Shindler wins with a 8:44.49 (he will run the 800/mile the rest of the season); Gabe Embree only missing his PR by a few seconds as he gets 2nd ina 8:44.50; and freshmen Zach Martin (3rd - 8:57.01) and Mikhail Fortner (4th - 9:05.09) rounded out the top-4 for ACU.
A good first meet for the 'Cats. I am curious to see how these performances stack up against the other WAC teams who also competed in December meets -- GCU, Tarleton, Utah Valley, Utah Tech. And, remember that CBU does not compete indoors, which changes the tenor of the indoor championship considerably in the distance races. There are also quite a few ACU athletes who did not compete at all this weekend. The 'Cats do not compete again until the first Saturday of Feb at College Station - almost 2 months from now.
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Post by Cap'n on Dec 10, 2023 14:11:06 GMT -6
Thanks for the recap
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dje
Rookie
Posts: 16
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Post by dje on Dec 13, 2023 8:20:29 GMT -6
As always... thank you ACUTRACKFAN for your reports and updates...
Huge congrats to Coop + Athan. Amazing performances!!! And... so many PRs and all-time top-tens over the weekend. This is going to be an exciting TF year for ACU. JD Martin at OU was a 200m flat track... Garry + Gabe put on a thrilling show in the 3000m... back and forth lead changes and a .006 difference at the tape. Indoor 3000s are not typically full of excitement and drama but this one certainly was.
TFRRS 200m flat # conversion Bella... 10:26.35 # Peyton... 10:42.59 # Kate... 10:51.08 # Hadley... 11:19.16 #
Garrison... 8:38.46 # Gabe... 8:38.47 # Zach... 8:50.84 # Mikhail...8:58.83 #
-The 3K was good to ACU - the women go top-4 with Bella Evans winning with a 10:31.72, just off her PR; Peyton Bornstein getting 2nd with PR of 10:48.09; Kate Williams getting 3rd with a 10:56.06; and freshman Hadley Phillips getting 4th in a 11:24.98. On the men's side Garrison Shindler wins with a 8:44.49 (he will run the 800/mile the rest of the season); Gabe Embree only missing his PR by a few seconds as he gets 2nd ina 8:44.50; and freshmen Zach Martin (3rd - 8:57.01) and Mikhail Fortner (4th - 9:05.09) rounded out the top-4 for ACU.
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Post by acutrackfan on Jan 25, 2024 12:40:50 GMT -6
ACU is taking a partial squad to run this weekend at the Robert Platt Inv at UH. A big reason to go to this meet is to try and get a score for the combined event athletes and the next 2 meets on the docket at TAMU and Tech will not have a heptathlon for the men or a pentathlon for the women. So, Ethan Christian will be doing the hep and Natalie Poe and mid-term addition Eliza Lemberga, from Latvia, will be in the pentathlon. Unfortunately, too many combined event athletes entered on the men's side and the 2 ACU athletes trying to get in their first-ever heptathlon - redshirt freshman Canaan Fairley and true freshman Dillon Soileau were not able to get into the meet.
ACU will also have several throwers and the top distance/middle distance runners entered, but most of them running events that are shorter than their primary events. No jumpers or sprinters going this week. But, you will probably see every ACU athlete headed to the Charlie Thomas Inv at the new "Taj Mahal" indoor facility in College Station next week.
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Post by stickman1 on Feb 8, 2024 15:37:43 GMT -6
Trackfan, would love some of your thoughts on how this season is playing out for the Wildcats now that a few meets have passed! Looks like the conference meet is coming up in a couple weeks. I did just a quick scroll through the WAC rankings on TFRRS, and here are the athletes ranked towards the top as of now (I know there are meets this weekend which will undoubtedly shake things up, especially with Tech this weekend).
60m- M: Sean Cooksey (13th) 200m- W: Savannah McCaleb (18th) 400m- M: Kenan Reil (14th), Cooper Goggans (18th - but I saw he split 47.5 in the 4x4 at A&M) W: Ja'Dasia Sims (5th) 800m- M: Cooper Goggans (2nd), W: Riley Pyeatt (12th) Mile- M: Garrison Shindler (12th) W: Riley Pyeatt (12th) 3k- M: Kevin Castruita (14th) W: Isabella Evans (10th) 5k- M: Castruita (6th), Levi Chambers (5th) W: Katelyn Coldicott (3rd) 60m H- M: Harrison (9), Kenan (9), Canaan (11), Ryan (14) W: Paige Boucher (14)
I will have to skip field events because I am running out of time as I write this. But, the jumps look solid and the throws look even better. Sadly no pole vaulters anymore. Rooting for everyone as the indoor season closes!
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Post by acutrackfan on Feb 13, 2024 15:02:11 GMT -6
Stickman, sorry it has taken me so long to post a recap of what I saw at Jarvis Scott meet at Tech this past weekend. It was my first opportunity to see the ACU squad in person (not counting watching the XC team at 3 meets this past fall). But, I did see some really good performances and here is some of my thoughts on them:
WOMEN -Sheian Walters is a huge pickup for ACU as she is taking her COVID year at ACU after an All-American career at Angelo -- she got into the Occupational Therapy master's program at ACU. She ran a superb 400 -- a 54.14 that puts her into the top spot in the WAC. More about her later.
-JaDasia Sims is only getting better. Her 400 time of 55.21 was her 2nd best in her career and moves her to #3 in the WAC. Her high jump looked great -- she jumped a PR of 5-9.75, which puts her #1 in the WAC (SFA's multiple time All-American high jumper has graduated). She just missed at 5-11 and she ran a good anchor leg on the 4x400.
-Speaking of the 4x400 relay -- ACU was in a good heat (the 2nd fastest) with TCU, New Mexico JC (the JC runnerup last year) and UTEP. Sheian Walters ran the leadoff leg and was looking really good as she passed both UTEP and NMJC at the 300 meter point - she was able to slip by the NMJC runner on the inside and the NMJC runner literally reached out and jerked Sheian by the arm on the final curve -- I could see it plainly from my vantage point. It brought Sheian to a near standstill and both UTEP and NMJC flew by her. ACU had to spend the rest of the time trying to catch up. I did like that freshman Jess Reyes ran a very solid 3rd leg. Their time was just off of their season best. I really think this bunch will contend for the WAC title.
-Riley Pyeatt ran a solid 800 - a season best time of 2:15.29 - she could really help at conference.
-Ella Anttila had a big season best of 41-7.25 in a star-studded field of triple jumpers. She leads the WAC easily has moved up into the top-25 nationally. She needs a BIG jump at the WAC meet to make it to nationals again this year.
-Brianna Brand is beginning to round into form in the LJ and the 60. The HCU transfer has the capacity to help at conference if she continues an upward trajectory -- both of the marks this weekend were much better than the marks in earlier meets this season.
-I am intrigued by ACU's pentathletes. Both returnee Natalie Poe and midterm additional Eliza Lemberga ran solid races in the 600y run -- an event not run at conference, but run in Lubbock to prepare them for the 800 at conference, the final event of the indoor pentathlon. Natalie is currently ranked #7 in the WAC, but I think she is ready to compete very well at conference. Eliza is not ranked, because she had a slight injury in the shot put at her only pentathlon since coming to ACU. From watching her live on Friday and looking at her results from her first 3 events in the pentathlon at OU, I think she can a top-5 or even a top-3 finisher at conference. And, she can pull Natalie along to finish much higher than 7th.
-Freshman Hana Banks ran a season best time of 8.94 in the 60 hurdles, still far from being conference-competitive, but headed in the right direction
MEN
-Super impressed with the mile run by Garrison Shindler -- a 4:08.99 at altitude (Lubbock is over 3,000 feet in altitude). He looked really strong and ran a terrific tactical race. Boxed in by 3 athletes, he want wide on the final curve and passed all three in a 15 meter span. He has moved to #5 in the WAC and could be a force at conference -- which will be run in ABQ at over 5,300 feet.
-Jeremy King looked good making it to the semis in the 60 hurdles in a LOADED field. He ran a PR of 8.00, moving him to #3 in the WAC. Speaking of the 60 hurdles, RS-freshman Canaan Fairley ran a season best time of 8.12, RS-senior Harrison Manuel ran his 2nd fastest time ever of 8.12 coming off a injury redshirt year, and Ryan Bornemeier ran a PR of 8.24 coming off a car-wreck which scuttled all of last season for him.
-Cooper Goggans finished 5th in a good field and while his time of 1:51.34 was 1.5 seconds off his time from the first meet, Cooper was game -- fighting his way up just behind the leader at 700 meters only to fall off just a bit int he final 100 meters. I think Coop makes a real fun at winning the 800 at conference.
-In the weight throw, redshirt freshman Rylan Smart had a huge PR of 58-6, moving him to #3 in the WAC (teammate Athan Huelskamp is currently ranked #1 in the event). ACU is faced with a huge dilemma in the WT - transfer Sutton Welch is being redshirted indoors as he learns to throw the WT, BUT throwing "unattached" at the Tech meet, he threw 55-2 and the ACU coaches might have to pull off that redshirt for conference - he could definitely score at the conference meet with that throw.
-Athan Huelshkamp continues to lead the throws crew, as he threw a season best of 52-11.5 in the shot put, moving him to #3 in the WAC.
-Freshman Ethan Krause ran well in another loaded field in the 60. In the prelims he ran a season best of 6.88 in the 60, moving him into the conference top-20. His time of 21.87 in the 200 was also solid. Ethan K is another kid who appears to be headed upward at the right time. AND, I put him as Ethan K, because ACU now has 4 Ethans on the roster (must be some kind of record) -- Ethan Christian, the senior multi-athletes; Ethan Rodriguez, the mid-term addition who runs the 800 and the mile; Ethan Krause and his HS teammate Ethan Sledge. In fact, ACU could field a 4x400 relay that had only Ethans that could compete well.
And, why no distance runners in this review? The ACU distance coach, Nathan Meuwenburg was resting the distance corps after a strong performance last weekend at TAMU and training through this weekend in anticipation of conference just 9 after the Tech meet.
I plan on getting out a prediction before for the WAC championship. I look forward to seeing the team compete in ABQ. But, once there, I don't know if I will have much time to post on here.
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Post by acutrackfan on Feb 29, 2024 10:21:28 GMT -6
I have been meaning to post a preview for ACU T&F for months, but this is the busiest time of the year for me and I have simply not had the time. So, I am providing this preview for the women's team, in hopes of getting a men's preview up within a few days as well.
ACU WOMEN'S TEAM - the 2023 team were down from the previous year. Last year's team would finish 6th in the WAC both indoors and outdoors. The points that were lost from 2023 were significant. Last year, the Wildcat women scored 59 points indoors and 68 points outdoors. The women's team were already losing substantial points to graduation -- indoors, Irene Rono scored 14 and Payton Kirk scored 11 and outdoors, Payton Kirk scored 13 and Jessica Campbell scored a point. Then, Zoe Burleson graduated at mid-term and transferred to Tech and she scored 8 points indoors and 18 outdoors (1st in discus and 2nd in shot put. After that additional loss, suddenly ACU had 56% of scored points indoors and 48.5% outdoors gone. That is difficult to replace. Plus there were several athletes who had scored at conference in years previous to 2023 who graduated (Rylee Jordan, Prudence Kiyeng, Julia Perry, Grace White) or transferred (Amy Ambelang -- followed Kristian Dillard to Liberty).
ACU had a solid recruiting year (that became even better after a good mid-term addition). But, the 'Cats also need to see improved production from several of the returnees:
Returnees who are already producers -- Ella Anttila -- the dominant triple jumper in the WAC in 2023 and looks to be again in 2024, scored 10 points both indoors and outdoors at the WAC meet in 2023 (and just won the WAC TJ last week); JaDasia Sims -- an outstanding 400 runner (ran an amazing anchor leg in the outdoor 4x400 in 2023 moving ACU from 5th to 2nd) and has improved in the HJ, scored 8 points indoors in 2023 and 14 points outdoors; and Savannah Walker McCaleb, who is not a huge point scorer, but is a big part of the relays and also scores some points in the individual events. Outdoors, Kaitlyn Callaway also joins this category, getting 4th in the javelin at the WAC meet.
Returnees who can help with improvement -- Courtney Latham has already scored for ACU on relays, she can really help this year by scoring outdoors in the 400 hurdles; Riley Pyeatt -- scored a point at WAC indoors in 2023 in the 800, I think she will really help outdoors in 2024; Tessa Holdermann -- has had to fight through a surgery and a serious injury, but she is a contender for big points in the steeple if she is 100% healthy; JaKaylon Sabbath - scored on relays in 2023, but needs to make a run at scoring in individual events. The biggest question mark here is D'Anna Smith, she has scored in both individual sprint events and relays in the past 2 years -- I simply don't know if she is still on the team.
Other Returnees who are capable of helping -- Katelyn Coldicott is the most improved runner on the team, but the WAC is a great conference in the distances with CBU and UVU, making it tough to break through for points; Peyton Bornstein, Bella Evans, and Kate Williams are other young distance runners who are capable of being very competitive - Bella particularly looked ready to break out indoors; Natalie Poe is a raw talent who could help in the combined events (and she has already done so, looking vastly improved to score in the indoor pentathlon last week); others in the category include Paige Boucher (hurdles and LJ), Hannah Foster (sprints), Gracyn Reed (long sprints), Kailey Roskop (throws -- she is stronger outdoors, since her best throws are the discus and hammer). ACU needs to see 3-5 of these athletes to score at outdoor conference to see the team move up in the standings.
Redshirts - Kiley Kjellstrom (transfer from HCU) - medical RS in 2023, she will be a pleasant surprise in the javelin and possible the hammer in 2024; Avery Myrick -- I was surprised that she did not compete indoors, but her strongest throws are outdoors - discus, hammer, and javelin; and Luize Velmere - medical RS who has already showed she is back, as she scores in the triple jump in the indoor meet.
NEWCOMERS - a solid recruiting year for ACU:
-Sheian Walters - Coleman/Tr-Angelo - a huge pickup for ACU, as she is now enrolled in the Occupational Therapy program at ACU. Multiple time All American at Angelo, she won the indoor WAC 400 right off the bat for ACU a week ago. I was thrilled to see the ACU 4x400 team win the WAC indoors with a blend of returnees (JaDasia Sims and Savannah McCaleb) and newcomers (Sheiean and Jess Reyes). This is the most competitive 4x400 relay ACU has had for years.
-Eliza Lemberga - a midterm transfer from Latvia, she was 4th in the Latvian heptathlon and 6th in the Baltic U20 heptathlon last summer. And, she placed 3rd in the Latvian Christmas Cup pentathlon indoors this past December, so she came to campus in great competitive shape and has already medaled in the WAC indoors in the pentathlon.
-Brianna Brand - Kennedale/Tr from HCU -- could be a big help in the sprints and jumps, where she has scored for HCU in the Southland meet for the past few years.
-Jess Reyes - Trophy Club Byron Nelson -- a 400/800 runner who narrowly missed going to 6A state in the open 800 and 4x400 relay. She looked very good running the 800 leg on the Distance Medley Relay at the WAC and ran a fine leg on the 4x400 relay.
-Hana Banks - Conroe Grand Oaks - just missed state in the 100 hurdles (4th at Region II-6A meet) and was ranked #60 in the U.S. in that event. Struggled a bit indoors, but should make an impact outdoors.
-Autumn Smith - Wink - has scored at the 2A state meet in the 800, 1600 and 3200. By the end of the XC season, she was looking like she can compete at the HS level.
-Lydia Szabo - Snowflake, AZ - had a fantastic junior year at Snowflake HS, but was injured for most of HS senior year. Apparently will redshirt in 2024 to get fully rehabbed from her HS injuries.
-ACU signed 2 really good throwers -- Sterling Glenn, from Rio Rancho, NM & Chesni Scott from Cedar Park Vista Ridge. Both are good. Chesni was ranked #17 in the U.S. in the discus and Sterling has been ranked as high as #66 in the shot put. As usual, ACU will redshirt both freshmen, so it will be another year until we see how Sterling and Chesni will impact the team.
-ACU also has some walkons - Elle Evans and Paiten Trowbridge, sprinters from Medina Valley HS in Castroville (just outside San Antonio) and distance runners Hadley Phillips, from China Spring, and Kyla Fuller, from Montgomery. Time will tell if they can help sometime in the future.
Looking at the makeup of the roster, I was not hugely surprised when ACU finished right in the middle of the pack in the WAC indoor meet last week -- 6th place with 52 points (down slightly from 59 points in 2023). This team is much better suited for outdoors, where all the throwers who are not redshirting have their preferred events. ACU will need some of the young sprinters to mature quickly to make up a competitive 4x100 relay without cannibalizing a strong 4x400 relay, although you will probably see Sheian Walter and Savannah McCaleb running on both relays outdoors. I don't know if I see this team moving up more than a spot or 2 outdoors, because CBU competes in outdoor T&F and not in indoors and they are beasts in the distance events. This team may well be able to score just a bit more outdoors than last year, maybe looking at the 70-75 point range.
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Post by mavsman53 on Mar 4, 2024 16:23:47 GMT -6
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