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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 4, 2024 16:46:43 GMT -6
Mavsman, not terribly surprised at this. The program probably needs some fresh leadership. I hope that Jerrod ends up staying at ACU -- he is a respected throws coach and outdoors, we will rely on the throws crew to keep us in the running for a top-5 finish.
Zack Lassiter did a superlative job at keeping the team from dissipating when the former VB coach left just a few weeks before the team was supposed to report for summer work. I fully expect him to do the same work with the T&F team. The timing of the move may actually work to ACU's advantage -- there will be coaches making inquiries before the actual search begins. The search committee should already have a good group of candidates before the hiring process even begins.
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Post by stickman1 on Mar 5, 2024 9:06:07 GMT -6
This is news I was not expecting! I wonder if Jerrod Cook will stay at ACU and continue to coach throws after this Spring or if he will look to go elsewhere. The coaching staff on this team has had so much turnover over the past couple of years. Bingham, Kristian Dillard, Jarvis Jelen, Brielle, and Wooley, are the names that come to mind. Will be interesting to see how Zack Lassiter rebuilds the program under a new head coach. We will see!
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 5, 2024 10:39:40 GMT -6
Stick, just like Coach Jelen leaving between indoor and outdoor season, the timing of this move appears to be a detriment to the team. However, unlike last year with Jarvis' departure, the composition of the coaching staff will remain the same for the spring semester. My sense is that there will be an effort to keep Coach Cook at ACU past this spring. He is redshirting all of the freshmen that signed last year and there are excellent prospects in this group of freshman throwers.
As far as the composition of the coaching staff after this spring semester, that will be up to the new HC. Interim HC Nathan Meuwenberg has already proven to be a terrific recruiter. The transfer portal is very different than it was in the first year or the free-for-all -- the outdoor T&F portal does not open until late May. However, the indoor T&F portal opens today and goes through mid-April. I just don't think that anyone will enter the portal until the dust has settled a bit.
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 6, 2024 16:11:53 GMT -6
Okay, I finally get to one of my overly-long previews for the men's track team. I had to do some research on the number of points lost from last season. So, here goes.
Points lost -- the ACU men lost its best sprinter (Jack Marshall), best hurdler (Jamal January), and best jumper (Will Harris). Plus, the best thrower for 2022 and 2023 was dismissed from the team early in the outdoor season. Last year, the ACU men finished 6th at the indoor championship with 68 points and lost 75% of those points for this season. Then, outdoors, ACU got 5th with 83 points and lost 68% of those points (in addition to Marshall and January, quartermiler Jared Williams came back for his final and scored 10.5 points and thrower Nathanael Collier grabbed 13 points last year, but he transferred to K-State at midterm).
Key returnees who scored at conference in 2023 and return this year -- Athan Huelskamp, who scored 13 points indoors last year and 8 points in getting 2nd in the SP, throwing on a broken foot (!) and Athan has already won the weight throw indoors this year with a school record toss. Cooper Goggans (has made massive improvement in the past 2 years and is now an excellent 400/800 guy); Kevin Castruita - the best long distance guy on the XC team; Jeremy King (good hurdler just hitting his peak); Ethan Christian -- a very dependable decathlete; and Tyce Chaney - who scored on the 4x400 relay outdoors.
Other returnees who did not score in 2023 -- Gabe Embree (who has scored in past years in the steeple); Donovan Ramirez, who has a bright future in the jumps, but was injured in training in the fall and is redshirting for all of 2024; John Trook -- 800/1500 guy who may redshirt this year outdoors.
Other returnees who did not go to conference indoors or outdoors in 2023 -- Horatio Brooks (hurdles), Noah Jones (halfmiler), Rhett Kahlden (jumps); Charlie Lee-Alliston (sprints/jumps - has not been able to get untracked at ACU0; Jacob Russell (distance); O'Brien Verdin (distance) and Jayme Wooley (sprinter who may be able to right his way onto the sprint relay this year).
But, a real gold mine of talent is the long list of athletes who redshirted last season: -Levi Chambers -- has scored in distance races both indoors and outdoors, but was injured at the indoor conference meet and has returned this year to run both indoors (where he scored at the WAC meet in the 5K a few weeks back) and outdoors; -Ryan Bornemeier - scored in the hurdles outdoors in 2022, but after surviving a serious car wreck is returning (just missed the finals in the 60H a few weeks ago); -Harrison Manuel - has scored in the hurdles both indoors and outdoors and has been a reliable hand on the 4x400 relays when pressed into duty, has returned after a year fraught with injuries; -Garrison Shindler -- a huge surprise in 2022 scoring in the 800, but had a medical redshirt in 2023 (scored in the WAC meet a few weeks ago in the distance medley relay and made finals in the mile, but did not score); -Rylan Smart - redshirted in 2023 (like most throwers) and has already scored in the WAC indoor meet in the weight throw; -Tiras Reed - competed in the WAC indoor in 2023, but was injured between seasons and missed outdoors, so he redshirted indoors this year to "even up" his eligibility and will compete as a RS-Fr outdoors - may be our best sprinter; -Canaan Fairley - redshirted as a decathlete in 2023 as he learned the new events and he looked fantastic at the WAC indoor meet a few weeks ago - the kid has star written all over him; -Stone Smith - a thrower who redshirted as a freshman, like most throwers do; -Samuel Lanham - a distance runner who has shown some flashes of being a good hand as early as this year
That is a lot of points who sat our the 2023 season. This team is better just with these athletes competing.
Newcomers -- this was a good recruiting year for ACU - some of them are already showing signs of making a difference during the indoor season:
-Sean Cooksey - Breckenridge 3rd 3A 100-2022; was injured in a area meet, but ran the #36 best time in the U.S. in the 100 at his district meet
-Mikhail Fortner - Austin Champions Home-school - at the TX Home School meet, he placed 4th in the 1600 and 5th in the 3200 and showed some potential in XC
-Miguel Hall - Klein Collins - 7th in the Reg II-6A 300H and was a finalist in the 110H at the regional meet, but was DQ'd in the race - was ranked #89 in the U.S. in the 110H
-Ethan Krause - Leander Glenn - 5th in the 5A 200 last year and ranked #82 in the U.S. in the 200 for high schoolers
-Zachary Martin - McKinney Boyd -- looked solid in XC and could be good if he gets 100% healthy
-Sky Mendez - Leander Glenn - 3rd in the Dist 25-5A 400 and had a best in the 48's out of the blocks (ACU got 3/4ths of the Leander Glenn 4x200 relay that placed at state, including Sky and Ethan Krause and Ethan Sledge)
-Christian Morales - Azle/Tr-McMurry - 2nd Am. Southwest Conf javelin in 2022, but missed 2023 with a knee injury. His family is originally from Puerto Rico and was 5th in their national meet last summer.
-Hayden Norwich - Fort Worth Chisholm Trail - 7th in the 6A shot put in a driving rainstorm. Big, big kid with lots of potential - was ranked #30 in the U.S. in the shot put. Also has a history of ACU athletes, his grandfather and great-uncle played football at ACU and his Mother's first cousin is the great John David Baker. He will redshirt this year.
-Kenan Reil - Justin Northwest -- at the 5A state meet, he placed 4th in the 110H and the 300H -- was ranked #15 in 300H and #45 in the 110H in the U.S. this past year. Looked really good indoors. He will be a conference scorer from the very start outdoors.
-Ethan Rodriguez - San Antonio Reagan - a midterm addition -- was 10th in the Reg IV-6A 800 -- another good 800/1500 prospect
-Ethan Sledge - Leander Glenn - 7th in the Reg IV-5A 100 and ran on the Glenn 4x200 that placed 5th at state (along with Ethan Krause and Sky Mendez)
-Dillon Soileau - Tolar - placed in 2A state in both hurdle races - he is training as a decathlete. He had flashes in the WAC indoor heptathlon, but a no-height in the HJ did in his chances of scoring.
-EJ Stubbs - Bahamas/Tr-Fort Scott - definite potential - after Ft Scott, he went to an NAIA school and competed in 1 meet, where he was injured. Now at ACU. At the 2022 JC outdoor championship, he got 13th in the 100 (JC's have great talent in the sprints). He did not compete indoors -- something about him trying to make the Bahamian Olympic team, so he will start later in the season. I don't know if we see him as all this year, but if he does compete, ACU could have a good 4x100 relay.
-Sutton Welch - Abilene Wylie/Tr-McMurry - won the ASC hammer throw last year. He redshirted indoors this year - another person who redshirted indoors to "even up" his eligibility - he will have 1 indoor and 1 outdoor in 2025. Solid thrower, particularly in the hammer throw. Even with Nathanael Collier transferring to K-State, there is potential for a lot of points in the throws.
There is reason for hope outdoors. Lots of newcomers who have the capacity to produce points at the conference level. Lots of athletes who redshirted in 2023 - either medical or by choice. This team could be WAC top-5 outdoors.
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 6, 2024 18:08:05 GMT -6
Incidentally, 5 of the ACU throwers -- all of them did not compete indoors -- went to San Antonio and competed at the Trinity Invitational. There were several good performances:
WOMEN
-Kaitlyn Callaway placed 5th at the WAC meet last year in the javelin and she opened with a huge PR of 161-4 this year -- that would have won the WAC javelin in 2023 and it will get her into the West Prelim -- it was several feet over the qualifying mark for the West Prelim from last year.
-Avery Myrick - javelin throw of 123-5 (would have placed 10th last year) and hammer throw of 144-10 (would have placed 17th last year)
MEN
-Christian Morales - won the Trinity Open with a throw of 196-1 in the javelin, which would have placed 3rd last year at the WAC Championships
-Sutton Welch - opened with a hammer throw of 178-2, which would have placed 6th last year
-Stone Smith - 146-2 in the DT (14th last year) and 133-5 in the hammer
And, this was a low-key kickoff meet. I am looking forward to seeing this group and lots of other Wildcats in person in 1.5 weeks at the Wes Kittley Inv at ACU.
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 19, 2024 10:23:36 GMT -6
I got to see the T&F team in person at the Wes Kittley Invitational this past weekend. First of all, the weather was terrible -- cold to cool and it misted and sprinkled just about all day on Saturday and even a little on Friday night. Last year (2023), Tech brought a very large portion of their team -- after all, the meet is named for their coach -- but I think the Tech coaches were looking at the weather forecast (which was pretty much on target) and they chose not to bring any of their sprinters or jumpers. Also, last year, Tech performed very poorly at the indoor national meet and I think a lot of the entries at the Wes Kittley meet was to try and pop their sprinters and jumpers out of their funk and the weather was perfect last year. This year, Tech was coming off winning the D-1 national meet on the men's side and making top 15 on the women's side, and those points were exclusively from sprinters and jumpers -- no reason to bring them to Abilene on a dreary day.
Even with the dreary weather, ACU had some solid performances, particularly in some of the events where they WERE going against the Tech 1st-teamers. Here are some highlights:
MEN
Discus -- the weather was cold and windy, BUT the wind was coming from the perfect direction for the discus throwers and Tech brought the defending Big 12 discus champ to throw. Both Athan Huelskamp (just below his PR) and Colt Cooper (yes - that Colt Cooper, getting a neW PR), responded with big throws and even the Tech guy threw further in our meet than he threw in winning the last 2 Big 12 meets.
5K - I really liked how the long-distance guys ran on Friday night. Kevin Castruita, Levi Chambers, and Samuel Lanham finished 1-2-3, with Kevin and Levi just off their PR's and Samuel running under 15 for the first time in his career. Kevin and Levi both feel like they have a good chance to get into the 10K field at the Texas Relays. And, O'Brien Verdin ran well and just missed his PR and freshman Zach Martin pretty good as well.
-Steeplechase -- senior Gabe Embree had a sterling duel with Tech's top steepler and Gabe just missed winning the race -- just off his PR. He looks ready to the level he ran in 2022, when he scored at the WAC meet in the steeple.
-Hammer throw - this event was contested on the throwing field on Judge Ely and Ambler, so I did not get to see them throw. But, the results were good for ACU -- McM transfer Sutton Welch had a throw that puts him in contention for a top-3 spot at conference and RS-freshman Rylan Smart had a good throw as well, one that puts him squarely in the competition for points at the conference meet.
-800 -- Tech brought their best half-milers to ACU and Cooper Goggans gave them a run for their money. While Cooper did not win it (he placed 3rd) he went out very fast and made the Tech guys really extend. Coop's time was very solid on a day where the weather did not really favor good times. I got a sneak peek at the ACU entries for this weekend and I don't think Coop will run the 800 in Lubbock, but he should have a really good chance of running in the invitational 800 at the Texas Relays in just over a week -- the accepted entries will be revealed by Friday.
-Multis -- ACU did not include a decathlon for the men in the meet program, so the ACU multi athletes typically compete in multiple events in the meets to simulate a decathlon. Both Ethan Christian and Canaan Fairley looked good this weekend - Ethan with a new outdoor PR in the LJ and Canaan getting PR's in the LJ, 100 hurdles and javelin. Canaan has the potential to be a superb decathlete and Ethan has been a steady scorer in the multis for 4 years and I think this is the year he finally scores over 7000 points in the dec.
-The 4x400 looked solid, but they were largely running by themselves with a relay of Matthew Mills, Tyce Chaney, Canaan Fairley, and Cooper Goggans (it says on-line that Tiras Reed ran the 3rd leg, but Tiras was held out for the entire meet due to a small injury). ACU ran a "B" relay as well to see if anyone on that relay might be able to break into the "A" relay. That relay had Ryan Bornemeier (who ran a very solid leadoff leg), Horatio Brooks (coming off an injury that ruined his freshman season), Miguel Hall and Ethan Christian (again, the lineup on-line is a little different, but this is the real lineup). I also talked with freshman Kenan Reil, who looked very good indoors, and he will try to rest for a few weeks and see if he can get ready for the Texas Relays.
WOMEN
-Throws - Kaitlyn Callaway had a great throw to open the season at Trinity, but the weather for the WK was not conducive to the javelin, but Kaitlyn still did pretty well and gave Tech's 2 throwers all they could handle. Avery Myrick threw in the javelin, hammer and discus and while her marks are not top-8 contenders yet, she is getting closer and closer to be a contender, particularly in the javelin. Chesni Scott is a freshman who is redshirting and she is going to a be a good one -- throwing unattached she is already conference competitive in both the javelin and hammer. She is going to be a good one.
-On Friday night in the distance races, I thought Riley Pyeatt ran quite well in winning the 1500 -- she is conference-competitive right now. And, Bella Evans was not too far behind her in getting 2nd. I am amazed in the improvement of Katelyn Coldicott in the 5K since she arrived at ACU -- I think she may well contend for points this year with all of those CBU and UVU distance runners.
-With all of the distance races being run on Friday evening, the longest race on Saturday afternoon was the 800 and freshman Jess Reyes won that race and the Tech kid she beat was on the Tech squad that ran at the Big 12 meet last year. I do think Jess can contend in the 800 her first year at ACU.
-Sheian Walters and JaDasia Sims easily went 1-2 in the 400 at the meet in terrible conditions with very competitive times. This year, ACU should have their best 4x400 relay in several years.
I do wish ACU would have run the men's 400 hurdlers, but the hurdlers ran the open 400 instead, possibly because Tech left their good 400 hurdlers at home. The Masked Rider meet in Lubbock is coming next and right now, the weather looks good for that meet. It appears that Tech will run a lot more of their top-line people at their home meet. Plus, some stellar non-D1 schools will be there - WTAM, South Plains, and New Mexico JC, to name just a few.
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Post by Cap'n on Mar 19, 2024 14:30:35 GMT -6
I saw where Gracyn Reed ran a 58 something in the 400. I think that’s her best since before her injury. She adds a lot to the 4x400 as well.
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 20, 2024 5:03:25 GMT -6
Right now, Gracyn is probably the 1st or 2nd alternate for the 4x400 relay. She looked pretty good on Saturday. She could be a "wild card" for the relay this year. I truly believe she is capable of running around a 55 in the 400 if she is healthy and truly believes she can run that fast. Right now, the 4x400 is running 2 super-seniors -- Savannah McCaleb and Sheian Walters -- an the first alternate is senior Courtney Latham, so there will be a lot of room on the relay for next year.
Freshman Lydia Szabo looked really good for the first 300 meters of her 400 meter race on Saturday -- I thought she would be running well under 60, but she faded over the final 100 meters. She also looks capable of running in the mid-50's if she is totally healthy (nagging injuries caused her to redshirt indoors).
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 24, 2024 18:47:49 GMT -6
Got to see the Wildcats again in Lubbock - 2nd weekend in a row with cold, windy weather. Still some good performances. Several athletes who were accepted to the Texas Relays did not compete this week. So, here are some of the highlights for me:
Sprints: -Tiras Reed had to redshirt outdoors last year due to an injury and redshirted indoors, so this is the first time for him to compete for ACU in over a year. Solid 100 time with 10.55, to move him to the #10 spot in the WAC. Also ran a 21.64 in the 200 - just outside the top-10. -Sheian Walters - already the best quartermiler on the team, she competed in the 100 and 200 for some speed work and her 200 time of 24.29 moved her ot #6 in the WAC and her 100 of 11.85 moved her into the top 10 in the WAC. -Savannah McCaleb ran just off her PR with a 24.36 in the 200, moving her to #8 in the WAC. -Cooper Goggans - just 2 years ago, this guy was running the steeple and 5K for ACU. This indoor season, he broke 1:50 in the 800. Yesterday, he ran a 47.91 out of the blocks in the 400 and he will be in thick of things to be a top-3 in the WAC 800. -Riley Pyeatt ran a new PR in the 800 (yes, the 800 is right on the edge of being a sprint) of 2:14.28 to move to #5 in the WAC.
Hurdles -Ryan Bornemeier runs a 14.72 in the 110 hurdles to move into the #10 spot in the 110 hurdles. Over a year ago, he was severely injured in a auto wreck and after over a year of rehab and hard work, he is only a few hundredths off his all-time best. -Natalie Poe ran a big PR in the 100 hurdles, BUT it won't count since the wind was a fraction over the allowable.
Jumps -Ja'Dasia Sims high jumps to the #2 spot with a jump of 5-7.
-Brianna Brand gets a season best LJ of 18-3.75, but I hope she gets back to that 20-foot range she reached at HCU. She also ran a really good anchor leg on the 4x100 relay.
Throws -Athan Huelskamp - a season best throw of 52-10.75 in the shot put moves him to #4 in the WAC. -In the discus, Stone Smith gets a PR throw of 153-10 to move to #6 and on the women's side, Avery Myrick gets a PR throw of 132-11, moving to #8. -Chesni Scott is a freshman redshirting after a terrific HS career in the discus. She is going to be a good one. Her throw of 167-3 this weekend (throwing unattached) would put her into serious contention for a podium position right now. -Javelin -- Christian Morales gets a good throw of 200-7, moving him to #3 in the WAC. On the women's side, heptathlete Eliza Lemberga throws a PR of 130-9, which would place at conference last year. -In the hammer, Ryan Smart gets a big PR of 184-4 and moves to #4 in the WAC.
Next up, the Texas Relays, with ACU having a good representation in the biggest meet west of the Mississippi (the only bigger meet is the Penn Relays)
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 25, 2024 7:56:09 GMT -6
Interesting occurrence this past weekend, as Humble Atascocita broke one of the oldest records in the U.S. the record for the HS boys 4x100 record of 39.76. The old record was held by FW Eastern Hills since 1997. Duncanville had been talking about breaking the record all season at the Texas Relays, THEN the UIL in all their "wisdom" announced that the state meet was moving forward a week, which causes a chain reaction that means the region, area and district meets would all move up one week and suddenly, the district meets that are the gateway to making the state meet would be contested starting just 3-4 days after the Texas Relays. So, Duncanville decided to head down to a meet in Houston to go head-to-head with Atascocita, who had been ranked #1 in the nation all year.
I watched the video several times -- the handoffs for Atascocita were flawless and Duncanville had a couple of tiny bobbles on their handoffs and those were the difference. Duncanville DID break the former record, but they finished 2nd as Atascocita not only breaks the record, but it annihilates the former record, running a 38.93, dipping under 39 flat mark. I did some checking on-line and that time would have won every college meet in the U.S. and would have placed Atascocita #2 on the NCAA performance list for the year to date!
One more interesting thing -- when you look at the individual marks for the 4 athletes who make up the Atascocita relay - their anchor leg is a stud (he has run a 10.2 out of the blocks), but the other 3 individual marks for the relay is a 10.5 (still a good HS mark) and a 10.8 and a 10.9 -- which are not even good enough times to get scholarships for those 2 at a D-1 or probably even a D-2 level. Yet, by working those handoffs constantly and molding this group of athletes into a seamless RELAY, they obliterate the former record. (Something that the Oliver Jackson practiced in his days of the great ACC relays). I truly believe that if more HS and college coaches worked the handoffs over and over, you would see even more 4x100 (and even 4x400) records broken at the HS and college levels.
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Post by texas48 on Mar 25, 2024 15:37:00 GMT -6
I'd love to see the video...where did you find it?
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 25, 2024 16:17:17 GMT -6
Milesplit -- a track website.
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Post by bucfan on Mar 25, 2024 16:20:13 GMT -6
This is the video on Twitter:
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Post by acutrackfan on Mar 25, 2024 16:39:59 GMT -6
Thanks, Bucfan.
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Post by texas48 on Mar 26, 2024 8:11:00 GMT -6
Thanks!
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