2011 Outdoor Bests
By Don Garrett
Special Contributor
March 28, 2011
The Wildcats headed in three different directions as the outdoor track season kicked off. The largest contingent headed to El Paso for the UTEP Springtime Classic, with mostly throwers traveling down Ambler Avenue to the Hardin Simmons Invitational and 6 multi-athletes going to San Angelo for the ASU Spring Break Multi-Event meet. At every venue, ACU acquired qualifiers for the national meet.
ASU Spring Break Multi-Event
For 5 of the 6 athletes, this was the first full multi-event outdoors for ACU. The only national qualifying mark was a provisional mark of 6,417 points from the only returnee – Parker Petty. Petty finished third at the LSC meet last year, but this year's first decathlon of the year saw him score personal best performances in 8 of the 10 events and a 368 point improvement over last season. Decathletes Matthew Stark, Caleb Gregory and Levi Gates all scored well for their first effort of the season. On the women's side, first time heptathlete Cassie Brooks only missed the provisional national qualifying standard by 141 points in a superb first effort. Redshirt freshman Michelle Ratliff started off the meet in a difficult fashion, failing to finish the first event, the 100 hurdles. However, she did well enough on her other events to show promise for future heptathlons
HSU Invitational
Nick Jones continues his outstanding ACU return (he redshirted in 2010) with a strong start – scoring an automatic qualifying mark in both the shot put (57-6.5) and coming very close in the discus (176-3) – the event in which he is the two-time national champion. Tyler Fleet threw the hammer throw 182-7, which gave him a provisional qualifying mark and came close in the discus with a toss of 157-3. Other strong performances came from Bryceton Nichols (140-4 in the discus) and freshman Aaron Bynum (140-2 in the discus).
UTEP Springtime Classic
Several national qualifying marks highlighted a strong effort by the Wildcats in El Paso. Desmond Jackson, the senior from Midland Lee, is a leader for the 'Cats, after scoring 16 points at the indoor national meet and getting an automatic qualifying time of 10.33 (10.36 with the altitude adjustment) in his first outdoor meet of the year. The women's team saw senior Paige Newby, the defending national champ in the discus, get off to a flying start with an automatic qualifying throw of 161-11 (just 5 feet short of her national championship throw last spring. Newby also met the provisional standard in the hammer throw with a 164-5, joining fellow senior Jessica Sloss in meeting the provisional standard, as Sloss threw 165-3.
First year Wildcat Amanda Ouedraogo built on her national runnerup triple jump at the indoor meet jumping 41-8.5, earning an automatic trip to the national meet in May. Another senior team leader Andrew McDowell, missed the automatic qualifying mark in the 110 hurdles by the slimmest of margins. McDowell ran a 14.12, but when the altitude adjustment is added in, McDowell – a former indoor national hurdles champ - missed the automatic mark by .07 of a second. National indoor triple jump champ Ramon Sparks also garnered an automatic mark triple jumping 51-5.
Another provisional mark was turned in by Timothy Jones, the freshman from El Paso Chapin, who has seen dramatic improvement this season and jumped 48-6 in the triple jump. First year Wildcat Paris Robertson ran well in the 100 with a provisional time of 10.49 (10.52 altitude adjusted). The Wildcat men, who did not qualify in either relay for nationals in 2010, got off to a good start with a strong provisional time of 40.54 to finish in second with the quartet of Andrew McDowell, Desmond Jackson, LeVance Williams, and Paris Robertson.
Other good performances in El Paso include: freshman Shelby Young (14.90 for eighth in the 100H); Chloe Susset (2:19.72 for seventh and 4:50.12 for fifth); Sydney Smith (12.20 in the 100); freshman Tara Riley (39-10.75 for fourth in the shot put); freshman Amelia Mitchell (121-5 for fifth in the javelin); Alyse Goldsmith (5:01.77 in the 1500); 3:15.50 in the men's 4X400, only .5 off provisional qualifying, with a quartet of Jordan Geary, Paris Robertson, Desmond Jackson, and LeVance Williams; Michael Rasor (15.04 in the 110 hurdles for fifth ); and Jordan Geary (49.26 in the 400 for seventh).
The Wildcats are scheduled to compete in the UTA Open this coming weekend.
