TURLOCK, Calif. – For the better part of four years, the ACU Wildcats have leaned on a core group of veterans to lead their team and win championships.
And just as they did in March at the NCAA Division II indoor national championship meet in Albuquerque, N.M., the Wildcats' "Fab Four" delivered again Saturday at the outdoor championship meet, scoring 60 points between them – including 37 on the final day to deliver yet another team national championship in the long and illustrious history of ACU track and field.
The quartet of seniors
Desmond Jackson,
Ramon Sparks and
Amos Sang and redshirt junior
Nick Jones came in together, and except for Jones, they go out with two national championships in their fourth and final season together.
The Wildcats finished with 68 points to top runner-up Adam State (Colo.) by 13 points, while third-place Lincoln (Mo.) finished with 51 points. On the women's side, ACU posted its worst-ever finish at the national meet, finishing with just eight points to finish in a tie for 29th place, the first time ACU has ever finished out of the top six at the national outdoor championship meet.
But Saturday's meet was all about the ACU men and what the Wildcats' four cornerstones were able to accomplish. Jackson, Sparks, Sang and Jones have been the catalysts for the Wildcats all season, and Saturday was no different.
"Like we've been saying since the indoor meet, those guys are the 'Fab Four'," ACU head coach Roosevelt Lofton said. "We won't be able to replace those guys. They're such great competitors and have such tremendous heart. The thing about those guys is that 10-20 years from now we'll still be talking about how special those guys were to this program. I just hope the younger guys on our team have been watching those guys and will be ready to step into their shoes next year."
Jones got the day started with a dominating display in the discus, winning the event for the third time in the last four years (he red-shirted last year). Jones broke Randy Heisler's 28-year-old meet record with his first throw of 198 feet, 10 inches, and then on his third third – a little more than 10 minutes later – he broke his own record with a throw of 199 feet, 3 inches.
Then the heavy rains and cold wind, which would set in over the track for the rest of the night, showed up and made the finals in the discus an exercise in futility. Only 10 of the final 27 throws counted as most competitors either couldn't get a good grip on the implement, or were simply slipping all over the ring.
Jones' goals entering the day were to win the national championship, pick up much-need points for his team and hit the "A Standard" in qualifying for the US Championships next month in Eugene, Ore. He hit the first two goals, but came up a bit short in his bid to throw 200-1.
"A lot of things that happened today were just awesome, so I can't be too disappointed in not hitting the 'A' standard," Jones said. "I would have liked to have been able to get another big throw out there, but I couldn't get good footing in the ring.
"But today was about what I did last year in red-shirting and working on my technique and getting stronger," Jones said. "I can definitely say today that the decision to go ahead and do that paid off."
Shortly after Jones finished his third throw, the quartet of
Jordan Geary, Jackson, Lavance Williams and Paris Robertson finished second in the 4x100 relay for another eight points. Then it was Jackson's turn to pick up points in the 100 meters and the 200 meters.
Jackson got off to a disappointing start in the 100 meters and never recovered, finishing third for six points. However, he came back about 30 minutes later to win the 200 meters and give the Wildcats 10 big points.
"Honestly, I let my nerves get the best of me in the 100 meters," Jackson said. "I kept telling myself that I was ready, but I knew deep down that I wasn't and I made some mistakes that you shouldn't make at this level of competition. I knew I had to re-focus before the 200 meters and just let go and run. I knew I could win the race, but I had to just get myself ready mentally."
After Jackson's win in the 200 meters – along with Sparks' third-place finish in the triple jump – the Wildcats had the title virtually wrapped up. Sang then came along and assured the team of the championship by finishing fourth and earning five points in the 5000 meters.
"Everybody went after it (Saturday)," Lofton said, "and I'm really proud of them for how they competed. We knew we would have to take everyone's best shot because there were about 4-5 teams that we thought we'd have to battle with to win the title. We had a team meeting (Saturday morning) and told the guys the situation we were in, and they all just said, 'Coach, we've got this.' I guess they did."
