ABILENE, Texas – McMurry University Track & Field competed in the sunny and windy conditions of Abilene this weekend at the Wes Kittley Invitational, hosted at Elmer Gray Stadium by Abilene Christian University.
McMurry had a successful three-day stretch all around – including its throwers, sprinters, jumpers and multi-eventers – but celebrated new heights for the program in Friday evening's distance events.
The big moment of the meet came in the women's 5000 meter run, as sisters
Jazmin Chacon and
Janeth Chacon once again broke their own school record. Both runners became the first women to go under 19 minutes in the 5K. Jazmin ran a time of 18:19.77, while Janeth followed closely at 18:22.68.
Currently in the American Southwest Conference rankings, McMurry occupies 16 of the top eight spots in the women's 800, 1500, 5K and 3K steeplechase. Janeth ranks atop the ASC in the 800, while Jazmin leads the 1500. Meanwhile, the men own eight such spots just two meets in.
The meet included competitors from all levels, mainly from the state of Texas.
INTERACTIVE RESULTS l
PDF RESULTS
Multi Highlights:
- The meet started with the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon on Thursday and Friday, as Rylan Rogers, Shepherd Miller and Kelby Tidwell made their multi-event season debuts. Rogers and Tidwell are currently the national leaders in NCAA Division III.
- Rogers won the meet with a score of 5545, winning the shot put, javelin and discus to sweep the throwing events. He also finished second in the high jump, the 400 meter dash and the pole vault.
- Miller completed his first collegiate decathlon with a score of 5426, winning the 100 meter dash, the pole vault and the 1500 meter run. He also placed second in the javelin, 110 meter hurdles, long jump and shot put. He had multiple PRs throughout the decathlon.
- Tidwell finished with 3730 points in her first heptathlon, including a second place finish in the long jump and a third place finish in the javelin throw. She competed against high level athletes that were either from the NCAA Division I level or unattached.
Track Highlights:
- In the men's 200 meter dash, Jayden Sloan clocked a speedy time of 21.43w (3.1) which currently ranks second in the nation. He and Dazhaun Walton are both ranked in the nation's top five after the weekend. Walton ran a time of 21.82 Saturday with the same wind conditions. Caleb Kwiatkowski finished at 22.40 in the same event.
- The men's 5K was a big success for McMurry, led by freshman Gabriel Sanchez with a near-school record of 15:46.32 in his first collegiate 5K. The War Hawks haven't had a 5K runner faster than 16:13 the last four seasons, but had four pass that time on Friday – Sanchez, Abram Maldonado (15:53.88), John Zuniga Jr. (16:03.98) and Ethan Turner (16:09.54). Andres Martinez also ran in that area at 16:15.04. All five placed in the top 10 of section 2 at ACU.
- In women's sprints action, sophomore Breauna Conner had a day to remember in the women's 200. She shattered her previous personal record by nearly 0.75 seconds with a time of 26.48. She ranks inside the national top 50. Hannah Moss ran a 27.40 and Kelby Tidwell ran a 27.51.
- The women's 4x400 ran their fastest time of the season at 4:11.13, which currently leads the ASC. Katelyn Hernandez, Conner, Jacee Dinkins and Bethany Guzman teamed up for that time.
- Both men's relays ran their fastest time of the season this week and rank top three in the conference and top 10 in the nation. The 4x100 ran a 41.90 led by Kwiatkowski, Jermond Lovely, Walton and Sloan. The 4x400 ran a 3:24.33 led by Justin DeLeon, Jaheim Billison, Walton and Sloan.
- Both Sanchez and Eddie Garcia ran in the 800 meter dash, with Garcia setting a personal record at 2:04.61. Sanchez led with a time of 2:01.48.
- DeLeon competed in the 110 hurdles and ran the fifth-best time in the conference at 16.09.
- Najwa Campbell ran another pair of solid times in both hurdle events, including a 15.20 in the 100 and a 1:19.88 in the 400.
- Hernandez and Dinkins both ran top eight conference times in the 1500 meter run with Hernandez at 5:21.35 and Dinkins at 5:24.49.
- Guzman ran a time of 1:04.53 in the 400 meter run in her collegiate outdoor debut.
- Billison ran a time of 51.97 in the men's 400 – making his event debut at the college level. Kade Kimmel and Cody McWilliams joined him at 53.63 and 54.72, respectively.
- Tamarian Turner competed in the 100 meter dash and had a PR time of 11.17.
Field Highlights:
- One week after his national championship appearance in North Carolina, DonTre Sinegal had perhaps his best collegiate day overall at ACU Saturday. He consistently posted good marks in both the long jump and triple jump – ranking top 10 nationally in both. He starts outdoor with a long jump mark of 6.94m and a triple mark of 14.02m.
- Jermond Lovely also long jumped and had a PR of 6.76m to rank inside the national top 25.
- Christian Morales and Zachary Wood both had personal records in the men's javelin with respective marks of 49.31m and 46.98m. Both men are ranked in the ASC's top four and the national top 50.
- Kelby Tidwell and Jacee Dinkins competed in the women's pole vault and had good days, ranking 1-2 in the conference with strong opening marks. Tidwell cleared at 3.20m and Dinkins at 3.05m – tying her lifetime PR.
- Ellie Ryan competed in three throwing events, including a new season-high in the discus at 35.04m. She ranks second in the ASC and within the national top 50.
- Jessy Villagomez made his season debut in the men's shot put with a mark of 13.52m to rank 30th in the nation and first in the ASC. Joining him atop the ASC in throwing events is Sutton Welch in the hammer (49.84m) and Vern Angton in the discus (42.77m) – both set last week at Trinity.
- Although they both competed in the decathlon, the duo of Rylan Rogers and Shepherd Miller set national rankings in the pole vault. Miller sits 27th at 4.25m and Rogers in 32nd at 4.15m.
Up Next:
The War Hawks are hopeful to compete in two meets next week. One of those is the annual Texas Relays in Austin, hosted by the University of Texas, while the other is the Texas State Invitational in San Marcos.
Both meets run from March 24-26.
