Meet Results: (Don Kirby / GVSU / ASU Qualifier) WT Performance Chart CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's and women's track & field teams set themselves up very well this weekend in terms of national qualifying standards. While competing in three different meets across three different states on Friday and Saturday, the Buffs and Lady Buffs raced to five Lone Star Conference records and nine school records. Additionally, 13 new or improved provisional marks, along with one improved automatic mark, were recorded by WT's athletes between the two days.
Saturday capped the weekend off nicely in all three competitions in which WT was represented: the Don Kirby Collegiate Open & Elite Invitational hosted by the University of New Mexico, the GVSU Big Meet hosted by Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Mich., and the ASU NCAA Qualifier hosted by Adams State University in Alamosa, Colo.
WT started off fast in the track events in Albuquerque. After advancing to the finals of the men's 60m dash, senior
Tommy Curry broke his own school record in the event with a 6.79, upping his provisional time set earlier in the season. He finished sixth in the event. Up next was the 60m hurdles race, one dominated by back-to-back LSC Track Athlete of the Week junior
Lorenzo Johnson. He placed first in the event's finals with a 7.79, breaking his own school and LSC record and improving his automatic qualifying mark. On the women's side of the 60m hurdles, senior
Sharon Kwarula would do the same with a second place finish and 8.48 time. That would write her name as the new school and LSC record holder in the event.
Finishing off the action at UNM was junior
Benoit Nadin in the triple jump. Nadin would fly to a 14.88m jump to break his own school record in the event and improve his provisional qualifier.
Highlighting the day in Allendale was the men's DMR squad. With a second place finish and 9:55.03 time, the team rolled to a school and LSC record, both previously held by WT, and grabbed a provisional qualifier. The quartet consisted of seniors
Josh Helom and
Baptiste Moreu, junior
Michael Schaefer, and freshman
Geoffrey Kipchumba. Additionally, sophomore
Junior Baca would race to a provisional time in the men's 800m with a time of 1:53.35.
Finally, sophomore
Holly Cunigan had a big day in Alamosa, notably in the shot put competition. She would crush her own school and LSC record in the event with a 14.28m (46'-10.25") throw, increasing her provisional mark.
Friday Recap Friday the 13
th turned out to be quite the positive day for the WT. The Buffs and Lady Buffs opened up Valentine's Day weekend in record-breaking fashion in the first of two days split between three competitions across the country. Three school records and one LSC record would fall on the evening while the majority of the success would come from those competing at the Grand Valley State University Big Meet in Allendale, Mich.
Things kicked off for WT in Allendale with the 5000m races. The Lady Buffs had a huge showing in this one as senior
Michaela Johnson rolled to a new school and LSC record time of 17:23.96, passing her own mark from earlier this season. That would move her into the provisional qualifying ranks.
Also for the Lady Buffs, senior
Rhemecka Graham had a big day on the track. She knocked down her own previous school record in the 800m with a 2:15.38, also moving herself into the provisional ranks.
For the Buffs, senior
Josh Helom got things started with a better provisional time in the men's 400m, upping his time to 48.46. Finally, senior
Baptiste Moreu would break a school record in the men's 3000m with a new provisional time of 8:20.16.
WT also started competition in the Don Kirby Collegiate Open & Elite Invitational, hosted by the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. There, both seniors
Kemarki Absalom and
Paul Alongo increased their provisional qualifying marks in the long jump to 7.24m and 7.18m, respectively.
"We had a great first day overall," said head coach
Darren Flowers. "The 5K group really got things kicked off this morning by winning four-of-four for each of our heats. That kind of thing can really create momentum for the rest of the group. I'm excited to see how we can come back tomorrow."
WT will be back in action next Friday, Feb. 20, as it returns to Lubbock, Texas to compete in the Texas Tech Red Raider Open, its final competition before the LSC Indoor Championships. The one-day meet will be held at the Athletic Training Center on TTU's campus. Check back with
www.GoBuffsGo.com later next week for additional information on the days leading up to the meet and follow @WTAMUTrackXC on Twitter for the latest updates.
