Oliver Jackson Twilight Invitational Results
ABILENE - Baptiste Kerjean broke a 15-year-old varsity record in the hammer, and former Wildcat
Angie Aguilar eclipsed her own stadium record in the pole vault late Tuesday afternoon at Abilene Christian's Oliver Jackson Twilight Invitational.
Kerjean, a junior transfer from St. Brieuc, France, launched the hammer 210 feet, 3 inches (64.08 meters) to break the previous record of 209-2 (63.76m) set by Glenn Griffin on May 8, 1997. Kerjean won the event by over 40 feet against two other competitors, and remains the sixth-ranked hammer thrower in all of NCAA Division II.
Aguilar, a former ACU All-American and two-time national champion in the pole vault, reached a height of 13-07.25 (4.15) that topped her old Elmer Gray Stadium record of 13-05.75 (4.10), which had stood since May 8, 2008.
An Olympic hopeful for the 2012 Summer Games in London, Aguilar graduated from ACU in 2007 as the all-time DII leader in the pole vault with a height of 13-07.00 (4.14m); however, that mark has since been surpassed on four occasions.
But just as important as having two major records broken tonight were the efforts given by several Wildcats who successfully improved their position on the
NCAA performance list.
Junior Kevin Johnson made one of the strongest gains as he jumped several places from 28th to 15th in the 110 high hurdles with a second-place and season-best time of 14.23 seconds.
Sophomore multi-sport athlete Darian Hogg, who also plays football, joined ACU's growing list of NCAA provisional qualifiers after recording a first-place long jump of 24-2.50 (7.38m). Hogg ranks 14th in this event despite competing at only three meets this spring.
Hogg went on to place fifth in the triple jump, just missing the NCAA's provisional standard of 47-7 by two inches.
On the women's side, it was the Wildcats' 4x100m relay that made the biggest improvement as the team of Sydney Smith, Shennae Steele, Karolyn Palmer, and Lexus Williams clocked an 11th-ranked time of 46.17. Williams also won the 100m hurdles in 14.09.
Additional ACU winners included Ayesha Rumble in the 800m (2:11.28), and Tara Riley in the discus (148-1, 45.15m). Lauren Hartwick led an ACU first to third-place sweep of the hammer after recording a season-best mark of 166-4 (50.71m).
Senior
Nick Jones won his fifth shot put title of the season as he edged out former USC Trojan and reigning NAIA indoor champion Alex Adams by 1.5 inches, 61-02.25 (18.65m) to 61-00.75 (18.61m). Adams was competing unattached, but won his NAIA crown in March with Northwood (Texas) University.
The NCAA is expected to announce its field for the upcoming DII outdoor championships early next week. The Wildcats currently have six automatic qualifiers - Jones, Kerjean, Amanda Ouedraogo, Susset, LeVance Williams, and the men's 4x100m Relay - plus 35 provisional qualifiers. Eighteen of ACU's provisional marks are ranked among the top 15.
