Warren's title highlights strong day

Triple jumper breaks ACU, LSC records en route to win

WALNUT, Calif. -- If any athlete entered this weekend's NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships with something to prove, it was ACU's Stephanie Warren.

After all, Warren, who had one of the top triple jumps in the nation for most of the season, failed to post a mark in the event earlier this month at the Lone Star Conference championships in Kingsville.

Friday night at Hilmer Lodge Stadium, she did more than post a mark.  She posted the fourth-best mark in NCAA Division II history -- 43 feet, 4.25 inches -- to not only win the national championship, but also match the "B" qualifying standard for this summer's U.S. Olympic Trials. 

Warren's mark also shattered the existing school and LSC best-ever mark of 42-4.25 set in 1987 by Ann Foster.  The mark is the seventh-best collegiate mark in the United States this year, and 13th in the United States this year.

Warren's championship highlighted a much better second day for both ACU teams, both of which remain in solid contention for national titles.  The women will go into Saturday's final day with 30 points and qualifiers in the 200 meters, 1500 meters, 5000 meters, shot put and high jump, as well as both relays.

The men have four points, but have an abundance of qualifiers in the shot put, pole vault, 100 meters, 200 meters, 800 meters, 1500 meters, triple jump and both relays.  All in all, it was a solid day for the Wildcats.

The women's team is in good position, in third place with 30 points, just five points behind co-leaders Angelo State and Adams State (Colo.).  The ACU men are in 21st with four points, although the leader, North Dakota State, only has 22 points.

No one made quite as big a splash as Warren, whose winning jump came on her second jump in the preliminary round.  She jumped 42-8.00 on her third jump of the prelims, and then after tweaking her left hamstring on that final jump, she passed on each of her three jumps in the final.  No one came close to threatening Warren, who didn't even remove her warmups during the final on a cool, cloudy night in southern California.

"It took everything I had just to get warmed up tonight," Warren said.  "I used heat packs, lotion, heat balm ... you name it and I tried it.  I was just as surprised as anyone when I saw the mark when they put it on the board.  I was really just trying to get a mark.  I knew coming into this meet that I really hadn't proven anything, and, after the conference meet, I had something to prove."

The women's team picked up 25 big points in a matter of 90 minutes after Katie Eckley, Val Gorter and Angie Aguilar finished 3-4-5 in the pole vault for 15 points and Warren won the triple jump for another 10 points.

"Stephanie did an outstanding job in the triple jump to give us some momentum and points," ACU head coach Jon Murray said.  "To come in here after not even putting a mark on the board at the conference meet and then win the event is a big accomplishment."

The women also qualified well in the 200 meters with sisters Brooklyn and Jessica Hunt qualifying, and Adeh Mwamba qualifying in the 5000 meters.  The Hunt sisters will run the 200 meters and on both relays Saturday, and Mwamba will run both the 1500 meters and 5000 meters.

On the men's side, Yevgen Pashchenko finished fifth in the long jump for ACU's four points, but Manuel Brandeborn failed to reach the final in the discus.  Brandeborn came into the meet with the No. 2 discus mark in the nation, but threw 161-5.00 -- 22 feet off his personal-best -- to finish 11th.

"Overall we were pretty good on the men's side," Murray said.  "To get Christie (VanWyk) and Marvin (Bien-Aime) into the 200-meter final was big.  I thought we might get a couple more points out of Yevgen in the long jump, but he should have a big day Saturday in the triple jump.  Obviously we're very disappointed with the discus, but we'll just have to make it up Saturday on the track and in the triple jump and pole vault."