ACU men national title; women 3rd

Men's 200, triple jump the turning point in championship

WALNUT, Calif. – It started off looking like a day the ACU Wildcats would want to forget when it was over.

It ended with the Wildcats adding another team national championship to the school's trophy case.

ACU rallied from a disqualification in the 4x100 relay – as well as a day-long deficit to rival St. Augustine's – to pull out the men’s team national championship at the NCAA Division II outdoor track and field championships at Hilmer Lodge Stadium on the Mount San Antonio College campus.

The ACU men won the title, 75-74, over St. Augustine's, and the women finished a respectable third with 61 points, behind team champion Lincoln (Mo.) and runner-up Adams State (Colo.) who finished with 85 and 81 points, respectively.

The Wildcats pulled into the lead when sophomore Yevgen Pashchenko and junior Ben Washington finished first and third, respectively, to give ACU 16 huge points and past St. Augustine's, 69-64, going into the 4x400 relay. 

All ACU had to do to hold on to the team title was finish third, and that's exactly what it did.  The Wildcats finished third in 3:07.80 – thanks in part to a strong 45.3-second split run by anchor Delt Cockrell – to win the title by one point.

"We knew we would have to have a big lead on St. Augustine's going into the relay, because they have such a great relay team," said ACU head coach Jon Murray, who directed the Wildcats to their third straight outdoor title and sixth straight NCAA Division II track and field championship overall.  "On a good day it would be hard to beat St. Aug's in the relay, and that's what made that lead so important."

The Wildcats' day started inauspiciously when both the women's and men’' 4x100 relay teams were disqualified after both teams passed out of the exchange zone on the second exchange.

About one hour after the completion of the 4x100 relay, the men's rally to the title began, thanks to old reliable, Bernard Manirakiza.  The senior from Burundi won both the 800 meters and 1500 meters – just as he did last year in Edwardsville, Ill. – to get the Wildcats close.

That's when an unlikely hero stepped to the fore to help the Wildcats really get back in the race.

Freshman sprinter Marvin Bien-Aime qualified fifth in the 200 meters with a 20.98, but surprised the field by finishing second in a time of 20.64 to give ACU eight big points.  His teammate, senior Christie VanWyk, finished third in 20.72 to give ACU a combined 14 points in the 200 meters and put them within striking distance at 64-53.  VanWyk earlier finished third in the 100 meters and Bien-Aime eighth in the 100 meters for seven points in that event.

"I really thought we would finish second after the 4x100 relay got disqualified," Murray said.  "But then Bernard gave us a boost ... and what can you say about what Marvin did in the 200?  He was really phenomenal and kind of pushed toward the win."

But it was in the triple jump where the Wildcats sealed their 18th outdoor national championship, 51st overall track and field championship (men and women combined) and the school's 54th national championship.

On his fourth jump, Pashchenko soared 52 feet, 7.25 inches to pass Central Missouri State’s Ivan Varbanov, who jumped 52-6.00 on his first attempt.  The real hero, though, was probably Washington, who, despite jumping on a painful sprained left ankle, jumped 50-10.25 on his fifth attempt to move from fifth to third and give the Wildcats two huge points in the team standings.

"Ben has been injured all year, and I didn't really think he would be healthy enough to compete today," said Pashchenko, who also won the indoor national title in March.  "But he's the hero of the meet, as far as I'm concerned.  We both realized where we stood in the team race, and we both knew we had to put up some big points."

Also adding to the Wildcats' point production was pole vaulter Cory Aguilar, fourth at 16-4.75 for four points, and shot putter Manuel Brandeborn, fifth at 56-1.75 for four points.

The ACU women started their day just like the men's team – being disqualified in the 4x100 relay – but their depth throughout the meet helped them battle back to a third-place finish.

No Wildcat won a national championship on Saturday, but junior Adeh Mwamba finished second in the 1500 meters (4:26.69) and third in the 5000 meters (16:58.09), while Stephanie Warren – who won the triple jump late Friday night – finished third in the high jump at 5-8.50.  Liga Klavina, who won the shot put indoors, was third at 47-2.50, and sisters Brooklyn and Jessica Hunt finished seventh (24.15) and eighth (24.25), respectively in the 200 meters.

"Our depth on the women's side really showed up," Murray said.  "Adeh and Stephanie really performed well today, and our entire team did a great job of competing to finish a respectable third.  I was really proud of how both of our teams performed today."