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WALNUT, Calif. -- ACU distance standout Nicodemus Naimadu set a new ACU and Lone Star Conference best-ever in the 5000 meters Thursday night at the Mt. SAC Relays. Naimadu cruised to a ninth-place finish in the race, finishing in 13:34.98, breaking the old record of former ACU standout Alfred Rugema, who clocked a 13:38.65 on March 31, 2001, at the Stanford Invitational. Naimadu's time is good for an automatic qualifying spot for next month's NCAA Division II outdoor championship meet in Emporia, Kan. Naimadu has also qualified for the national meet in the 1500 meters and 3000 steeplechase, and he will be showcasing his skill this weekend at the LSC championship meet in Stephenville. Also posting automatic qualifying marks last weekend were Vladyslav Gorbenko in the men's triple jump and Trina Cox in the women's 5000 meters. Cox was second in the 5000 meters on Thursday, checking in at 16:32.35, while Gorbenko was fifth in the triple jump with a mark of 51-1.75. Also at the Mt. SAC Relays at Hilmer Lodge Stadium, Serge Gasore (29:52.22) and Phillip Birgen (30:15.85) posted solid provisional qualifying times for the outdoor national championship meet. On Saturday, Marvin Bien-Aime finished third in the 100 meters in 10.56, also a provisional qualifying mark in that event. In the women's pole vault, junior Angie Aguilar cleared 13 feet for the first time in her career, bettering her provisional standard with a clearance of 13-0.25. The reigning indoor national champion is a virtual lock for a spot in the outdoor championship meet. Earlier in the week at the David Noble Relays in San Angelo, freshman Jessica Withrow won the women's high jump with a mark of 5-8.00. At the North Texas Spring Classic in Denton on Saturday, the ACU women picked up a pair of victories in the 400 meters (Keva Wilkins in 54.04) and the javelin throw (Liga Klavina in 132-3.00). The men's and women's track and field teams will be back in action this weekend in Stephenville where they will compete against the rest of the conference in the LSC track and field championships at Memorial Stadium. The ACU men have won 12 straight LSC titles and 21 since 1978, while the ACU women will try to re-capture what was once theirs and theirs alone. The Angelo State women have won the last two team titles after ACU won the first 20 league team titles.
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