PHILADELPHIA -- The ACU men's 4x400 relay team posted its best time of the year on Friday at the Penn Relays Carnival, and the Wildcat quartet will run in Saturday's final on national television.

The Wildcats turned in a time of 3:06.06 is the program's best since a 3:05.71 in 1998.  ACU was third in its heat behind LSU and Texas A&M, but the 3:06.06 was good enough to qualify as the third-best qualifying time in the field.

The Wildcats will be joined in the final by LSU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Mississippi State and NCAA Division II rival St. Augustine's.  NBC is scheduled to air Saturday's final day beginning at 4 p.m. (CST).  The men's 4x400 relay is scheduled to be run Saturday at approximately 4:30 p.m. (CST).

In Friday's 4x400 relay preliminary, Jordsan Johnson led off with a 46.4-second split, followed by a 46.5-second split by Johnny Jacob.  Elton Garus-Oab followed with a 47.0 split, and then Delt Cockrell turned in a 46.2-second split on the anchor leg.

"Our guys really got after it today," ACU head coach Don D. Hood said.  "We've had a great weekend so far.  LSU and Texas Tech will be tough to beat Saturday, but I think we can shave about a second off our time, and that will put us in the mix to finish in the top three."

ACU ran two other men's relays on Friday with the 4x100 relay team turning in a time of 41.22 to qualify for Saturday's final, and the 4x200 team running a 1:23.16 to qualify for the final.  Hood said he has already scratched the 4x100 relay team to allow his 4x200 team a chance to medal.

In other ACU track news from Friday, Angie Aguilar won the women's pole vault at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, beating a mostly NCAA Division I field with a mark of 12-11.50.  Her husband, Cory Aguilar, was fourth in the men's pole vault at Drake with a mark of 16-6.75. 

Yevgen Pashchenko posted a provisional qualifying mark in the long jump for next month's NCAA Division II outdoor championship meet, turning in a mark of 24-7.00.

On Thursday at the Penn Relays, Nicodemus Naimadu and Trina Cox were back at it again in their respective 3000 meter steeplechase races as both Wildcat runners won the event.

Cox, who three weeks ago at the Texas Relays set an NCAA Division II record in the event, shattered the mark by more than five seconds Thursday by running a 10:05.19.  She was more than eight seconds ahead of second-place Edda Stenback of Toledo, who finished in 10:13.68.  Cox's time is the second-fastest time run by an American this year, and the fastest time psoted by a collegiate female runner, regardless of division.

Naimadu won the college men's 3,000 steeplechase in 8:29.82, more than 15 seconds ahead of second place Brian Olinger of Ohio State, who finished in 8:45.05.  Naimadu's time is a new Lone Star Conference best-ever, and makes him the No. 3 performer in the event in NCAA Division II history.  Naimadu's time is also the ninth-fastest in the world this year and the fastest time posted by a collegiate male runner this year, regardless of division.