2013 - Angelo State Track & Field Preview

Angelo State Track and Field Preview

2013 season – by Don Garrett

In 2012, the Angelo women continued to build on their legacy as the top women’s team in the Lone Star Conference by winning the LSC outdoor crown – by a total of ½ point over ACU in the closest team championship race in LSC history.  A stirring anchor leg by then-freshman Jaylen Rodgers on the 4x400 moving from 3^rd to 2^nd saved the day for the Angelo women. The Angelo men slipped to 3^rd place in the team standings, finishing behind perennial champ ACU and the fast improving Hoggies from Kingsville. Both squads lost some firepower from 2012, but it appears to me that the losses are manageable and that both squads should remain at or near the top of the LSC.

WOMEN – lost 27.5% of their points from last year’s squad, including multi-talented Cathryn Rittenberry, but they have added some national class kids who should easily make up the points lost from 2012

Athletes lost – Kelsey Wilson Coffman (2^nd pole vault); Shelly Diggs (5^th 400 hurdles); Carmen Herrera (7^th triple jump; Alyssa Priest (6^th 1500, 8^th 800); the aforementioned Rittenberry (2^nd heptathlon, 3^rd 100 hurdles, 6^th long jump, 9^th triple jump); Jayda Spencer (3^rd discus, 5^th hammer). Also lost some athletes with eligibility left – Aimee Denham (3^rd pole vault) and Larissa Wilson (6^th in the LSC 100). Total of 54 of their 195.5 points from 2012 to be replaced.

Key Returnees – Angelo had a young squad last year and many of their freshmen (now sophomores) came through big for them:

·         Jessica Boudreau – Sr – 8^th in the LSC 10K in 2012, after placing 4^th in the 5K in 2011

·         Lexi Brooks -  Soph – 3^rd in the LSC 400 hurdles

·         Brittany Clarke – Sr – 6^th in the LSC triple jump after finishing 4^th in 2011

·         Emeline Crutcher – Sr – won the LSC 10K and was 3^rd in the 1500 in 2012, after finishing 2^nd in the 1500 and the 10K, plus a 3^rd in the 5K in 2011 – one of the top distance runners in the LSC running one last season in 2013

·         Keshawna Fisher – Sr – JC transfer finished a crucial 4^th in the LSC 400

·         Annifer Flores – Soph – lightly recruited distance runner had an excellent LSC meet, finishing 4^th in the 10K and 5^th in the 5K

·         Ashlie Frances – Soph – 4^th in the shot put and 5^th in the discus

·         Jordon Gray – Soph – 5^th in the LSC heptathlon, plus just missed scoring by finishing 9^th in both the long jump and the 100 hurdles – competing extremely well in the indoor season thus far in 2013

·         Kati Holly – Jr – 3^rd in the high jump, after finishing 2^nd in 2011

·         Monica McCafferty – Soph – 5^th in the 800, 6^th in the heptathlon and 8^th in the high jump

·         Jaylen Rodgers – Soph – won the 800 and was 10^th in the triple jump, plus that fantastic anchor leg on the 4x400

·         Theresa Sue – Sr – won the LSC 400 hurdles in 2011 and 2012, plus finishing 5^th in the 100 hurdles in 2012

·         Summer Sutherland – Sr – won the LSC pole vault in 2012 and 2010, with a redshirt year in between

·         Katy Williams – Jr – 4^th in the 2011 steeplechase, she finished a disappointing 12^th in 2012

·         Kimberly Williams – Jr – won the shot put and the javelin in 2012, along with 9^th place in the hammer – one of the top returning throwers in the LSC

Other Returnees who might help - a fairly short list, since most of their team members scored points in 2012, but there are a few: Kinsey Coppedge (15^th in the 100 and she actually did score on the 4x100 relay in 2012); Kami Orsak (10^th in the 10K in 2011, redshirted last year); Sofia Ramos (15^th in the LSC 800 in 2012, she scored in 2011 by finishing 5^th).

Newcomers – there are several on this list who should provide immediate help:

·         Starting with Kearah Danville – transfer from Jamaica and New Mexico Highlands who was the NCAA D-II national champ in the triple jump! At the outdoor national meet in 2012, she narrowly defeated ACU’s Amanda Ouedraogo – so the LSC has the 2 best triple jumpers in D-II, in fact, they are 2 of the top 8 collegiate triple jumpers in the nation at any level. Danville also finished 2^nd in the long jump and 5^th in the long jump at the Rocky Mountain Conference meet in 2012 – a true triple threat.

·         Jasmine Ambowode – a redshirt freshman from France who should be one of the top multi-athletes AND jumpers in the LSC

·         Shelbie Hutchens – transfer from Water Valley HS and South Plains College – 11^th in JC pole vault in 2012

·         Chastity King – freshman from Zephyr – 5^th in the 1A 1600

·         Rausalyn Miller – freshman from Crane, where she was one of the top small school sprinter/jumpers in the state – winning the 2A 200 and finishing 2^nd in the triple jump

·         Brittany Patterson – freshman from San Angelo Central, where she was 3^rd in the Dist 3-5A pole vault

This looks like the team to beat again in 2013 on the women’s side of the conference.

MEN – Angelo still scored a very respectable 152 points at conference, but they lose a considerable amount of firepower from that team, over 50% of their points from 2012 are gone.

Athletes lost – Angelo took heavy losses, not only from seniors, but from underclassmen no longer on the roster. The ones who have used up eligibility include: Bryan Barker (the grad asst for Angelo in 2012 who came to ASU with one year of college eligibility left and made the most of it – 3^rd in the LSC 1500 and steeple, 6^th in the 5K for 15 huge points); Robert Hummingbird (4^th in the 10K); Jacob McDonald – won both the pole vault and javelin for 20 huge points; Nick Smith (7^th in the 100). Lost tracksters with eligibility left include: Brendon West (2^nd in the 200, 7^th in the 200), Hewett Holmes (3^rd decathlon, plus 11^th in the long jump and javelin), Patrick Hunter (JC transfer who won the long jump and was 5^th in the triple jump); and Donald MacCarthy (6^th decathlon and 7^th pole vault). Plus, Chisam Akagha, who was 6^th in the 110 hurdles as a freshman in 2011, but hit a hurdle and went down in the prelims last year. These athletes represent 82 of the team’s 152 points or 54%. A lot to replace!

Key Returnees – as dire as I made it sound in the paragraph above, Angelo’s cupboard is not bare of outstanding returnees, including a key athlete who missed 2012 as a redshirt:

·         Nick Alejandro – Sr – missed last season as a redshirt, but was 3^rd in the hammer throw and 5^th in the shot put in the LSC meet in 2011

·         Isidro Garcia – Sr – 5^th in the LSC 400, be won that event in 2011 – finished 9^th in the 400 in the D-II meet in 2012

·         Dallas Gray – Soph – 3^rd in the LSC 400 and 10^th in the 200

·         Keaton Hatch – Jr – 2^nd in the LSC javelin, 6^th in the discus and 11^th in the hammer

·         Jeffrey Jones – Sr - 3^rd in the LSC 400 hurdles, 7^th in the 110 hurdles, and 12^th in the national meet 400 hurdles

·         Seth Pearson – Soph - 2^nd in the decathlon – one of most pleasant surprises for ASU at the 2012 LSC meet

·         Sean Reagan – Jr – 6^th in the shot put and 7^th in the discus after a transfer from UT-San Antonio

·         Mark Slone – Sr – 1^st in the LSC triple jump, as well as 11^th in the D-II TJ

·         Chris Sottak – Soph – 4^th in the LSC 800, after having the fastest time in the prelims

·         Ethan West – Sr – just missed the finals in the 110H (9^th place), but was 4^th in that race in 2011

Returnees who could help – Angelo can make up some of their big losses from returnees who just missed contributing in 2012. This group includes: Dalton Boyls (11^th in the triple jump and 13^th in the 400 hurdles); Tomas Callejas (13^th in the 10K); Jamin Goecker (12^th in the steeple, then was All-LSC by finishing 10^th in the LSC XC meet last fall – appears to have improved exponentially); Guy Henry (11^th 100); Dylan Littlejohn (10^th 1500, 13^th 5K – also part of a hugely improved ASU XC team, he finished 17^th in the LSC XC last fall); Robbie Thayer (15^th in both the 400 and the 400 hurdles); Isac Valdez (17^th in the 10K).

Newcomers – ASU has added a lot of bodies, including a few mid-term additions. It appears that this group can make up some of the points lost from last year. I do think this group has a lot of kids who will help Angelo 2-3 years down the road – lots of potential in some of the small town kids.

·         Alwin Flohr – Jr transfer from Germany – my German is spotty (2 years of HS Deutsch), but I did find a solid time of 10.44 in the 100 meters – a very competitive time in the LSC

·         Olisa Obietuna – Fr from Saugus, MA – he won the Massachusetts D-III long jump indoors and was 6^th at the New Balance National HS indoor triple jump; then finished 2^nd in both the MA Division III LJ and TJ – one of the top jumpers in Massachusetts

·         Tyler Brooks – Redshirt Fr from Canutillo – finished 4^th in the David Noble Decathlon unattached in 2012

·         Josh Day – Fr from Harper – at the 2A state track meet, he was 6^th in the 3200 and 7^th in the 1600

·         Graham Hazlewood – Fr from Round Rock – 2^nd in the Dist 16-5A 1600

·         Justin Lema – Fr from Bandera – 2^nd in the Dist 26-3A 800

·         Christian Lozoya – Fr from Los Fresnos – 6^th in the 5A pole vault at the state meet

·         Jarrett Lujan – Fr from Marfa – 3^rd in the 1A 800

·         Landon Meek – Fr from Wall – 7^th in the 2A 100, also won the Dist 7-2A 200 and was 2^nd in the long jump

·         Garrett Morris – Fr from Grandview – 2^nd in the 2A pole vault

·         Joe Owens – Fr from Salado – 8^th in the 3A 200, he was also on the 4^th place 4x100 relay at state for Salado

·         Luis Perez – Fr from North Forney – 8^th in the 3A 200

·         Hakeem Regis – Fr from North Forney – at the Region II-3A meet, he was 4^th in the triple jump and 5^th in the high jump, missing a trip to state in both by inches

·         Spencer Sims – Jr transfer from Graham and Wayland Baptist – was actually playing golf at WBU, but he was 4^th in the 3A 110H back in 2009, so there is some potential here

Angelo may take their lumps in 2013, but there is loads of potential here for the future. And, if their freshman produce as well as the Angelo freshmen women did in 2012, the ASU men could be right in the thick of it again this year.