Links to history
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama – The Wichita State men’s and women’s track and field teams compete Friday and Saturday at the Birmingham Crossplex in the American Athletic Conference Indoor Championships.
STARTING LINES
At last year’s AAC Indoor Championships, the Wichita State men finished third out of seven and the women finished 10 out of 11. The Shockers return two individual all-conference athletes from their last indoor conference in the defending heptathlon champion AAC, Adria Navajon, and Wichita State indoor high jump record holder, Brady Palen, who placed second last year. Three of the four all-conference 4×400-meter relay runners also returned for last year’s third-place finish. School record holder Adrian Diaz-Lopez enters the 3,000m with the third fastest seed time behind two Tulsa Runners. The Shockers hold 33 scores (top eight) with 29 of those entered into events. 11 women and 10 men recorded the top 10 WSU votes of all time this season. This is Houston, UCF and Cincinnati’s last year at the AAC Indoor Championships before advancing to the Big 12 Conference.
TOP SHOCKERS
Day 1 features two Shockers with conference leads. Navajon (#1 AAC/#27 NCAA DI) is looking to defend her heptathlon title during the two-day competition, and the Destiny Masters AAC record holder (#1 AAC/#20 NCAA DI) is destined to rise against the pentathletes n. 21 and no. 40 (DI) out of Tulane in hopes of earning its first conference title. On day two, Palen (T-No. 1 AAC/T-No. 5 NCAA DI) and Weston Lewis (T-No. Beckford captured the indoor and outdoor high jump titles last season with Palen finishing second in both meets, but Palen is coming off a triple PR indoor and school-record meet and will carry that momentum into this competition.” I know I can compete with my competition who beat me last year, both indoors and outdoors, and I know I can do the next bar,” Palen said after clearing 2.22m/7’3.25” at the Arkansas qualifier last Friday. Frank Harris III, a transfer from southern Utah, is also in the mix in the high jump , having cleared 2.07m/6’9.5″ this season, but holds an outdoor personal best of 2.21m/7’3″ since 2019 when he earned All-America honors.
TEAM PERSPECTIVES
Expected team scores put the men of Houston and Cincinnati in a battle for first, with South Florida, Wichita State and Tulsa in a tight race for third. Houston has won the last seven indoor team titles, with UConn capturing their only other championship in 2014. The defending UCF women’s champions should repeat with Cincinnati and Houston trailing them, but the fourth through ninth places they could be a disaster. Tulane, Tulsa, Memphis, South Florida, SMU and Wichita State are all projected within 20 points of each other, so the competition will be tight.
SHOCKERS IN TOP 5 AACMile – 5. Adrian Diaz-Lopez – 4:01.10 3,000m – Adrian Diaz-Lopez – 7:54.36 60m hurdles – Joseph Holthusen – 7.90 4x400m relay – 3. WSU – 3:17.59 High jump – 1. Brady Palen – 2.22m/7’3.25″ High jump – 3. Weston Lewis – 2.13m/6’11.75″ Long jump – 3. Adria Navajon – 7.35m/24’1.5″ Heptathlon – 1. Adria Navajon – 5,587 points Heptathlon – 3. Hudson Bailey – 4,973 Heptathlon points – 4. Kolby Caster – 4,893 Heptathlon points – 5. Wyatt Leutzinger – 4,839 points 60m – 3. Faith Turner – 7.43 High Jump – 4. Destiny Masters – 1.80m/5’10.75″ High Jump – 5. Marissa Jensen – 1.76m/5’9.25″ Pentathlon – 1. Destiny Masters – 4,064 points
OTHER SHOCKERS IN GOCTORE POSITION
800m – 6. Bryce Merriman – 1:52.81 5,000m – 7. Clayton Duchatschek – 14:08.35 60m hurdles – 7. Adria Navajon – 8.04 60m hurdles – 8. Jaleel Montgomery – 8.08 High jump – 7. Adria Navajon /Hudson Bailey – 2.01m/6’7″ Triple Jump – 6. Harry Barthelemy – 14.22m/46’8″ Triple Jump – 7. Hudson Bailey – 14.08m/46′ 2.5″ Throw Shot Put – 6. Ridge Estes – 16.89m/55′ 5″ Shot Put – 8. Creighton Camp – 15.25m/50’0.5″ Heptathlon – 6. Luke Porter – 4,431 points Heptathlon – 7. JD Prinsloo – 3,749 points 800m – 7. Farrah Miller – 2:11.72 5,000m – 7. Lubna Aldulaimi – 17:34.94 5,000m – 8. Sarah Bertry – 17:35.43 60m hurdles – 8. Destiny Masters – 8.47 4x400m relay – 8. WSU – 3:47.98 Pole Vault – 8. Alli Burke – 3.80m/12’5.5″ Long Jump – 8. Destiny Masters/Zarrey Sams – 5.92m/19’5.25″
OTHER SIGNS AS TEAM LEADER
60m – 11. Jaleel Montgomery – 6.84 200m – 10. Joakim Genereux – 21.55 400m – 11. JD Prinsloo – 48.60 Pole Vault – 9. Caden Carlson – 4.71m/15’5.5″ 200m – 12. Sydney Johnson – 24.39400 m – 21 Sydney Johnson – 56.60 miles – 17. Ababa Sullivan – 4:58.12 3,000m – 16. Ababa Sullivan – 9:47.90 Triple jump – 11. Chidera Okoro – 12.16m/39’10.75″ Shot Put – 9. Anna Zimmer – 14.12m/46’4″ Shot Put – 9. Kylie Zimmer – 16.13m/52’11” *not included in event
