Red Raiders Begin Outdoor at ACU

LUBBOCK, Texas – As he has for the last several seasons, Director of Track & Field and Cross Country Wes Kittley will begin his outdoor season at his alma mater, competing at a meet holding his namesake. The ACU Wes Kittley Invitational will get underway Friday when a contingent of distance runners make their way east for the two-day competition.

"I get to back to my old stomping grounds and they named the meet after me," Kittley said. "The athletes see a lot of people talking to me and they know my history there. I think it gives the freshman and the younger athletes a chance to know more about me."

Kittley will travel a total of 72 student-athletes to Abilene for the opener. What will be missing, however, is nearly all of the Red Raiders who competed at last weekend's NCAA Indoor Championships.

"It's a fun and relaxed meet," Kittley said. "All of these kids that have been sitting around for three or four weeks after Big 12s get an opportunity to compete."

Though the meet provides an opportunity to shake the dust off, it also must be taken seriously, as this is the final weekend for athletes from around the country to hit qualifying marks for the March 28-30 Texas Relays. While several members of the team has already qualified – the Relays will consider marks dating back a full calendar year – there are many whose last chance to sneak into the meet will come this weekend.

Adding on to the excitement of the season's first outdoor competition will be the first appearance of several outdoor-only events, in many of which Tech excels in.

Kittley said, "We've always thought – as have people who have been around this program for a while – that we're a better outdoor team than indoor. I don't think any of that changes this year, either. We've got a great opportunity outdoors."

Some of the newer events that have Kittley and the program excited include the discus and javelin – both areas in which the Red Raiders could pick up national qualifiers. After competing in the shot put and weight throw during the indoor campaign, Duke Kicinski will finally get to throw his primary device, the discus. The West Texas A&M transfer won the Big 12 last year in the event and qualified for his first Division I outdoor nationals, at which he was a Second Team All-American.

Also adding to the men's throws department will be Werner Bouwer in the javelin. Bouwer, whose only season is outdoor, has been itching to get back to competition after placing second at Big 12s and advancing to the NCAA West Preliminary last season as a sophomore. The South Africa native advanced all the way to Eugene as a freshman after winning the Big 12.

The women's throws team will get boosts from Dorleta Armendariz-Lasa and Happiness Okeke. Armendariz-Lasa will go in the hammer throw, while Okeke doubles in the javelin and shot put.

The ACU Wes Kittley Invite will begin Friday for Tech with the hammer throw and shot put at 4 p.m. The lone Red Raiders on the track will go in the 5000m at 8 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Dorleta Armendariz-Lasa

Werner Bouwer

Duke Kicinski

Happiness Okeke

Texas Tech University Athletics