Prickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian University, 2002 Page: 127
303 p. : ill. ; 32 cm.View a full description of this yearbook.
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A nything worth doing is worth doing right. An old
cliche for sure, but one always applicable to the
ACU Wildcat track program.
Because on this campus, track has always been king.
And while other sports may measure their success in conference
championships and regional tournament bids, for
the track programs, national titles are not only expected,
they are demanded.
In 2001 the Wildcats had suffered through a rare
dearth of championships, at least partially due to the program
enduring two coaching changes in the span of a season.
Freddie Williams had been brought in to oversee the
track and field program but resigned from his position
shortly before the 2001 outdoor championships.
The program was then handed over to Jon Murray,
ACU's long-time cross country coach who had also served
as interim head coach before Williams' arrival in Abilene.
Murray oversaw the program as interim head coach
through the 2001 season, and received the head coach
position in 2002. The Wildcats were now ready to roll with
a familiar face positioned squarely in the driver's seat.
Murray faced a simply defined task in 2002. All he had
to do was oversee the addition of a few more championship
banners to the ceiling of Moody Coliseum. And
with a men's and women's team eager to atone for a lack
of success in the previous season, his chances of completing
his task successfully were better than average.
"Going into the season, I knew our men's team would
be very strong," Murray said. "We had so many great athletes
in so many different events."
Murray's pre-season evaluation proved accurate, and
the season began with a bang for the ACU men as they
captured the NCAA Division II Indoor National
Championship, romping over their opponents. During the
championship meet, two ACU athletes also won individual
titles, with Terrance Woods setting a Division II indoor
record in the high jump competition while also securing a
victory in the triple jump. Also, Woods' teammate, distance
runner John Kemboi, ran to victory in the mile.
"Going into the meet I felt I was in better shape to win
those events than I'd ever been," Woods said. "I knew
those were events where if I performed my best I would
come out on top."
Although the men dominated, the women were not so
fortunate, as only six of their athletes qualified for the
championship. But though outgunned, the six women still
managed to finish a respectable fourth, with high jumper
Maresa Cadienhead and pole vaulter Meredith Garner
claiming individual titles in their events.
Following the indoor season, the team's focus shiftedHalfway Home
At the NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships, the
ACU men were victorious again, defeating St. Augustine's
by a mere three points. For many fans, the story of the
meet was Manuel Brandehorn, who secured an overall
victory for the Wildcats by winning the shot put, earning
ACU ten points in the team competition.
"Manuel's victory was a great accomplishment for
him, and it sealed the championship for us," Murray said.
"I actually thought we had a chance to win the team competition
by a wider margin than we actually had, and
instead we ended up needing Manuel to come through for
us, which he did."
Another highlight of the meet for ACU was the performance
of Kemboi, who won his ninth and 10th individual
national championships in the 1500- and 800-meter
races. His 10 individual titles tied him with legendary
Wildcat and Olympian Bobby Morrow for the most in
school history.
With these performances, the men secured an outdoor
title. However, the news was not so good for the ACU
women, who were shut out for the season after finishing
tied for third in the outdoor competition, six points
behind champion St. Augustine's.
"On the women's side I knew going in that we were
going to have to get some breaks to win," Murray said. "I
thought our team did a very good job competing, even
though the odds were against us from the start."
As the season wound to a close, Murray could indeed
be proud of what his athletes had accomplished in 2002.
With their two national championships, the men's team
had vaulted ACU back to the top of the Division II track
world. However, with the women's program failing to
capture a title, the goal for 2003 became clear. After all, the
only things better than winning two national championships
in one season would be winning three in another.
Or, perhaps even four.
-Patrick Buhrmana.* RII
outdoors, where the team hoped to continue their success.
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Abilene Christian University. Prickly Pear, Yearbook of Abilene Christian University, 2002, yearbook, 2002; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39886/m1/130/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.