Riverside, Calif. - ACU Women's Track and Field kicked off the 2024 outdoor season at the Riverside City College Invitational and demonstrated there is plenty to build on. The Lady Firestorm finished 9th of 11 teams, a field featuring NCAA Division I and II and junior colleges such as UC Riverside, Cal State Fullerton and San Diego Mesa College.

Three events (4x100 relay, high jump and pole vault) contributed to ACU's 22.50-point total. UC Riverside won the team competition with 137 points.

The foursome of Jocelyn Odiott, Zoe Davidson, Kourtney Bruner and Jade Roberts ran the 4x100 relay in 52.16 seconds to notch 8.0 points for the Firestorm. 

Freshman Rachel Ply was the lone athlete to win their individual discipline, posting a 1.50-meter high jump to better the four other competitors. She also established a personal-best shot put throw of 8.30 meters.

Fellow freshman McKenna Rogers set her third consecutive personal record in pole vault (3.40 meters), tying for second out of nine athletes. Her mark fell just short of the standard needed to qualify for nationals and sits at second all-time in program history.

Other notable performances include Jade Roberts setting a personal record in the 200 with a time of 27.78 seconds and Katalina Robinson matched a personal-best long jump of 4.54 meters. 

EVENT DETAILS

Riverside City College Invitational (March 1st)

Team Finish- 9th of 11 (22.50 points)
Location- Riverside, CA
Start Time- 10:30 AM MST

Full Team Results: https://finishedresults.trackscoreboard.com/meets/11691/events 

RESULTS

100 Meters

• Zoe Davidson- 13.69 sec (23rd/30)
• Mirdege Lentz- 13.77 sec (25th)
• Crystal Kerson- 14.42 sec (28th)

200 Meters

• Kourtney Bruner- 27.31 sec (15th/22)
• Jade Roberts- 27.78 sec (PR and 16th)
• Zoe Davidson- 28.85 sec (20th)

400 Meters

• Jade Roberts- 1:04.43 (15th/16)

1500 Meters

• Madeline Davis- 5:32.60 (26th/29)

3000 Meters

• Allena Fugatt- 11:18.48 (13th/25)
• Kaesha Guillaume- 11:35.96 (17th)

100-Meter Hurdles

• Kourtney Bruner- 17.59 sec (13th/15)
• Katalina Robinson- 23.98 sec (15th)

4x100 Relay

• ACU- 52.16 sec (2nd/2; 8.0 points; Jocelyn Odiott, Zoe Davidson, Kourtney Bruner, Jade Roberts)

4x400 Relay

• ACU- 4:23.61 (4th/4; 7th all-time for ACU Women; Jocelyn Odiott, Zoe Davidson, Kourtney Bruner, Jade Roberts)

High Jump

• Rachel Ply- 1.50 m (1st/5; 10 points; 3rd all-time for ACU women)

Pole Vault

• McKenna Rogers- 3.40 m (PR, T-2nd/9, 4.5 points and 2nd all-time for ACU women)

Javelin Throw

• Rachel Ply- 25.43 m (9th/13)

Shot Put

• Rachel Ply- 8.30 m (PR and 26th/30)

Long Jump

• Katalina Robinson- 4.54 m (T-PR and 23rd/29)
• McKenna Rogers- 4.41 m (24th)
• Jocelyn Odiott- 4.34 m (26th)
• Mirdege Lentz- 4.13 m (28th)

THOUGHTS FROM COACH BRIAN BELL

"We were very pleased with how the women's team performed at our first outdoor meet of the season," Coach Bell said. "We have a very young squad, with only one senior and a handful of juniors. In time, they will be very tough to beat. McKenna Rogers narrowly missed the qualifying mark for the NAIA Track & Field Championships. We will continue to build on these results as we prepare for the GSAC Track and Field Championships at the end of April."
 
NEXT UP FOR THE FIRESTORM

The Lady Firestorm return to the track on March 14th, when they make the short trip to Mesa Community College for the Cody McBride Invite. The multi-day event begins on Thursday, has a built-in day off and finishes on Saturday the 16th. Keep up with ACU Women's Track and Field this 2024 season by following @acufirestorm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and check out @firestorm_xctf on Instagram for additional content.


Roll Storm!