The Meet: Western Athletic Conference Championships
Date: 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 30
Location: UC Riverside Agricultural Operations Course in Riverside, California
ABOUT THE WAC CHAMPIONSHIPS
For the first time since the WAC announced its expansion into Texas in January, all 13 member institutions will be together when the conference's cross country programs converge on Southern California.
The meet constitutes the first conference championship of the 2021-22 athletics year and in the revamped WAC, which plucked Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin out of the Southland Conference.
For Tarleton, it will be the fourth WAC Championship event in school history. Including Saturday's race, three of the Texans' conference championship appearances have fallen under the cross country and track and field banner. The program trekked to Seattle in February for the Spring 2021 WAC Cross Country Championships and competed at the WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in May in Edinburg. Unlike other sports, Tarleton cross country and track and field are eligible to compete for and win WAC team and individual championships as the athletic department continues its NCAA Division I transition.
Tarleton showcased it already possesses athletes capable of competing with the conference's elite on the championship stage. In February, junior Kevin Baez finished 10th at the WAC Cross Country Championships to become the first athlete in the Texans' D1 era to garner All-Conference honors. Tarleton then crowned four conference champions and won the men's 4x400m relay at the WAC Track and Field Championships three months later. Jasmine McQuirter (100m dash), Gentrye Munden (high jump), Alan Palmer (long jump) and Oscar Rodriguez (discus) claimed gold medals and All-WAC first team accolades while Brandon McKissick, Anterius Brown, Zachary Martinez and Bailey Smotek teamed up to capture the relay title.
On Saturday, Tarleton will aim to illustrate collective growth within its distance crew. The men finished seventh out of eight competing teams at the Spring 2021 WAC Championships in February while the women were not scored as a team.
The meet is hosted by defending champion California Baptist. The men's 8k race is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. CT while the starter pistol will fire for the women's 6k race at noon.
The top-10 finishers in each race garner All-WAC first team honors. All-Conference second team credentials go to athletes who place 11-20 in their respective races. Awards for Coach of the Year and Athlete of the Year are voted on by each team's head coach at the conclusion of the women's race. Freshman of the Year honors goes to the highest-placing freshman in each race.
For fans not in the Golden State, the meet will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live results will be available at Finished Results. Links to the broadcast, meet results and course maps can be accessed on the cross country schedule page at TarletonSports.com
LAST TIME OUT: ARTURO BARRIOS INVITATIONAL
Seven of the 12 athletes who raced for Tarleton in its return trip to College Station notched collegiate personal records in their respective races.
Five of the six women – all of whom are underclassmen – made their 6k debuts. Freshman Brooke Wendel was Tarleton's top finisher for the third straight race, as the newcomer crossed the finish line in 22:52.80 to place 113th.
For the eighth time in as many meets, Baez was Tarleton's top finisher. He clocked an 8k time of 24:26.90 to finish 37th in a 263-man field and help the Texans place 21st out of 37 teams.
A duo of freshman improved their previous personal records on Watts Cross Country Course. Angel Gomez trimmed three seconds from his time at the Texas A&M Invitational on Sept. 25, finishing in 25:28.70. The biggest improvement in either race, though, belonged to Austin Flores. The fellow newcomer shaved 1:08 off his 8k time to place 122nd with a split of 25:42.70.
NOTABLES
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FOUR FIRSTS IN EASTLAND COUNTY: Baez and Wendel won their respective 8k and 5k races and earned the first individual wins of their collegiate careers. Both programs finished first as a team to earn their first meet victories in Tarleton's WAC and D1 era. The men finished with 19 points to come within four points of recording a perfect score while the women posted a team score of 21 points. On Tuesday, Baez was named the Ticketsmarter WAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week for his efforts. He became the first Tarleton cross country athlete to receive weekly All-WAC accolades.
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BAEZ AMONG THE ALL-TIME GREATS: The junior's meet victory at Ranger marked the top overall finish of his three-year run in Purple and White. He now has three-top five finishes for his Texan career, has finished inside the top-10 in seven races and placed sixth-or-better in four of Tarleton's last five meets dating back to the spring 2021 season.
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BRAZEAL BESTING RECORDS: Junior Jenna Brazeal delivered a historic effort in the 2020 indoor track and field season. The mid-distance specialist broke Tarleton's indoor records in the 800m (2:18.40) and 1,000m (3:08.50) and won the mile in 5:13.05 at the Texans' final Lone Star Conference Championships appearance. During the truncated spring 2021 cross country season, Brazeal clocked a 6k time of 23:26.17 at the Incarnate Word Invitational on Jan. 29, which was the top time of any women's competitor in either of Tarleton's two races.
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GOAT STATUS FOR BAEZ?: Speaking of Baez, the Vanderbilt, Texas native is well on his way to going down as one of the all-time great distance runners to touch down in Stephenville. He delivered the fastest 8k time at a conference championship race in more than a decade at the WAC Cross Country Championships on Feb. 27. Baez took ninth place in 25:04 and earned All-WAC second team honors at the conclusion of the meet, becoming the first athlete in Tarleton's D1 era to receive All-Conference recognition. Last spring, Baez came within 16 seconds of breaking Tarleton's 10k school record (31:50.44) at the WAC Championships. He currently ranks eighth on Tarleton's outdoor track and field records list in the 1,500m, 5k and 10k. In August, Baez was chosen as The Grove Student Athlete of the Year for the 2020-21 athletics season.
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FRESHMEN PHENOMS: Three of the top-five performers on both the men's and women's teams this season are just halfway through their first semester in Stephenville. John Sutton owns Tarleton's second-fastest 8k time this season (24:50.50) after he finished 29th at the Texas A&M Invitational and ran alongside Baez during the early portions of the race. Behind Sutton is Khristian Vastlik, whose 8k personal record of 25:03 ranks third for the men. Gomez sits at No. 5 on Tarleton's men's performance list following his effort at the Arturo Barrios Invitational. Not far behind Gomez is Mason Alexander, who posted an 8k personal record of 25:31.40 at the Texas A&M Invitational. Flores' performance at the Arturo Barrios Invitational ensured Tarleton enters the WAC Championship with five freshmen in possession of sub-26:00 8k times. On the women's side, a pair of newcomers from north Texas are expected to be fixtures on the result sheets for the foreseeable future. Allison Hedrick (Lindsay HS) and Sage Lancaster (Denton Ryan HS) finished third and fourth, respectively, for Tarleton at Texas A&M with times of 19:45 and 19:48. Both athletes set collegiate 5k personal records with their performances. Hedrick was a five-time TX UIL 2A state champion at Lindsay HS while Lancaster won a District 08 5A Cross Country Championship her junior year with a time of 19:26.09 on a 5k course.
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POWERING PAST PREVIOUS PR'S: Two returners on the women's side debuted in style at the UTA Invitational on Sept. 11. Senior Johnnie Wilkinson improved her 5k time by 43 seconds as she finished 23rd in 19:39.40. The largest leap belonged to Kaleigh Ellis, as the junior bested her previous 5k cross country personal record by 1:52 with a time of 20:02.40.
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RETURNERS READY TO RACE: Nine athletes who suited up for Tarleton during its spring 2021 season are back this fall. Sophomores Riley McClure and Magaly Lopez competed at both the UIW Invitational and WAC Cross Country Championships. Also returning for another tour of duty at Tarleton are junior Gerardo Cipres and sophomore Jordan Jones. McClure, Cipres and Jones made their season debuts at Ranger. In the men's race, McClure finished 12th in 28:58.70 while Cipres took 18th place in 31:39. Jones set a collegiate 5k personal record with a time of 22:58.10.
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BROTHERLY LOVE: Not one, but two sets of siblings adorn Purple and White for Tarleton cross country. Both Cory Calvani and Kevin Calvani joined the program in 2020 by way of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Cory, a junior, was a member of the UTEP cross country and track and field teams for two years before transferring to Tarleton. The younger Calvani, Kevin, was Tarleton's No. 2 performer in the 800m during the 2021 track and field season. He notched a personal record of 1:57.97 at the WAC Championships to conclude his freshmen year. At UTA, two of Ponder's six men's competitors share the surname of Vastlik. Joining Khristian Vastlik near the top of Tarleton's men's performance list is his older brother, junior Dominick Vastlik. The elder Vastlik was Tarleton's No. 4 finisher at Texas A&M and surpassed his previous 8k personal record by 1:02 with a time of 25:18.30
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NEW YEAR, NEW FACES: Of the 24 athletes listed on Tarleton's combined cross country roster, 13 are in their first year with the program and 11 are freshmen. Among Ponder's newcomers are four standout college transfers. Sophomore Aimee Landers-Wilburn placed 32nd on a 5k course in 20:05.90 in Tarleton's season-opener at the UTA Invitational on Sept. 11. She broke school records in the 5k and 10k at Austin College before arriving in Stephenville. Fellow sophomore Maria Diaz-Fernandez received All-Great American Conference honors during the 2021 track and field season after placing fourth in the 800m at the GAC Championships. The Madrid, Spain native made her Tarleton debut at Texas A&M and placed 55th overall in 20:32.10. Senior Vianney Sanchez was a two-time NCAA South Central Regional qualifier in cross country in her four years at Arkansas-Little Rock and is expected to compete for Tarleton in indoor and outdoor track and field this spring. For the men, junior Robert King finished 54th at the 2020 NJCAA Region XI Cross Country Championships in his second of two years at Iowa Western CC.
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