Three Kats gear up for national stage
3/9/2016 4:43:00 PM | Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
After a record-setting season for the Sam Houston women's track and field program, two student-athletes will have the opportunity to compete on the national stage, taking part in the 2016 NCAA Division I Women's Indoor Track and Field Championships.
The championships will be held Friday and Saturday at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama; the same facility the Bearkats swept the Southland Conference Championships. The women re-wrote the record books with 162 points while the men secured a program-best 121.
“They know where to warm up, where to go and the routines,” eighth-year head coach David Self said of the familiarity with the CrossPlex. “They know what it will be like. That's definitely something that is in their favor.”
Sam Houston's Ashley Jenkins enters the championships as the nation's No. 5 weight thrower with her toss of 71 feet, ½ inch at the New Mexico Cherry & Silver Invitational. The senior won the event at the league championships by over eight feet, marking her second indoor title.
“The difference between first through 16th place is 41 inches,” Self said. “That tells you how good all these ladies are. Ashley is having really good practices and throwing well right now. We are expecting good things out of her.”
Teammate Danielle Demas enters as the country's No. 14 runner in the 60-meter hurdles. With an 8.18 at the New Mexico event, the senior captured the school record and then as an encore, ran 8.16 in the finals to re-set the mark. She has won two straight indoor conference titles in the event.
“We want to go in and make the finals and be first-team All-American,” Self said. “We're running to win. I think this will really help her for the outdoor season. The improvements she has been able to make indoors this year will carry into outdoors. We want to continue what we're doing.”
ESPN3 will stream the meet live on March 11 starting at 5:25 p.m. and March 12 starting at 3:55 p.m. A re-air of the championship will take place on Sunday, March 13 starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN2 and also Wednesday, March 23 starting at 10 p.m. Eastern time on ESPNU.
The two competitors double the Sam Houston women's all-time appearances in the indoor championships, adding to Dess Meek's 11th-place finish 2009 finish in the high jump and Sabrina Starr's 60-meter hurdles 15th-place finisher two season ago. In 2010, Michael Courtney competed for the men, taking fourth in the 400-meter dash.
Meanwhile, on the men's side, Tyler Adams will continue competition at the USATF Indoor Championships at the Oregon Convention Center from Portland, Oregon. Adams, who qualified in the high jump with a leap of 7 feet, 1 ½ inches at the league championships, will compete at 4:30 p.m. on Friday.
“This will be the first time he will see guys who can really jump,” Self said. “He's eighth going. If you think about it, he can jump over a door in your house. When you put it in that perspective, that's pretty impressive. Now, but a coke can on the door and the top guy can do that. It gives him experience early on to see how they do things, react and warm up. He has two years left collegiately.”
The sophomore earned a silver medal finish at the Southland Indoors with a mark that ranks second in team history, trailing only his own record of 7 feet, 1 ¾ inches captured a season ago in Lubbock. The championships will be available for viewing live on USATF.tv and will be re-aired on Friday at 10:30 p.m. on NBCSN.
“We've already seen a drastic improvement in recruiting with what we've been able to do,” Self said of the program's success. “Those are all good things that come with winning. It's carrying over. Kids want to be on a good successful program and we've fit that bill.”
For Self, whose program's schedule regularly includes visits to major programs and facilities, he believes the athletes will be well-suited in the upcoming environments.
“This is something I brought with me from my junior college days,” Self said. “We want and ran all over the country. We ran at Iowa State, the Air Force Academy, Kansas and Nebraska every week. It almost became not a big deal because you get used to it. That's where I want Sam Houston track and field to be. Yes, we're running against Power Five programs and we're beating them on a regular basis.”
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