Acero Breaks Own Pole Vault Record; Jumps into D3 Lead as No. 9 TLU Competes in Bobcat Invitational

SAN MARCOS, Texas -- The No. 9 Texas Lutheran track and field team competed in the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Texas State over the course of three days in San Marcos in a meet heavily populated with Division-I and professional athletes.

The three-day event was highlighted by pole vaulter Ezra Acero (San Antonio/Harlan) breaking his own school record and becoming the new leader in Division-III with a 5.02m (16' 5.5") mark. The mark won his section, tying with pole vaulters from Division-I Sam Houston State and Arkansas State. Acero is the first Division-III pole vaulter to pass the five meter mark in 2024. The 5.02m mark surpasses his previous school record of 4.91m set last season.

The Texas Lutheran 4x100m relay team comprised of Bryce Powell-Chimene (Dayton/Dayton), Wyatt Wilson (New Braunfels/New Braunfels), Justin Freeney (Montgomery/Lake Creek), and Weston Guzman (McAllen/McAllen) finished 14th, first amongst Division-III teams, with a season-best time of 41.51 seconds, remaining in the top ten in Division-III.

Powell-Chimene finished first amongst Division-III sprinters in the 400m dash with a time of 48.45 seconds. Wyatt Wilson ran a season-best time of 10.67 seconds in the 100m dash to move into 16th on the national leaderboard in the event

The 4x400m relay team comprised of Powell-Chimene, Guzman, Freeney, and Rickey Franks (Rockport/Rockport-Fulton) finished eighth overall and first amongst D3 teams with a season-best time of 3:19.10. The time moves TLU into a tie for 11th in NCAA Division-III.

Garrett Haass (La Vernia/La Vernia) finished third amongst Division-III competitors in the 110m hurdles, finishing with a time of 15.28 seconds.

Dalon Harris (Garland/Lakeview Centennial), last week's SCAC Field Athlete of the Week, finished 11th overall and first amongst Division-III throwers in his section in the discus throw with a mark of 46.45m (152' 5"). Harris also finished first amongst Division-III throwers in the shot put with a mark of 15.65m (51' 4.25").

Cutter Clancy (Stockdale/Stockdale) finished seventh in his section in the javelin throw with a mark of 46.36m (152' 1") while Ezra Acero and Weston Geiger (Shiner/St. Paul) finished 12th and 13th respectively in their section with marks of 49.48m (162' 4") and 48.46m (159' 0").

Full Results: https://tf.tfrrs.org/results/81903/_Bobcat_Invitational__Multi

Coach McCown's Comments: "Congratulations to Ezra on improving his school record and getting over the 5 meter barrier. That is a huge accomplishment. This meet was a great chance to see great competition. We know what we need to improve/work on and we will benefit from getting 2 full weeks of work in before our next competition. Go Dogs!!"

Texas Lutheran will enjoy a week off before traveling to Abilene for the War Hawk Classic hosted by McMurry University April 12-13. For all updates on Texas Lutheran Track and Field, follow @tluthrows and @tluxctf on Instagram as well as as all official TLU Athletics accounts. All schedule updates can be found on tlubulldogs.com.