COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The Central Arkansas track and field teams spend four days competing down at Texas A&M's campus in the first round of the NCAA Championship. And though none of the Bears' athletes advanced to Eugene, those that competed continued to add to the rising stock of the track program at Central Arkansas.
 
"I'd be lying if we didn't leave College Station wanting more this week. That being said, we had some great performances and competed well across the board," Head coach Josey Weaver said of his team. "The experience we gained this week will be a building block for what's to come."
 
The men's throwers started the week on Wednesday with the hammer toss, and Jaden Schneeberger led the way with a 63.53m toss, just .05 meters from tying his personal-best. Treavor Green was a short ways away with a 61.60m throw, and Aiden Patton registered a 58.59m toss. Jeff King took on the javelin in the early afternoon on Wednesday, and as one of nine freshmen in the competition, gave it a good effort, finishing with a distance of 57.36m. Jeremiah Boudreaux ran his heat of the 400m hurdles on Wednesday as well, and placed third in his heat with a 50.68 to qualify for Friday's final.
 
Thursday, the women got started. Joia Perry opened competition in the hammer throw, and after what appeared to be a clinching distance of 62.22m, was edged out at the end, finishing 14^th out of 48 throwers. Raghan Allen was next, competing in the 100m dash. She set a school record with a blazing time of 11.38, but came up .05 seconds away from moving on to Saturday's finals.
 
Friday's action had Pete Johnson competing in the 3000m steeplechase. And in an event that saw the top-nine finishers break the facility record, the Bears' senior ran an 8:57.59, two seconds faster than his time at the ASUN Championships, finishing in 25^th place. Later on in the evening, Boudreaux had his quarterfinal run in the 400m hurdles, but clipped one during his heat, unfortunately becoming disqualified.
 
Saturday, the women's 4x100 team of Troynelle Miller, Raghan Allen, Baleigh Cashion and Brenae Allen had their second-best time of the season, clocking in at 45.35, but couldn't secure a spot in Eugene.
 
"This has been an amazing ride with a remarkable group. I am very thankful for all of those who have contributed to building our program to the top of the ASUN Conference," Weaver added. "We realize that we will have a target on our backs next year, and I'm looking forward to watching how our team responds."