Hilltoppers pull in All-America honors, Lady Toppers still competing

Ventavius Sears leaps toward the sand pit during the triple jump competition in the Hilltopper Relays Saturday at the Charles M. Ruter Track and Field Complex in Bowling Green. Sears took first with a personal-record jump of 51-feet-6.5 inches. Nick Wagner/HERALD

HERALD SPORTS STAFF

With the 2015 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships still underway in Eugene, Oregon, five Hilltoppers have already garnered All-America Honors.

The Hilltoppers’ 4×100-meter relay comprised of Ja’Karyus Redwine, Ventavius Sears, Emmanuel Dasor and Corey Parks pulled in Second Team All-America honors after finishing 11th in Wednesday’s semifinal round.

Sears, who ran the second leg in the relay team, also nabbed First Team All-America honors after his long jump of 7.76 meters put him in eighth place.  The two All-America nods are the combined fourth for Sears in his two years thus far on the Hill.

Javelin athlete Tomas Guerra finished 10th in the event with a toss of 69.66 meters, good for Second Team All-America honors. 

Guerra, a junior, earned First Team All-America honors in his first two seasons on the Hill, making him just the second three-time All-American field athlete in program History.

Championship competition commenced just days after Head Coach Erik Jenkins was honored as the 2015 United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Southeast Region Men’s Coach of the Year on Monday. 

In 2015, Jenkins led the Hilltoppers to a 2015 Conference USA Indoor Championship crown and the Lady Toppers to a 2015 C-USA Outdoor Championship crown.  Since 2008, the WKU Track and Field and Cross Country programs have combined for 27 conference championships under his leadership. 

Wednesday’s accolades in Eugene brought an end to the Hilltoppers’ track and field season, but Thursday’s semifinals and Saturday’s finals will offer opportunity for the Lady Topper 4×100-meter relay and sprinter Chioma Agwunobi to garner similar honors to their Hilltopper counterparts.

Lady Topper semifinal competition is set to begin Thursday at 6 p.m., and if any Lady Tops advance, final competition is set to commence on Saturday at 4:05 p.m.