by JOSHUA RAMIREZ/Sports Editor
The South Plains College men’s and women’s track and field teams finished the indoor season with strong performances at the national meet.
The teams traveled to Winston-Salem, N.C., on March 4 – March 5 for the National Junior College Athletic Association Indoor National Championship meet.
The SPC men finished the meet in second place overall in the team standings with 105.5 points, finishing behind Iowa Central Community College with 132 points. Central Arizona finished third overall with 72 points.
Hassan Abdi made a strong contribution at the meet, competing in three events and scoring 19 points for the Texans.
Abdi placed second in both the men’s 3,000-meters and 5,000-meters with times of 8.23:96 and 14.30:37, respectively. Abdi finished sixth overall in the mile with a time of 4.16:62.
Robert Downs Jr. contributed a first-place finish in the 800 meters, posting a time of 1.53:88 and scoring 10 points for the Texans.
Fabian Edoki scored 18 points at the meet with strong finishes in the long jump and triple jump.
Edoki placed first in the long jump with a jump of 24’-8.75”. He placed second in the triple jump after posting a distance of 51-1.75.
Gabe Moore had a successful day in the field events, scoring 10 points for the Texans with a first-place finish in the men’s heptathlon with a score of 5,116.
Moore also placed third overall in the pole vault with a vault of 13-11.
In the 4×400 relay, DeVante Lacy, Downs Jr,, Dedrian Windham, and Okeen Williams led SPC to a second-place finish with a time of 3.15:87.
Other notable performances came from freashman Kwaume McGee, who placed third in high jump with a leap of 6-8.75, and sophomore Kelvin Keter, who placed third overall in the men’s 1,000-meters with a time of 2.32:03.
The Lady Texans finished fifth overall at the Indoor Championship with a team score of 60 points. Iowa Central placed first with 115 points, followed by New Mexico Junior College with 107, Monroe College with 92, and Central Arizona with 85.5.
Sophomore Ciearah Hairston competed in six different events at the meet (high jump, pentathlon, long jump, 60-meter hurdles, shot put, and 800-meter), ending with six top-10 finishes.
Her best performances came in the shot put with a throw of 37-45, placing her third overall, and the high jump, where she placed third with a jump of 5-5.75.
Melody Korie competed in six events as well for the Lady Texans (long jump, Pentathlon, 60-meter hurdles, shot put, high jump, and 800-meter) and had five top-10 finishes.
Korie finished fourth in the long jump with a leap of 17-2.75.
Sophomore Morgan Hartsell won a National Championship in the pole vault with a height of 12-7.5, setting a new SPC record and scoring 10 points for the SPC women.
The Lady Texans placed second overall in the 4×400 meter relay, with Mauricia Prieto, Aaliyah Telesford, Deja Harrison, and Medinah Spencer finishing the race with a time of 3.49:17.
Harrison also competed in the 600-meters, placing fifth overall with a time 1.37:28. Saqukine Cameron placed fifth overall in the 200-meters with a time of 24.83.
The SPC track teams began the outdoor season on March 25 at the UTEP Springtime meet. Results were not available at press time.
Leave a Reply