Texan Mosaic

The South Plains College men’s and women’s track teams started the outdoor season with strong showings in their first three events meets.

The teams have combined for a total of 64-national-qualifying marks for the season so far, following the David Noble Relays on April 7.

The Texans and Lady Texans earned six event titles and added to their list of national qualifiers during the David Noble Relays at LeGrand Stadium in San Angelo.

In the men’s 100-meter finals, Andre Edwards set a personal best with a time of 10.13, good enough for second place. Brandon Letts also set a personal best in the event with a sixth-place finish and a time of 10.52. Both sprinters earned national-qualifying marks.

In the men’s 200-meter finals, Junior Charles placed fourth with a personal-best time of 21.16, earning a national-qualifying mark with his run. Jordan Atkinson also earned a national-qualifying mark, placing sixth overall with a time of 21.61.

The Texans had three runners in the men’s 800-meter finals, as freshman Andrew Bosquez placed third with a time of 1:59.56, while Ulises Cardoza and Leo Michel finished ninth and 10th, respectively. Cardoza finished with a time of 2:10.26, and Michel finished with a time of 2:11.30.

In the men’s 110-meter hurdles, William Watson earned a national-qualifying mark with a time of 13.93, placing second overall. Mason Weh placed fourth in the event with a time of 14.01, also earning a national-qualifying mark. In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, sophomore Myles Scott placed fifth with a time of 55.41.

Freshman Filmon Beyene placed third in the men’s 5000 meters with a time of 15:25.13. In the men’s 3000 steeplechase, sophomore Felix Kosgei placed first overall and earned a national-qualifying mark with a time of 9:37.25. Benjamin Ronoh placed third with a time of 10:18.77, while Jesse Madrid placed fifth with a time of 10:33.22.

In the men’s 4×100 relay, Letts, Edwards, Keion Sutton and Willari Watson earned a national-qualifying mark, placing first with a time of 40.21, a season best for the team. In the men’s 4×400 relay, Watson, Scott, Gonzales and Jonathan Witt placed second with a time of 3:11.93. Both relay teams earned national-qualifying marks with their runs.

Sophomore James Willingham placed second in the men’s high jump, clearing the bar at 6 feet, 10.75 inches. In the men’s long jump, D’Juan Martin placed fourth with a mark of 23 feet, 9.5 inches, while Danylo Molchanov set a mark of 23 feet, 7.5 inches, placing fifth and earning a national-qualifying mark. Molchanov also earned a national-qualifying mark in the men’s triple jump, with a leap of 50 feet, 10.25 inches, and placed first overall.

For the Lady Texans, sophomore Omotayo Abolaji placed first in the women’s 100-meter dash, earning a national-qualifying mark with a time of 11.66. In the women’s 200 meters, freshman Ruth Usoro earned a national-qualifying mark, placing second with a time of 24.10, while sophomores Agnes Abrocquah and Ashley Hughes placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Abrocquah earned a national-qualifying mark with a time of 24.35, while Hughes also earned a national-qualifying mark with a time of 24.47.

In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Janiel Moore placed second with a time of 1:02.14, earning a national-qualifying mark.

In the women’s 1500 meters, sophomore Seselia Dala earned a national-qualifying mark with a time of 4:52.18, placing second overall.

In the women’s 4×100 relay, Abolaji, Abrocquah, Usoro and Patrice Moody placed fifth with a time of 46.08, earning a national-qualifying mark.

In the women’s high jump, freshman Jelena Rowe cleared the bar at 5 feet, 11.25 inches, earning a national-qualifying mark. Sophomore Cha’Kaylin Gilbert placed fourth in the women’s long jump, earning a national-qualifying mark with a jump of 18 feet, 10 inches. In the women’s discus, Jannia Price placed ninth with a mark of 147 feet, 5 inches. Price also placed ninth in the women’s javelin with a mark of 107 feet, 3 inches.     

The SPC men’s and women’s track and field teams competed in the 91st annual Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays on March 28 – March 31 at the Mike A. Meyers Stadium in Austin.

The Texans and the Lady Texans competed in all four days of the competition, adding many qualifying marks to the list. Despite the stiff competition from NCAA Division I athletes, SPC athletes competed at their best, including a strong performance by Fabian Edoki, who placed fourth in the men’s long jump with a mark of 26 feet.

On the first day of the Texas Relays, Asani Hylton placed sixth in both the men’s long jump and high jump in the decathlon competition. He posted a mark of 23 feet, 2.75 inches in the long jump, and cleared the bar at 6 feet, 4.75 inches in the high jump. Hylton also competed in the men’s 100-meter dash and 400 meters, finishing 10th in both events. Hylton posted a time of 11.02 in the 100 and 50.01 in the 400.

Sophomore Patrick Johnson also competed in the men’s 100-meter dash and the men’s 400 meters, posting a time of 49.04 and placing sixth in the 400. He posted a time of 10.98 in the 100, finishing eighth.

  On day two, Hylton and Johnson wrapped up the two-day decathlon, finishing 12th and 14th overall, respectively. Hylton finished with a total of 6,699 points, while Johnson tallied 6,095 points.

In heat 6 of the women’s 400-meter hurdles, freshman Janiel Moore earned a national-qualifying mark with a time of 1:04.15.

In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, sophomore William Watson earned a national-qualifying mark in heat nine with a time of 52.09, placing third overall. In heat six, Scott earned a national-qualifying mark with a fifth-place finish and a time of 54.01.

In the men’s 1500 meters, Hylton finished sixth, earning a national qualification with a time of 4:50.23. Hylton placed eighth in the men’s javelin throw with a mark of 162 feet, 8 inches.

Johnson set a personal best in the men’s 110-meter hurdles, placing third overall with a time of 14.72. Bosquez earned a national-qualifying mark in the men’s 5000 meters with a time of 14:49.00.

On day three, the Texans and Lady Texans added to their list of national qualifiers, and set several personal bests.

Letts, Sutton, Edwards, and Willari Watson earned a national-qualifying mark in the men’s 4×100 meter relays, with a time of 41.24 and placed fifth overall.

In the men’s long jump, freshman Holland Martin placed first overall, setting a personal best with a jump of 25 feet, 4.5 inches. Martin also placed ninth in the men’s triple jump with a jump of 49 feet, 8.5 inches.

William Watson placed fifth in heat five in the men’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.25, earning a national-qualifying mark.

In the women’s 100 meters, Abolaji earned a national-qualifying mark, placing sixth overall with a time of 11.90 in heat four. The women’s 4×400 meter relay team of Abrocquah, Hughes, Moore and Natassha McDonald clocked a time of 3:04.49, placing sixth overall and earning a national-qualifying mark.

In the men’s 4×400-meter relay, the Texans finished ninth as Charles, Jordan Atkinson, Ian Gonzales, and Hood earned a national-qualifying mark with a time of 3:10.64.

On the last day, the Texans wrapped up with strong finishes all around.

The Texans finished with a fifth-place finish in the finals of the men’s 4×400-meter relay, as Charles, Atkinson, Gonzales and Hood clocked a time of 3:08.23.

The Lady Texans ended the meet with a sixth-place finish in the women’s 4×400, as Hughes, Moore, Abrocquah and McDonald posted a time of 3:42.29.

The teams started the outdoor season at the Wes Kittley Invitational at Abilene Christian University on March 26.

The Texans started the event strong, as Edoki set a record for the country this year in the men’s long jump with a leap of 26 feet, 7 inches on his third attempt. He placed first overall, earning a national-qualifying mark.

Molchanov hit a mark of 23 feet, 2.5 inches in the long jump, placing in the top 10. Molchanov grabbed first place in the men’s triple-jump with a mark of 50 feet, 5.25 inches.

Freshman Markim Felix placed first overall in the men’s javelin, also setting a school record with a throw of 239 feet, 7 inches. Hylton placed third in the event with a mark of 182 feet, 4 inches. Johnson placed seventh with a mark of 136 feet, 11 inches.

The Texans had three national qualifiers in the men’s 400 meters. Charles placed second with a time of 46.98, Hood placed third with a time of 47.33, and Atkinson finished fifth with a time of 47.61.

In the men’s 1500 meters, Bosquez placed second with a time of 4:01.40, earning a national-qualifying mark. Beyene placed sixth in the men’s 5000 meters with a time of 15:40.12.

Weh placed second in the men’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.91, while Watson placed third with a time of 14.12, earning national-qualifying marks. In the men’s 400-meter hurdles, Scott placed fifth overall with a time of 54.26 and earned a national-qualifying mark.

In the men’s 3000 steeplechase, Kosgei placed first with a time of 9:45.46, earning a national-qualifying mark. Jesse Madrid placed fourth with a time of 10:20.73, and Benjamin Ronoh placed fifth with a time of 10:26.85.

The men’s 4×400 relay team of Scott, Holmes, Watson and Dekaryea Freeman placed fifth with a time of 3:15.14, earning a national-qualifying mark.

In the men’s high jump, freshman Bryson Deberry placed second with a jump of 6 feet, 6.75 inches.

For the Lady Texans, Abolaji finished second in the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 11.80, earning a national-qualifying mark. In the women’s 200 meters, McDonald placed third with a time of 24.23 and earned a national-qualifying mark. Abolaji placed fourth with a time of 24.42.    

Hughes placed third in the women’s 400 meters with a time of 56.61. Dala finished fifth in the women’s 800 meters with a time of 4:55.83.

In the women’s 100-meter hurdles, Moody earned a national-qualifying mark by placing fourth with a time of 14.51. In the women’s 400-meter hurdles, Moore placed fourth and earned a national-qualifying mark with a time of 1:03.67.

In the women’s 3000 steeplechase, Romero placed first with with a time of 11:51.90, earning a national-qualifying mark.

In the 4×400-meter relay, Abrocquah, Hughes, Moore and Moody placed first with a time of 3:48.19.

Rowe placed second in the women’s high jump, clearing the bar at 5 feet, 10.75 inches and earning a national-qualifying mark. In the women’s long jump, Usoro placed first with a mark of 39 feet, 1.25 inches, earning a national-qualifying mark.

Price hit a mark of 138 feet, 6 inches in the women’s discus, earning a national-qualifying mark.