LEVELLAND—With just two weeks remaining until the 2017 NJCAA Indoor National Championships on March 3-4 in Pittsburgh, Kansas, the South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams will travel to Hobbs, New Mexico this weekend to compete at the NMJC Indoor Invitational at the Ross Black Field of Champions.
South Plains enters the meet with 67 national qualifying marks.
The Texans and Lady Texans traveled to the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Arkansas a week ago which saw the two teams thrive against a group of elite NJCAA and NCAA level competition. Laquan Nairn and Natasha McDonald earned National Athlete of the Week honors after the duo each posted the top marks in their respected events.
Nairn jumped 25' 7.25" in the long jump which currently ranks as the top distance in the NJCAA, and the ninth longest jump in the country (NJCAA and NCAA levels). McDonald posted a final time of 55.30 in the 400 meters, which currently sits as the fastest time in the NJCAA. McDonald also helped the Lady Texans earn the second-fastest time in the NJCAA in the women's 4x400, crossing the finish line at the 3:43.23 mark.
Saahir Bethea jumped 24' 1.75" in the long jump placing sixth overall and currently ranks sixth in the NJCAA, while Robert Dunning ran a 7.95 in the men's 60 meter hurdles and placed 11th overall amongst 30 competitors. Dunning's time currently ranks as the second-fastest time in the NJCAA. Okeen Williams placed 20th for the Texans in the men's 400-meter dash with a final time of 48:20, which currently ranks 11th at the NJCAA level.
In the women's 800 meter run Hellen Maasotuo placed sixth overall for the Lady Texans with her final time of 2:15.63 which currently ranks second in the NJCAA. Felicia Frimpong earned a top 20 finish in the women's triple jump with a final mark of 38' 4.75", which currently ranks ninth in the NJCAA. Kiona Bradshaw placed 11th for the Lady Texans in the shot put with a throw of 46' 11.75", which currently ranks fourth in the NJCAA.
Felix Kosgei and Nicholas Rotich placed fourth and seventh overall for South Plains with their final times of 15:05.63 and 16:06.85, respectively. Kosgei's time is currently the fifth fastest in the NJCAA.
The Lady Texans dominated the women's 5000 meter run as Seselia Dala took first overall and posted the fourth fastest time in the NJCAA with a final time 17:45.87, while Leslie Romero placed third for South Plains with a time of 18:20.84, which currently ranks seventh in the NJCAA.
South Plains will take to the track on Friday and will conclude on Saturday evening. A full meet schedule can be found at the following link, or by visiting spctexans.com. Head coach Erik Vance recently sat down with Michael Wiiest of KLVT radio in Levelland to discuss the upcoming meet and everything SPC track and field. That video can be seen below.
Meet schedule: http://spctexans.prestosports.com/sports/mtrack/2016-17/files/nmjc_indoor_invitational_2017_new.pdf
Interview with head coach Erik Vance: