LEVELLAND – The South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams return to action on Saturday in Hobbs at the Ross Black Invitational following a strong outing in San Angelo a week ago.
The Texans enter the weekend ranked No. 1 in the latest USTFCCCA national polls, while the Lady Texans come in ranked third. To date, the Texans and Lady Texans have combined for 64 national qualifying marks after winning six event titles in San Angelo.
"Andre Edwards ran a very competitive time in the 100 which was just about legal wind with a 10.13, and Brandon Letts followed him up in the 100 meters with a new personal best as well," South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. "Junior Charles and Jordan Atkinson ran well in the 200 and did some good things in the finals, and Dan set the second-best mark in the country in the triple jump which was very solid."
Last time out:
The Texans placed a pair of sprinters in the men's 100-meter finals as Andre Edwards set a new personal best with a blistering 10.13* to finish second overall. Freshman Brandon Letts would also set a new personal best with 10.52*, good enough for sixth. South Plains' Junior Charles and Jordan Atkinson each set new personal best in the men's 200-meter finals, as Charles clocked a 21.16* to take fourth and Atkinson crossed the line at 21.61* to place sixth overall.
The Texans went two-three in the 110 hurdles as William Watson set a personal best with a 13.93*, good enough for second, and Mason Weh finished fourth with a time of 14.01*. In the men's 400 hurdle finals, sophomore Myles Scott took fifth with a 55.41, while freshman Filmon Beyene would go on to take third in the men's 5000 meters with a 15:25.13*.
South Plains would go one-two in the men's 4x100 and 4x400 relays as Letts, Edwards, Keion Sutton, and Willari Watson took first in the men's 4x100 and set a season best with a 40.21*. The Texans would then take second in the 4x400 as Watson, Scott, Gonzales, and Jonathan Witt finished with a time of 3:11.93*.
South Plains sophomore James Willingham took second in the men's high jump and set a new personal best with a clearance of 6' 10.75"* on his third attempt. South Plains placed two inside the top five in the men's long jump as D'Juan Martin and Danylo Molchanov each set new personal best. Martin would take fourth overall with a jump of 23' 9.5", while Molchanov soared 23' 7.5"*, good enough for fifth on the weekend. Molchanov would also set a new personal best in the men's triple jump as he placed first overall with a mark of 50' 10.25"*.
South Plains sophomore Omotayo Abolaji set a personal best and took first in the women's 100 meters with a dazzling time of 11.66*. The Lady Texans turned in three in the top five in the women's 200 meters as freshman Ruth Usoro set a personal best with a 24.10*. Sophomore Agnes Abrocquah placed fourth and set a personal best with a 24.35*, while Ashley Hughes took fifth with a 24.47*.
In the women's 1500 meter finals, sophomore Seselia Dala clocked a 4:52.18*, placing second overall, while sophomore Caitlyn Mercer set a personal best in the women's 5000 meters with a 20:09.19. Freshman Janiel Moore turned in her best performance of the season in the women's 400 hurdles as she placed second on Sunday with a 1:02.14*.
The Lady Texans' 4x100 relay team comprised of Abolaji, Abrocquah, Usoro, and Patrice Moody placed firth with a smoldering time of 46.08*. Freshman Jelena Rowe cleared 5' 11.25"* in the women's high jump to take third overall, while sophomore Cha'Kaylin Gilbert earned a fourth place overall finish in the women's long jump with a mark of 18' 10"*. In the women's discus, sophomore Jannia Price set a personal best with a throw of 147' 5*, and also placed ninth in the women's javelin with a mark of 107' 3".
Ross Black Invitational schedule:
DATE: Saturday, April 14th
LOCATION: Ross Black Field of Champions- NMJC Campus, Hobbs, NM
9:00 AM Hammer (M) --- (W) to follow
--- At completion of Hammer Discus (M) --- (W) to follow
--- At completion of Discus Javelin (M) --- (W) to follow
--- At completion of Javelin Shot (M) --- (W) to follow
11:30 AM Triple Jump (W) --- (M) to follow
--- At completion of Triple Long Jump (W) --- (M) to follow
11:30 AM Pole Vault (M) --- (W) to follow
1:00 PM High Jump (M) --- (W) to follow
Running Events:
8:00 AM 10000M (W and M Combined)
9:00 AM 3000M Steeple Chase (W) --- (M) to follow
1:00 PM 4 x 100M Relay (W) --- (M) to follow
1:20 PM 1500M (W) --- (M) to follow
1:40 PM 100M H (W)
2:00 PM 110M H (M)
2:20 PM 400M (W) --- (M) to follow
2:40 PM 100M (W) --- (M) to follow
3:00 PM 400M H (W) --- (M) to follow
3:20 PM 800M (W) --- (M) to follow
3:40 PM 200M (W) --- (M) to follow
4:00 PM 5000M (W) --- (M) to follow
4:40 PM 4 x 400M Relay (W) --- (M) to follow