South Plains track and field sets two facility records Saturday in Hobbs

South Plains track and field sets two facility records Saturday in Hobbs

HOBBS, N.M. — The South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams capped the 2018 Ross Black Invitational with a pair of facility records on Saturday at the Ross Black Field of Champions.

The top-ranked Texans swept the top three spots in the men's long jump as sophomore All-American Fabian Edoki set a facility record with a mark of 26' 2.25"* on his first attempt. Freshman Holland Martin followed up with a second place finish, soaring 24' 9.25"*, while Danylo Molchanov earned third place honors with a final mark of 23' 3.25"*. Molchanov would also take first in the men's triple jump, turning in a mark of 49' 10.5"*.

"Our guys went one-two-three in the long jump today, and any time you can do that in a meet it's a good day," South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. "Asani Hylton did really well and is starting to come along and keeps getting better every week. Overall I was really happy with the final results today and I thought both groups went out and did a great job."

South Plains would also sweep the top three spots in the men's pole vault as Parker Wood took first with a clearance of 14' 7.25"*. Jonathan Witt would follow up with a mark of 13' 7.25", good enough for second, while freshman Asani Hylton took third with a mark of 12' 11.75".

The Texans went one-two in the men's 4x100 and 4x400 relays as Brandon Letts, Andre Edwards, Keion Sutton, and Willari Watson led the Texans to a first-place finish in the men's 4x100 with a time of 40.69*. The Texans would then take second in the 4x400 as Willari Watson, William Watson, Hylton and Patrick Jonson clocked a final time of 3:17.54.

Sophomore Mason Weh set a new personal best in the men's 400 hurdles, turning in a final time of 52.21*, good enough for second on the afternoon. William Watson would follow up with a first-place overall finish in the men's 110 hurdles, crossing the line at 14.28*.

South Plains turned in two of the top five times in the men's 10,000 meters as Felix Kosgei took second and set a new personal best with a 32:37.62, followed by freshman Andrew Bosquez who placed third with a personal best of 33:15.23. In the men's 5000 meters, freshman Jesse Madrid placed first with a 16:03.59, while Ian Gonzales set a personal best in the men's 1500 meter finals with a 4:13.49.

Sophomore sprinter Montel Hood set a personal best in the men's 400 meters as he took third with a final time of 47.21*. Hood would also place sixth in the men's 200 meters with a 22.10, while Letts took seventh with a 22.31.

Sophomore long-distance specialist Leslie Romero got things rolling for the Lady Texans in the women's 3000 steeplechase as she set a personal best and a new facility record with an 11:43.64*. Ruth Usoro and Cha'Kaylin Gilbert went three-four in the women's long jump as Usoro took third with a mark of 19'1 7"*, and Gilbert placed fourth with a jump of 19' 0"*. Kodee Scott, a freshman from Olney, Texas turned in a first-place finish with a clearance of 10' 0" on her final attempt.

The third-ranked Lady Texans turned in a pair of second-place finishes in the women's 4x100 and 4x400 relays as Usoro, Patrice Moody, Omotayo Abolaji, and Agnes Abrocquah clocked a 45.40* in the 4x100 relay finals. In the women's 4x400, Acacia Watson, Breah Powell, Bailey O'Connor, and Bosiboro Mosongo crossed the line at 3:53.00*. In the women's 100 hurdles, Moody placed third and set a personal best with a 14.28*, while Amarillo native Seselia Dala took second in the women's 10,000-meter finals with a 39:59.84*.

South Plains placed a pair of sprinters in the top six in the women's 400-meter finals as Natassha McDonald took second with a 54.09* and Abrocquah clocked a 55.93*, good enough for sixth. Usoro set a personal best in the 100 meters as the freshman turned in a final time of 11.96* good enough for 10th on the afternoon.

"In reality, we saw the top three women's teams in the country compete against each other today," Vance said. "Any time you can get a meet of that quality and get our kids out there all at the same time, you're going to see good results and be able to get a gauge of where you are compared to the other teams in the national race. I thought we showed well out there and at the end of the day I think we can compete with anyone out there."

South Plains will return to action on April 21 at the John Jacobs Invitational in Norman on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, followed by a trop to Abilene Christian on April 25.

* Denotes national qualifying mark