HOBBS, N.M. — The South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams kicked off the NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships on Thursday at the Ross Black Field of Champions on the campus of New Mexico Junior College.

The Lady Texans crowned a national champion in the women's long jump as sophomore Ruth Usoro set a personal best with a mark of 21' 8.25", claiming national gold and 10 points for the Lady Texans. In the men's decathlon, South Plains' Asani Hylton leads the field after five events, totaling 3805 points. Hylton won the long jump with a mark of 23' 3.25", picking up 835 points. Hylton would add two more top finishes, winning the shot put with a throw of 39' 00.50", and cleared 6' 6.75" to win the high jump.

In the men's long jump sophomore Isaiah Griffith placed second with a mark of 26' 11.25", tacking on eight points for the Texans. Rylan Olguin notched six points for the Texans with a third place finish in the pole vault, clearing 15' 1", while Scott Frazier added 3.5 points with a fifth place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 14' 7.25".

In the final race of the day, freshman Gladys Jemaiyo earned a second place national finish in the women's 10,000 meters in a time of 38:01.45, grabbing eight points for the Lady Texans. In the men's 10,000 meters, sophomore Andrew Bosquez took seventh with a time of 33:02.13.

Action will continue on Friday at 9 a.m. with the men's decathlon, with field events set to begin with the men's high jump at 11 a.m.

Full schedule: https://www.nmjc.edu/athletic/track_2019/documents/EventSchedule.pdf

Live results: https://live.athletic.net/meets/3547