LYNCHBURG, Virginia — The South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams will both enter day two of the NJCAA Indoor Track & Field National Championships in prime contention after a solid first day at the Liberty Indoor Track Complex.

The Texans currently sit in second place with 29.5 points, trailing only Iowa Central who holds the top spot with 47 points. The Lady Texans are currently third in the women's division with 28 points, with Barton County holding on to first with 41 points, while New Mexico Junior College is second with 40 points.

South Plains picked up eight points in the men's high jump as Romaine Beckford earned a second place national finish after clearing 7' 0.5". Jaden Halliburton would tack on 3.5 more points for the Texans in the high jump with a mark of 6' 8.75" to take fifth overall. In the men's long jump, Denvaughn Whymns earned a second place national finish, soaring 25' 0.5" to tack on eight points for South Plains.

Sophomore Rylan Olguin notched eight points for the Texans in the men's pole, earning a second place national finish after clearing the bar at 16' 2.75". South Plains would add two more points to their first day total as Yusuf Mohamud, Adrese Atkins, Jordan Kelley, and Abdirizak Ibrahim placed seventh in the men's distance medley with a time of 10:29.26.

On the women's side, the Lady Texans tallied 10 points in the women's 5000 meters as sophomore All-American Gladys Jemaiyo took third in a time of 17:21.30, while Daisy Kibet earned a fifth place overall finish with a time of 17:27.33. In the women's 3000 meters, Kibet picked up a fourth place finish for South Plains with a time of 10:19.88, while Jemaiyo was fifth in 10:22.03.

Freshman Onaara Obamuwagun added five points to the Lady Texans' first-day total, placing fifth overall in the women's long jump with a mark of 19' 2.75". Freshman Siiva Tafiti scored a fourth place national finish in the women's shot put event, adding five points to the team total with a throw of 49' 4.25".

Action will continue on Saturday morning with the heptathlon and pentathlon still to be decided, as well as the weight throw and triple jump events, as well as the 4x400 and 4x800 relays.

South Plains College athletes qualifying for Saturday's finals:

Women:

Tia Harry – women's 60-meter hurdles

Rosemary Chukwuma – women's 60-meter dash, women's 200-meter dash

Amaya Phillips – women's 600 mete dash

Gladys Jemaiyo – women's mile

Dorcus Ewoi – women's mile, women's 1000 meter run

Anna-Kay Allen – women's 400 meter dash

Itzel Garcia Santos – women's 800-meter run

Lexi Jackson – women's 800-meter run

Men:

Denavughn Whymns – men's 60-meter hurdles

Moitalel Mpoke – men's 600-meter run, men's 800-meter run

Abdirizak Ibrahim – men's mile run

Khaleb McRae – men's 400-meter dash