LUBBOCK — The South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams opened the indoor season over the weekend at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center, notching a pair of event titles Saturday afternoon at the Texas Tech Corky Classic.
"Your first meet usually tells you a lot about your team, and at the same time tells you nothing about your team," South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. "In reality, we have had two days of practice, but this group showed they have all the intentions to be a very competitive team. This group is a team that people will have to pay attention to, because when they step on the track, they're coming for everybody."
Sophomore Thomas Nieto picked up where he left off a year ago, winning the men's pole vault event with a clearance of 16' 3.75". South Plains went one-two in the men's 800 meters, as freshman Kimar Farquharson was first in 1:51.65, and Chevonne Hall took second with a time of 1:52.29.
Joniar Thomas earned a second-place finish in the women's long jump, just behind former South Plains All-American and current Texas Tech All-American Ruth Usoro. Thomas soared 20' 4.5", while Usoro went 21' 3.25". Thomas would then set a new school record in the women's 60-meter hurdles, posting a blistering time of 8.67 to take fifth overall. Freshman Hossam Hatib placed fourth in the men's 400 meters, clocking a 47.87 for the Texans.
In the men's 60-meter hurdles, freshman Justin Guy took second after crossing the line in 7.89. Donroy Brown posted a sixth-place finish in the men's shot put, turning in a final mark of 46' 6.75". In the women's 800 meters, freshman Camille Lewis placed sixth in a time of 2:25.59. Chris Robinson notched a fifth-place finish in the men's 60-meter hurdles, turning in a time of 8.20.
The Texans' tallied a second-place finish in the men's high jump as freshman Kudakwashe Chadenga cleared 6' 11.5". South Plains closed out the meet with a second-place finish in the men's 4x400 relay, as Robinson, Shevoie Reed, Hossam Hatib, and Evaldo Whitehorne turned in a 3:09.68.
"What I was pleased with is I didn't feel anyone shrunk from the moment," Vance said. "If you think about our sophomore athletes, they didn't see an indoor track until the indoor national meet last season. They didn't spend much time competing against the best Div. I schools, so it was new for all of our kids. I didn't feel like today fazed them, and they go after it."
SPC will be back on the track on Friday, Jan. 21 at the Texas Tech Red Raider Open at the Sports Performance Center.