ABILENE — The defending outdoor national champion South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams opened the outdoor season at the Wes Kittley Invitational over the weekend, combining for eight events titles at Elmer Gray Stadium.
The Texans took the top two spots in the men's high jump as freshman indoor high jump national champion Kudakwashe Chadenga took first with a mark of 7' 3.25". Davyon Williams was second in the high jump, getting over the bar with a new PR at 7' 1.50". In the men's pole vault, All-American Thomas Nieto took first with a mark of 17' 9".
"Kuda moved inside the top five all-time, and Thomas now has the third top mark in junior college all-time, and they just kind of keep rolling," South Plains head coach Erik Vance said. "Donroy looked good in the shot put and Paxton had a really big PR in the discus, and Kimola Hines threw a PR in her first-ever collegiate discus competition. Amaya Brown got her a win in the high jump, and she has been out a little bit and was able to come back for us. Overall, I thought we had a good showing on the field event side of things."
In the men's 400 meter dash, Jeremy Bembridge was first in a time of 46.17, while Hossam Hatib took second with a time of 46.63. The Texans went one-two in the men's 800, as All-American Mehdi Yanouri was first in 1:51.87, while Dwight Mason was second in 1:53.48. In the women's 800 meters, Cemore Donald placed first in a time of 2:14.44, while Camile Lewis was third in 2:19.68.
In the women's high jump, Amaya Brown placed first for South Plains, clearing the bar at 5' 5.75". In the men's 100 meters, Chaunzavia Lewis placed second overall in 10.35. Joniar Thomas notched a second place finish in the women's 100 hurdles, posting a 14.28, while Ashyiria Savage was fourth in 14.75. Dejah Fuller posted the fourth-best mark in the women's triple jump, soaring 38' 1.25".
In the women's 400 meter dash, Success Umukoro placed fourth with a time of 55.85, while Amaya Phillips was seventh in 56.59. In the men's 400 hurdles, sophomore All-American Chris Robinson turned in a second place finish in 51.15. Zachara McPhee tallied a third place finish in the 3000 steeplechase, crossing the line in 9:37.04, while Kimola Hines was sixth in the women's discus with a throw of 152'. Donroy Brown posted a fourth place finish in the men's shot put with a mark of 51' 8.25", while Paxton Hair was sixth in the men's discus with a throw of 165' 2".
The Texans posted the top time in the men's 4x100, crossing the line in 40.64, and also posted the top time in the men's 4x400 relay with a 3:08.92. The Lady Texans placed third in the women's 4x100 with a time of 45.74 and capped the meet with a fourth place finish in the women's 4x400 in a time of 3:48.83.
"The indoor season is done, and we are trying to move on to the next," Vance said. "We have individual team goals we want to accomplish, and we have to stay hungry and stay on top of it. We can't stay soft and keep pushing ourselves to be the best we can be."
South Plains will be back on the track March 23-26 at the Texas Relays in Austin, before traveling to San Angelo for the David Noble Relays March 31-April 2.
"We're going to take a smaller group down to Austin to showcase South Plains College, and any chance we get to compete in a televised meet and show what we can do is a positive," Vance said. "We're looking forward to that meet, and the guys at Angelo State always put on a great meet, and we're ready to get after it and get some stuff done."