HUTCHINSON, Kansas — Kudakwashe Chadenga secured the third gold medal for South Plains College in the men's high jump as the SPC men's and women's track and field teams wrapped up day two of the NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships Friday at Gowans Stadium.

Chadenga notched 10 points for the Texans by clearing 7' 3.25", tying his personal best to earn national champion honors. Amaya Brown tallied four points for the Lady Texans in the women's high jump, placing fifth with a mark of 5' 5.75".

"Kudakwashe is a kid that came to us in January, and you never know what you're going to get when you pick someone up at midterm," South Plains College head coach Erik Vance said. "He is an outstanding individual and has a real natural talent in the high jump. On top of all that, he's a great competitor and a joy to coach."

In the women's heptathlon, Jameila Simmons racked up eight points for the Lady Texans, totaling 4551 points to secure the silver medal. In the men's decathlon, Nelvin Appiah-Konadu picked up two points for the Texans with a seventh-place national finish, notching 6117 points.

"We had a good day, and you're never going to have everyone make it out of the preliminaries into the finals," Vance said. "We had about as good of a day as we could hope for. We have 18 chances to score on Saturday, but none of that matters unless you execute the next day. I feel like we are in a good spot, and this group has the look and mentality of a championship team, and it's time to go out and finish the job."

The Texans are tied for first with Cloud County with 36 team points heading into Saturday. Iowa Western is currently second with 33 points, and Barton is third with 30 points. The Lady Texans are currently fourth in the women's team standings with 24 points, with Iowa Western leading with 51 points. Cloud County is second with 43 points, and Barton is third with 37 points. 

South Plains College athletes qualified for Saturday's finals:

Men's 4x100

Men's 4x400

Women's 4x400

Hossam Hatib – men's 400 meters

Shevioe Reid – men's 400 meters

Jeremy Bembridge – men's 400 meters

Justin Guy – men's 110m hurdles

Chaunzavia Lewis – men's 100 meters

Dwight Mason – men's 800 meters

Kimar Farquharson – men's 800 meters

Aron Tanui – men's 800 meters

Chris Robinson – men's 400m hurdles

Caio Almeida – men's 400m hurdles

Keontae Gaines – men's 200 meters

Success Umukoro – women's 100 meters; women's 200 meters

Cemore Donald – women's 800 meters

Amaya Phillips – women's 400m hurdles

Shenell Tucker – women's 400m hurdles