Battle tested against the country’s top programs throughout the regular season, there is nothing the South Plains College men’s track and field team was not prepared for entering Saturday’s final day of the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championship meet.
When the Texans trailed by two points with a single race left, head coach Erik Vance knew it was a moment that would not shake his nation-leading 4x400 relay team that would ultimately need to be perfect to get SPC back to the top of the podium for a third straight season.
The Texans would answer the call, as Jeremy Bembridge, Hossam Hatib, Evaldo Whitehorne, and Kimar Farquharson posted a new facility record of 3:06.93 to win gold, notch 10 points, and earn a share of the men’s indoor national crown with 107 points.
New Mexico Junior College, who led the men’s team standings with a single race left, finished second in the men’s 4x400, tallying eight points, and capped the meet with 107 points.
“When I first walked over to our guys to talk about what we were going to have to do, they were already locked in,” Vance said. “They knew what they were going to do, and I don’t think they had anything in their minds other than beating the other team across the line. Myself, I was sitting about all the things that can go wrong, but those four guys we put out there have been through some battles and run against teams that are going to the NCAA final next weekend. They knew what needed to be done, and they went out and ran like they have been all season.”
South Plains kicked off day two with a gold medal finish in the men’s 4x800 relay, as Kimar Farquharson, Aron Tanui, Chevonne Hall, and Mehmet Celik set a new national record with a time of 7:28.38.
Nelvin Appiah-Konadu would then turn in a second-place national finish in the heptathlon, totaling 5086 points to take the silver medal. In the men’s 60meter hurdles, Justin Guy won gold with a time of 7.90. The Texans added another 10 points on the 600-meter run, as Hatib went 1:17.69 to win gold.
In the men’s 800-meter run, Farquharson totaled eight points with a second-place national finish in a time of 1:50.98. Sophomore Keontae Gaines added three points in the 200-meter dash, posting a 21.22, good enough for sixth.
South Plains added 12 points in the 1000-meter run as Celik won gold with a time of 2:26.32, while Tanui was seventh in a time of 2:30.01. Charles Gaither picked up three points in the men’s weight throw, turning in a final mark of 55' 11.75'.
“The message to our team following the first day was that nobody is going to give you anything,” Vance said “We did some things that made it more difficult than it should have been, but everything that we wanted was out there for us to take. This was a heavyweight title fight. Every time we were supposed to hit a big blow, we did, but New Mexico would turn around and hit us right back. Watching the score just go back and forth between us all the way to the final race, this was a pretty fitting end to a great competition between two teams.”
On the women’s side, the Lady Texans battled their way to a third-place national finish, totaling 83.5 points. New Mexico Junior College won the women’s title with 116 points, while Coud county was second with 84.5 points.
Ashyiria Savage earned a fourth-place national finish in the women’s 60-meter hurdles to kick off day two for South Plains, turning in an 8.61, notching five points. In the women’s 60-meter dash, sophomore Success Umukoro won gold with a time of 7.36 to tack on 10 points. Breanna Clarke added another three points in the 60 meters, crossing the line in 7.58.
“On paper, we were somewhere between fourth and fifth coming into the meet on the women’s side, but we knew this group was going to show up and compete this weekend,” Vance said. “We started it off with the DMR win on Friday, and they believed and were tough all weekend.”
In the 600-meter run, Leticia Quingostas earned a sixth-place national finish with a time of 1:35.83. Safhia Hinds added another three points in the women’s 400 meters, posting a 55.36, good enough for sixth. Rushana Dwyer added eight points in the women’s 800-meter run, bringing home a silver medal with a time of 2:12.89.
Umukoro would step back on the track for the 200 meters later in the day, posting a 24.05, earning a fourth-place national finish. South Plains would add another gold medal and 10 points in the women’s 1000-meter run as Lilliana Guerrero went 3:03.99 to take the top spot.
South Plains added 5.5 points in the women’s high jump as Amaya Brown cleared the bar at 5' 5.25' to take third. Kimola Hines and Ronelle Plaza would then go three-four for the Lady Texans in the women’s weight throw, as Hines posted a final mark of 52' 11', and Plaza turned in a throw of 52' 4.75'.
The Lady Texans would then close out the meet with a silver medal in the 4x400 relay, as Hinds, Umukoro, Quingostas, and Dwyer clocked a 3:42.13.
“We knew our women’s team would give themselves a chance to get on the podium, and they came out and competed the past two days,” Vance said. This group put in the work all year, and today they went out and got after it, and I couldn’t be more proud of the way they represented our program.”
Day one:
Reigning All-American and high jump national champion Kudakwashe Chadenga highlighted day one of the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships for South Plains, as the sophomore from Zembawbe cleared 7' 3.75' to capture the men’s high jump national crown.
South Plains added another national title in the men’s distance medley relay, as Aron Tanui, Christian Francisco, Chevonne Hall, and Mehmet Celik clocked a facility record 9:52.30.
The Texan’s Justin Guy would then clock the top time in the men’s 60-meter hurdles prelims, posting a 7.93 to qualify for Saturday’s finals. Keontae Gaines will move on to the men’s 200-meter finals after posting a 21.22 to take seventh in prelims.
Hossam Hatib turned in a 1:20.00 in the men’s 600 meters, while Kimar Farquharson and Hall went four-five in the 800-meter prelims, posting a 1:55.78, and a 1:54.30, respectively.
The Texans qualified two for the 1000-meter run finals, as Celik took first in prelims with a 2:24.44, while Aron Tanui was eighth in 2:30.37.
South Plains notched four points in the men’s long jump, as Elisha Teneus-Claude was fifth with a mark of 24' 3.50'. Donroy Brown earned a fourth-place national finish in the men’s shot put, as the sophomore from Jamaica tallied five points with a throw of 56' 0'. In the heptathlon, Nelvin Appiah-Konadu is second after four events with 2919 points.
On the women’s side, the Lady Texans would notch their first national title of the meet, as Rushana Dwyer, Corlasia Scott, Jeniel Jones, and Lilliana Guerrero won gold in the women’s distance medley relay with a time of 12:12.11.
Sophomore Success Umukoro would then post the top time and a new facility record in the women’s 60-meter dash prelims, clocking a 7.35. Breanna Clarke also qualified for the 60meter finals, placing eighth in prelims with a 7.57. In the women’s 60-meter hurdle prelims, Ashyiria Savage went 8.68 to take sixth.
In the women’s 200-meter dash prelims, Umukoro took fifth with a time of 24.16. South Plains’ Safhia Hinds qualified for the 400meter dash finals after her eighthplace finish Friday in 56.80. In the women’s 600-meter run, Leticia Quingostas was seventh in prelims with a time of 1:37.47.
Dwyer would then post the fastest time in the women’s 800meter prelims, crossing the line in 2:16.83. In the women’s 1000meter run prelims, freshman Lilliana Guerrero was second for the Lady Texans in 2:59.16. The Lady Texans added two points in the shot put, as Ronelle Plaza took seventh overall with a throw of 41' 7.75'.