The South Plains College men’s and women’s track and field teams wrapped up their fourth indoor meet of the season Saturday at the Texas Tech Jarvis Scott Open, combining for four event titles at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center.
The Texans placed four in the top eight of the men’s 800 meters, led by sophomore Kimar Farquharson who went 1:47.04 to take first. Mehmet Celik was second in 1:47.90, while Chevonne Hall took fifth in 1:49.55, and Aron Tanui was sixth in 1:50.22.
South Plains would then go 1-2-3 in the men’s 1000 meters, as Celik placed first with a time of 2:22.88, while Tanui was second in 2:23.36, and Hall placed third in 2:26.60. In the men’s long jump, Elisha Teneus-Claude took first with a final mark of 24' 3'.
In section b of the men’s shot put, Donroy Brown took first with a throw of 54' 0.5'.
In section b of the men’s weight throw, sophomore Charles Gaither was second with a mark of 57' 2'.
“We have put together several good weeks of practice, and our teams are really coming together and continue to work to get into championship form,” South Plains College head track and field coach Erik Vance said. “Our jumps group has done well working through adversity, and they came out and decided they wanted to compete. We had some freshmen step up, and those who were already qualified improved their standing for nationals.”
In the men’s 200 meters, sophomore Keontae Gaines clocked a 20.87, good enough for second, while Gregory Prince was fifth in 21.00. The Texans would then place three in the top eight of the men’s 400 meters, as Jeremy Bembridge was fourth in 46.40, while Hossam Hatib finished fifth in 46.63, and Prince was seventh in 47.29.
“Coach Miller has his group ready to go, and they did what they do and ran really well,” Vance said. “The middle distance group is special, and it doesn’t matter what event you put them in, they go out every time to put down historic times, and they are just an impressive group of athletes.”
Justin Guy and Dishaun Lamb placed fourth and seventh in the men’s 60-meter hurdles, as Guy went 7.80, and Lamb turned in a time of 8.14. The Texans closed out the meet with a second place finish in the men’s 4x400, as Bembridge, Caio Almeida, Evaldo Whitehorne, and Farquharson posted a 3:06.48.
On the women’s side, Success Umukoro won the qualifying round of the women’s 60-meter dash, posting a 7.38 for South Plains. Umukoro followed up with a third place finish in the 200 meters, posting a 23.78.
The Lady Texans placed two in the top eight of the 600-yard run, as Rushana Dwyer was sixth in 1:23.74, and Leticia Quingostas place eighth in 1:26.17. Dwyer would then place fourth in the 800 meters, clocking a 2:15.00. In the women’s long jump, Paula Ann Chambers soared 18' 5.25' to take eighth.
“I have to give our women’s team a lot of credit,” Vance said. “They have gone out and put in the work, and Rushana Dwyer has really stepped up and has gotten better each week. She was impressive today, and she will be a very big part of what we do at nationals on the women’s side.”