SPC Track Team Striding Toward NJCAA National Meet

Monica Rose, sports editor

The South Plains College men and women’s track and field teams have made great strides toward preparing for the NJCAA National Outdoor Track and Field Championship.

Just one meet-the UTA Invitational set for May 5-6 in Arlington- remains before the national meet, which will be held May 18-20 in Coffeyville, Kan.

SPC placed high in several events at the TCU Invitational in Fort Worth.

Shardae Boutte placed second in the men’s triple jump with a leap of 52 feet, 6 inches. Aaron Smith III placed third in the men’s long jump, while Jared Jennings placed 13th in the men’s pole vault with a jump of 14-9.

Scott Sims placed seventh in the men’s high jump with a leap of 6-2.75, while

Reuben Twijukye placed third in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 1:02.50 and was seventh in the 400-meter dash with a time of 47.02.

Tim O’Donnell placed 13th in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.86,while Jehrome White placed 14th in the men’s 400-meter dash with a time of 49.34, and Matt Pugh was 18th in the men’s 400-meter dash. Perry Harris placed 21st in the men’s 100-meter dash with a time of 10.76, and Jordan Wood placed 21st in the men’s 400-meter dash with a time of 50.06.

Jamaal Butler placed 27th in the men’s 400-meter dash with a time of 50.79, and Chris Pounds finished 30th with a time of 52.22.

SPC placed fifth in the men’s 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:14.51 and seventh in the 400-meter relay with a time of 42.02.

Sophomore Zulaykah Ali broke the school record in the women’s long jump with a leap of 20 feet, 1/4 inch to finish second.

Dominque Jacobs placed 10th in the women’s long jump with a leap of 18-2.25 feet, and she also placed ninth in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 36-8.25 feet.

Cycelye Tuitt placed 11th in the women’s high jump, clearing 5-1.

Jessica Wilson finished sixth in the women’s shot put with a throw of 42-2 feet, and Kelli Clements placed 10th in the same event with a throw of 40-5.5.

Shawn Shelton placed 10th in the women’s pole vault, clearing 10-6, while Danete Wright placed fourth in the women’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:02.50.

Devyn Mitchell placed 11th in the women’s 800-meter run with a time of 2:21.70, and Carmen Dennis placed 12th in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 58.94.

Anuola Bailey placed 16th in the women’s 100-meter dash, while October Wells placed 18th in the same event. Marissa Henderson also placed 21st in the women’s 100-meter dash, and Lakisa Tucker placed 23rd in the same event.

Henderson also placed 27th in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 26.85, and Tuitt placed 31st in the same event with a time of 27.59.

The SPC women placed sixth in both the 400-meter relay with a time of 46.67 and the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:59.33.

Joining SPC at the NCAA Division I meet were, TCU, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, SMU, North Texas, Oklahoma State and Arkansas.

Twijukye and Sally Kipyego brought home first place finishes at the prestigious Mt. Sac Relays in Walnut, Calif.

Twijukye took first place in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 1:48.91. Kipyego placed first in the women’s 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:13.39, a new school record in that event.

Also, SPC’s men’s and women’s track and field teams placed second overall at the 35th Annual David Noble Relays at Angelo State University.

The SPC men finished with 100 points, behind Angelo State’s 169. The women scored 101 points, while Angelo State was first with 114 points.

SPC’s Sammie Ivory IV placed first in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 1:54.63, while Calvin Ray placed 10th in the men’s 800-meter run with a time of 2:01.71.

Josh Kosgei placed first in the men’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 3:52.24.

Smith placed first in the men’s triple jump, leaping 51-5. Derrick Reescano placed second in the men’s triple jump, with a leap of 49-9 1/2 feet, and he was third in the long jump with a leap of 51-5 feet.

O’Donnell placed second in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.48 and second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 52.53.  Pugh was third in the men’s 110-meter hurdles with a time of 14.56 and fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 55.16.

Pounds placed seventh in the men’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.27, while Harris placed second in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.59. Butler placed fourth in the men’s 400-meter dash with a time of 51.50, and Josphat Melly placed fourth in the men’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:01.11.

The SPC men took first in their section of the 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:20.40. They also finished second in the 400-meter relay with a time of 41.38.

Happy Mary Bacia placed first in the women’s 800-meter run with a time of 2:16.15, while Mitchell took sixth in the women’s 800-meter run with a time of 2:20.60.

Valentine Chebogut took second in the women’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 4:46.01, and Wright placed first in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.01. Cedonia Allen placed third in the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.97.

Ali took first in the women’s long jump, leaping 19-1 1/2 feet. She also took first in the women’s triple jump with a jump of 42-11 1/4 feet.

Jacobs placed fifth in the women’s triple jump with a leap of 37-11, while Dennis placed second in the women’s 400-meter dash with a time of 57.44.

Bailey placed third in the women’s 200-meter dash with a time of 24.66 seconds, and Tucker placed fifth in the women’s 100-meter dash with a time of 12.15.

Wilson placed third in the discus with a throw of 123-11 and placed third in the shot put with a throw of 43-3/4 feet.

Clements placed fifth in the women’s shot put with a throw of 41-7 ½, while Amisha Vanderbilt placed 13th in the same event with a throw of 38-6 feet. Britney Ramos placed eighth in the women’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:26.36, and Krystal Charles placed 14th in the women’s 1,500-meter run with a time of 5:31.80.

SPC placed first in the women’s 400-meter relay with a time of 46.66, and they finished fourth in the women’s 1,600-meter relay with a time of 3:53.24.