Outdoor Track Dominates in Season Opener

The Maverick Track and Field Team had a great start to the outdoor season this past weekend at West Texas A&M, with Tech dominating the boards in the sprints and many runners setting new personal bests.

Long Distance:

Vincent Nchogu led the way in 5000m finishing 2nd overall with a personal best of (14:30.24), currently ranked 2nd in the nation. Vincent was followed closely by his teammate Oliver Kiptoo who finished 3rd overall with a time of (14:22.94), and Enock Kimutai finished 5th overall in the race with a time of (15:05.82). Trent Coon took part in the 3000m Steeplechase, finishing 4th overall with a time of (11:52.62); that time is currently ranked 13th in the nation but still 41 seconds shy from the national qualifying standard. 

In middle distance the new freshman, Peter Kimaiyo, competing for the Mavericks. Peter qualified for nationals in the 1500m race finishing 2nd overall with a time of (4:00.64); that time is currently ranked 7th in the nation. Nathan Kipyego won the 800m with a time of (1:56.65) and is currently ranked 6th in the nation but two seconds shy from the national qualifying standards. Tajairus Brown also competed in the race, finishing 14th with a time of (2:15.13).

"The boys were very competitive which saw most of them achieve the national qualifying standards. I am very proud of their efforts in today's races. They improved their times from last time when they competed here at West Texas A&M. It is a great start to the outdoor season but we still need to make some adjustments in training and continue working hard for our upcoming races," commented Coach Kiptoo.

Sprints:

In the 100 meter dash, Northwest Tech had six runners finish in the top ten, with freshman Derrick Harbin finishing 1st and setting a new personal best, improving from 10.88 to 10.40. Jaysaun Smith finished 3rd in the race, improving his personal best from 10.90 to 10.66. Jaydon Moore finished 4th in the race, improving his personal best from 10.81 to 10.68. Jean-Pierre Smith finished 6th in a time of 10.85, with Marcus Best right behind him 7th with a time of 11.02. Shamar Levenstone, Joshua Leech, and Katiyun Turner also competed in the race, finishing 10th, 11th, and 12th.

In the 200 meter dash, Derrick Harbin led the way again, finishing 2nd and improving his personal best from 22.97 to 21.37. Right behind Derrick was Jaysaun Smith in 3rd, also setting a new PR and coming in one one-hundredth of a second behind him in a time of 21.38. Jaydon Moore came in sixth in a time of 21.83. Others that competed in the race included: Katiyun Turner in 11th, Marcus Best in 12th, Stephen Scott in 13th, Quindarius Stafford in 14th, Jean-Pierre Smith in 15th, and Joshua Leech in 17th.

In the 400 meter dash, Brendon Hanson finished 9th in a time of 50.21, with Jalell Anderson in 10th with a time of 50.66. Also in the race was Ezekiel Wright, finishing 13th overall, and Quindarius Stafford, finishing 15th.

In the Men's 4x100 meter relay, Northwest Tech finished 2nd, hitting the national qualifying mark and as well as setting a new school record with a time of 40.84. The team consisted of Jaysaun Smith, Jaydon Moore, Jean-Pierre Smith, and Derrick Harbin. Tech also had a second relay that finished 4th in a time of 43.42. 

"It was an amazing first meet. I was honestly blown away by how well the athletes performed," commented Coach White. "They have been saying since January 'coach just wait until outdoor and we got you' and they sure did not disappoint. Can't wait to see what the next meet has in store for the Mavs."

Northwest Tech's next meet will be on April 1st at the Garden City Multi's. You can view the full results from the meet at the link here.