LINCOLN, Neb. – Finding even more success in their second straight day of action, the Cloud County Community College track and field teams would add four more national qualifiers marks to close out the 2020 University of Nebraska Graduate Classic at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb., on Saturday.
The national qualifying marks would come as part of two individual event wins by T-Bird athletes and two other top-five finishes as CCCC would finish with three total individual event wins as part of 11 top-five finishes.
On the women's side, freshman Mercy Ntia-Obong would lay down an NJCAA best time in the 60 meters of 7.47 seconds to win the individual event and qualify for the national meet in March. The Cloud County women would also get national qualifying marks from Jacqueline Pokuaah and Aliya Hatton in the 60-meter hurdles with Pokuaah placing second (8.74 seconds) and Hatton taking fourth (8.93 seconds). Cloud County's lone field event national qualifier on Saturday would come from men's freshman Courtney Lawrence who would win the shot put with a school-record throw of 17.58 meters (57 ft. – 8.25 in.). The mark by Lawrence would break the old school record of 17.55 meters (57 ft. - 7 in.) set by Vashon McCarthy in 2018.
Cloud County would also get an individual event win from Marcquiece Cade in the 60-meter hurdles as part of the heptathlon on Saturday morning with the freshman putting up a time of 8.62 before going on to put up a time of 3:01.44 in the 1,000 meters and a mark of 3.00 meters (9 ft. – 10 in.) in the pole vault. Also finishing up the heptathlon would be sophomore Johan Cobena who would put up times of 9.85 in the 60-meter hurdles, 3:17.55 in the 1,000 meters and 3.20 meters (10 ft. – 6 in.) in the pole vault.
Freshman Chanler Taylor would make his collegiate debut on Saturday, placing second in the triple jump with a mark of 13.43 meters (44 ft. – 0.75 in.) while Andres Hernandez took fourth in the 400 meters with a time of 51.15 seconds. Other top-eight finishes by T-Bird men would see Daniel Cope take sixth in the shot put (14.82 meters, 48 ft. – 7.5 in.) and the 4x400 meter relay team of Hernandez, Davit Lukava, Wayde Roman, and Nevan Tebb-Lolar taking seventh with a time of 3:26.65.
Looking at other top finishes for the T-Bird women, sophomore Maryse Mbenoun would follow up her Friday pentathlon win by taking fourth in the 600 meters (1:41.97) while Semaj McGhee saw her first action of the year and took sixth in the high jump (1.55 meters, 5 ft. – 1 in.). Keiana Newman would also pick up a top-eight finish by taking eighth in the 60-meter hurdles (9.48) to give the T-Birds three of the top-eight finishers in the event.
--cloudtbirds.com--