2-state action for Cloud County men's track leads to 20 top-8 finishes

WICHITA - Splitting their squad to compete in a pair of meets over the weekend, the Cloud County Community College men's track and field team would set two season-bests, one new national qualifying mark, and record a total of 20 top-eight finishes with athletes at the 2022 Wichita State University Herm Wilson Invitational and the 2022 University of Nebraska Lincoln Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational.

No team scores were kept at either meet as the T-Birds would see a variety of competition ranging from NCAA Division I and Division II squads to NAIA and NJCAA schools competing in the two different events. The lone new national qualifying mark would come from freshman Raziel Patton in the 600 meters at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational as part of a sixth-place finish in the 19-runner field with a time of 1:21.27. Cloud County would also have Emmanuel Wanga earn a top-eight finish in the event, posting a season-best time of 1:19.87 to take second.

In what would be CCCC's only event win of the weekend, Shadrick Tansi, Alphonse Igish, Wanga, and Nyinguan would improve upon the 4x400 meter relay's best-time this season by finishing with a time of 3:15.66 to best the previous time by over a second. Both Tansi (400 meters, 49.48 seconds) and Nyinguan (triple jump, 14.38 meters, 47 ft. - 2.25 in.) would also go on to earn the other two top-10 finishes in Lincoln by taking ninth in their respective events.

Action in Wichita began on Friday afternoon as Cloud County would have Andrew Betton, Deandre Elliot, Anson Moses, and Elias Rivera all compete for the first time this season in the heptathlon with Betton taking fourth with a final tally of 4,597 points. The Kingston, Jamaica native would finish second in the 60 meters (7.20 seconds) and high jump (1.94 meters, 6 ft. - 4.25 in.) to go along with a fourth-place finish in the pole vault (3.85 meters, 12 ft. - 7.5 in.). Moses would also finish in the top-eight overall of the event, taking eighth with 4,367 points, the fifth-highest heptathlon score in the NJCAA this year.

The top overall finish by a T-Bird athlete in Wichita would belong to Mohamed Ahmed with a mark of 18.81 meters (62 ft. - 9.25 in.) in the weight throw while Brody Vance (13.19 meters, 43 ft. - 3.25 in.) and Davis Mick (13.12 meters, 43 ft. - 0.5 in.) finished in eighth and ninth. Cloud County would also have a 4x400 meter relay team at the event, with Daniel Siaffa, Hassan Abidi, Quwayne Reid, and Rylan Cheney taking third in a time of 3:29.42. The finish would be one of three third-place marks on Saturday as Reid would go on to take bronze in the 1,000 meters (2:37.63) while Narindra Rafidimalala took third in the long jump (6.48 meters, 21 ft. - 3.25 in.). Cloud County would also get a top-five event finish from Edwin Kipainoi in the 3,000 meters with a fifth-place finish in a time of 9:00.69.

What's next?
Just one event remains prior to the 2022 NJCAA Region VI and KJCCC Indoor Track Championships as the T-Birds will be in Topeka to take part in the Washburn University Mid-Week Challenge on Thursday. The schedule of events will see action begin with field events at 1 p.m. while running events will kick off at 3 p.m. in what will be the second time that CCCC competes at Washburn this season.  

-cloudtbirds.com-