Three Region VI champions pace Cloud County women's track

PITTSBURG - Three Cloud County Community College women's track and field athletes would be crowned NJCAA Region VI Champions as the T-Birds would amass a total of 46 points to lead following the conclusion of day one of the 2022 NJCAA Region VI Indoor Track and Field Championships held at the Robert W. Plaster Center on the campus of Pittsburg State University.

The 46 points come as part of six scored events on Saturday, with CCCC edging Barton at the end of day one who is currently in second with 44 points. Cowley sits 10 points back of Cloud County in third with 36 total points heading into day two while Colby is a distant fourth with 26 total points with 11 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference schools scoring points on Saturday.

The first Region VI Champion for Cloud County would come in dramatic fashion as freshman Vanessa Mercera would need a strong showing in the final event of the pentathlon after entering the 800 meters in third place. Running a time of 2:29.44 to win the event and score 700 total points, Mercera would finish with 3,218 points to finish 232 points clear of the next closest competitor in the 15-person field. CCCC would also get an NJCAA Region VI title from the distance medley relay team of Abigail Fisher, Passion Crews, Ludjenie Mondesir, and Melody Ochana in the first track event of the meet as the relay team would post a national qualifying time of 12:48.68 to win by over 11 seconds. The third and final Region VI Champion for the Cloud County women on Saturday would come from freshman Lucy Ndungu who would win the 5,000 meters in her first time running the event this season to post a national qualifying time of 18:30.14 to outlast the 18-competitor field.

Earning a Region VI runner-up finish in the pole vault would be Maggie Armstrong after clearing 3.15 meters (10 ft. - 4 in.) to score eight points towards the team total while teammate Mia Manley would match her season-best mark of 3.00 meters (9 ft. - 10 in.) and take eighth. The T-Birds would also get team points from Faithlyn Irving in the pentathlon with a sixth-place finish (2,773 points) and Mercera in the long jump (5.14 meters, 16 ft. - 10.5 in.).

Qualifying for race finals on Sunday would be Miracle Thompson in both the 60-meter hurdles (8.60) and 60 meters (7.68) as well as Isila Apkup (60 meters - 7.75, 200 meters - 25.02), and Leonie Beu (200 meters - 24.66). The times by Apkup and Beu in the 200 meters would both be national qualifying marks as four new national qualifying marks would be set by T-Birds on Saturday.