NIACC men place 4th at regional meet

STORM LAKE - The NIACC men's track and field team placed fourth at the NJCAA Region 11 track and field championships Saturday on the Buena Vista campus.

The Trojans compiled 57 points in the two-day meet. Iowa Western was the men's regional team champion with 253 points and Indian Hills placed second with 184 points.

NIACC freshman Terrence Thomas placed third in the triple jump with a school record leap of 14.31 meters (46 feet, 11 1/2 inches). Iowa Western's Cory Vaughan Jr. won the triple jump with a leap of 14.57 meters.

Thomas, who placed second in the long jump on Friday, broke the old school mark in the triple jump of 13.28 meters (43-7) set on Feb. 16, 2016 at the Grinnell Indoor Invitational.

In the 3,000-meter run, NIACC freshman Owen Almelien placed fourth in a personal-best time of 8 minutes, 58.14 seconds, which ranks seventh on the school's indoor 3K list.

Also in the 3K, freshman Ryan Kelly placed eighth in 9:32.92.

In the 800, NIACC sophomore Hugo Massa placed fourth in a time of 1:58.61, which ranks ninth on the school's all-time indoor list. NIACC freshman Eli Bergman was 10th in 2:07.53.

In the 400, NIACC freshman Quinton Ellis placed fifth in a time of 50.39, which ranks fourth on the school's all-time indoor 400 list.

In the 600, NIACC freshman Chris Marroquin was sixth in a time of 1:27.82.

In the 1,000, NIACC sophomore Bryson Canton was ninth in a time of 2:33.81.

In the mile, NIACC freshman Joey Ringo was 10th (4:43.95).

NIACC also earned a pair of third-place finishes in the relays. The Trojans' foursome of Demario Cleare, Tyreese James, Bruce Huggins and Massa placed third in the 4x400-meter relay in a time of 3:24.63.

NIACC's Canton, Ringo, Bergman and Ellis placed third in the 4x800 (8:35.75).

Team standings - Iowa Western 253, Indian Hills 184, Iowa Central 180, NIACC 57, Hawkeye CC 54, Southwestern CC 20, Southeastern CC 15.

2024 NIACC men's track and field indoor bests (Through Feb. 17, 2024)