NIACC set to compete at nationals
MONROE, La. - The NIACC men's and women's track and field teams will compete in the NJCAA Division I Championships starting Thursday at Brown Stadium on the University of Louisiana Monroe campus.
The NIACC men will compete in four events, including two individuals and two relays. For the NIACC women, Taja Conley and Lilly Radcliffe will compete in the 400 hurdles.
For the NIACC men, freshman Terrence Thomas will compete in the long jump and freshman Colby Krutsinger will compete in the hammer throw.
The NIACC men will also compete in the 4x100-meter relay and the 4x400-meter relay.
Thomas, who is from Antigua and Barbuda, will compete in the long jump at 11 a.m. Thursday. Thomas is tied for 11th among national competitiors with a school record jump of 24 feet, 4 3/4 inches (7.46 meters) at the NJCAA Region 11 championships where he placed first.
New Mexico JC's Khybah Dawson has the best long jump entering the national meet with a leap of 25-4 1/2 (7.73 meters).
Thomas claimed five titles in the long jump during the outdoor track and field season. He also won at the Emporia State Relays (7.38 meters), the Wartburg Select meet (7.24 meters), the Jim Duncan Invitational (7.40 meters) and the Mount Mercy DeBacker Invitational (7.00 meters).
Krutsinger, who is from Forest City, enters the national meet with a season-best toss in the hammer of 130-10 (39.88 meters), which is tied for third on NIACC's all-time best list. The hammer throw is set for 2 p.m. Thursday.
Krutsinger earned two eighth-place finishes at the NJCAA Region 11 championships in the hammer and the shot put. He placed eighth in the hammer with a toss of 38.50 meters and was eighth in the shot put with a toss of 11.65 meters.
NIACC will compete in the 4x100-meter prelims at 5:45 p.m. on Thursday. The Trojans will run Thomas, Tyreese James, Bruce Huggins and Quinton Ellis. The Trojans have a season-best time of 42.62 in the 4x100 at the Emporia State Relays on March 28 running Huggins, James, Ellis and Thomas.
The Trojans will run in the 4x400-meter relay prelims at 5:25 p.m. on Saturday. The Trojans will run James, Jacob Vais, Huggins and Ellis. NIACC has a season-best time of 3:20.33 at the regional meet on May 5 running James, Vais, Huggins and Ellis.
