DRAGON MEN CLAIM SECOND CONSECUTIVE REGION 6 INDOOR TRACK TITLE
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
PITTSBURG – Wesley Gill had quite the debut in the Region 6 men's heptathlon.
Gill was named the Region 6 champion in his first ever go in the men's heptathlon, and the Hutchinson Community College men's indoor track & field team won its second straight Region 6 indoor championship Sunday at the Plaster Center at Pittsburg State University.
The Blue Dragon men's indoor team won its first ever indoor title last season.
This weekend was Gill's first time competing in the heptathlon, scoring 5,039 points and setting a new region record and crushed the school record, which was previously 4,654 set back in 2010. He set new region records in the 60-meter dash, 60-meter hurdles, and pole vault of the heptathlon.
REGION 6 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD RESULTS
Hutchinson scored 122 points to win the Region 6 championship, two points ahead of region runner-up Barton Community College. Coffeyville finished third in the Region 6 standings with 109 points.
In the men's long jump, Yassine Sassi won the event and hit the NJCAA qualifying mark with a jump of 7.50 meters.
Joshua Sweetnam was the region champion in the men's shot put with a mark of 17.66 meters. Sweetnam also finished in fifth in the men's weight throw with a mark of 15.70 meters.
In the men's pole vault, Gregory Martinez hit the national qualifying mark and was the region runner-up, clearing a height up 4.33 meters. Wesley Gill tied for third with a cleared height of 4.03 meters.
Kebba Makalo finished as the region runner-up in the men's 60-meter dash with a time of 6.72 seconds. Makalo also finished second in the men's 200-meter dash and hit the NJCAA qualifying mark with a finishing time of 20.91 seconds.
Jahmari Clifton was the region runner-up in the men's high jump with a mark of 2.04 meters. Joshua Muhozi hit the NJCAA qualifying mark with a clearing height of 1.99 meters.
Cornelius Kogo finished in third place in the men's 3,000-meter run with a time of 8:36.17. Esteban Ortega came in sixth in 8:39.43. Kogo hit the qualifying mark in the men's 5,000-meter run and was the region runner-up with a time of 14:28.27. In the same race, Ortega came in eighth with a time of 15:07.45. Dennis Cheruiyot came in ninth at 15:08.88.
Ricard Peders was named the region runner-up in the men's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.22 seconds.
Da'Shawn Lester and Lushane Blake came in seventh and eighth in the men's 600 meter run. Lester is also an NJCAA national meet qualifier and finished with a time of 1:20.11. Blake hit the qualifying time with a run of 1:20.13. Esteban, already a qualifier as well, finished in fourth in the men's one-mile with a time of 4:14.28.
The Blue Dragon men's distance relay (Dennis Cheruiyot, Max Ryan, Kyler Medlin, Esteban Oses) set a new school record with a time of 10:08.20 and came in fourth, also hitting the NJCAA qualifying mark.
Oses finished in fourth in the men's 1-mile with a time of 4:14.28 and qualified for the NJCAA national meet at the Ichabod Open last week.
Tristan Sanders earned a point for the team coming in eighth place in the finals of the men's triple jump with a mark of 13.60 meters. Karson Engelland came in ninth in the shot put with a mark of 13.92 meters.
The NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held at Washburn University's Snead Indoor Athletic Facility on Friday, March 6 and Saturday, March 7.