SWEETNAM LEADS BLUE DRAGON MEN ON DAY 1 OF NJCAA INDOOR
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
TOPEKA – Sophomore thrower Joshua Sweetnam finished third in the men's shot put to lead the Hutchinson Community College men's track and field team on Day 1 of the NJCAA Indoor Championships at the Sneed Indoor Athletic Facility on the campus of Washburn University.
Sweetnam had the top finish of the six event finals contested on Friday. The Blue Dragons are tied for eighth place with Mesa after Day 1 with 13 points. Jayhawk Conference rival Butler leads the men's team standings with 30 points.
Day 2 of the NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday in Topeka.
Sweetnam, the Blue Dragon record holder in the indoor shot put, didn't reach his record mark set two weeks ago at the Region 6 Championships, but set a Blue Dragon NJCAA Championship record with a mark of 57 feet, 0.75 inches (17.39 meters). He was the top Region 6 performer in the national championship.
Sweetnam was one of four Blue Dragons to score on Day 1.
Freshman Joshua Muhari tied for fifth in the men's high jump with a personal best clearance of 6-8.25 (7.04 meters). That mark tied for sixth in Blue Dragon/NJCAA Indoor history. Jahmari Clifton tied for 12th at 6-6.25 (1.99 meters).
Freshman Yassine Sassi places sixth overall in the men's long jump. Sassi's best attempt was 24-0.75, which was third in Blue Dragon/NJCAA Indoor history.
Sophomore Cornelius Kogo placed eighth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:44.16, the second-best time by a Blue Dragon in NJCAA Indoor history.
Freshman Wesley Gill is fifth after Day 1 in the men's Heptathlon. The Region 6 champion has 2,180 points after Friday's 60 meters, long jump, shot put and high jump. Gill's best event finish was third place in the 60 meters with a time of 7.06 seconds (861 points). Gill will close out the Heptathlon on Saturday with the 60-meter hurdles, pole vault and 1,000 meters.
The Blue Dragons advance only one athlete to Saturday's finals after Friday's preliminary rounds.
Sophomore Kebba Makalo advanced to the 200-meter finals with the third-best qualifying time on Friday of 20.86 seconds. He didn't qualify for the 60-meter finals after an 11th-place prelim time of 6.73 seconds.
Here are other Blue Dragon performances from Friday:
+ The Blue Dragon Distance Medley Relay team of Esteban Ortega, Da'Shawn Lester, Max Ryan and Esteban Oses Campos placed 15th with a time of 10:19.97 That time is the third fastest by a Blue Dragon relay in NJCAA indoor history and the ninth fastest in team history.
+ Makalo did not qualify for the 60-meter finals with an 11th-place preliminary time of 6.73 seconds.
+ Ricards Peders ran a 60-meter hurdle preliminary time of 8.23 seconds. He did not qualify for the finals with a 15th-place time.
+ Lushane Blake was 24th in the 600-meter prelims with a time of 1:23.0. He didn't qualify for the finals.
+ Miguel Gaisah Essuman placed 24th in the men's long jump at 22-3 (6.75 meters).
Saturday's Blue Dragon Schedule at the NJCAA Indoor Championships:
9:30 a.m. – Wesley Gill completes the NJCAA Heptathlon.
2:20 p.m. – Esteban Oses Campos runs in the Mile Run finals
3:25 p.m. – Kebba Makalo runs in the 200-meter finals.
4:15 p.m. – Cornelius Kogo runs in the 3,000-meter finals