The Barton Community College men’s track and field team raised their season total to seventeen national qualifiers adding eight this weekend at the Holiday Inn Invitational hosted by the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, Nebraska. Competing against both NCAA and NJCAA level teams along with professional athletes training for Olympic hopes, the Cougars had fifteen top-10 finishes to go along with the national qualifying performances.
Sophomore Alexander Richemond highlighted the results this weekend taking first place in the 200m in national qualifying 21.73. McKinley West, who qualified for nationals in the 60m last week, added his second event for his national trip by taking fourth place in 21.86 with teammate Paul Kinney slipping into the top-10 with a ninth place 22.35 time.
Richemond also helped the 4X400m relay team capture third place joining with Anthony Adderly, Kadeem Williams, and Jaquez Wilson to shave five seconds off last week’s national qualifying time crossing the line in 3:14.94. Williams had earlier punched his national ticket in the 600m finishing eleventh in 1:22.18.
The distance medley made its 2016 indoor debut finishing eighth but secured their spot in nationals as Tyler Thornton, Micah Carey, Anthony Forrest, and Devyn Brotherton recorded a 10:31.20 time. Brotherton, who qualified last week in the 3000m, added his third national ticket taking third place Friday behind a pair of University of Nebraska-Kearney runners at 4:23.96.
In the 60m hurdles the Cougars just missed out on reaching the finals but had two national qualifying times. Jermaine Jones improved on last week’s qualifying time just missing finals by .01 crossing at 8.33 seconds while Kevin Turner will join Jones at nationals with an 8.45 in finishing thirteenth.
Barton took second and sixth in the 60m dash with McKinley West matching his NQ 6.84 time finishing second to a Brooks Running competitor while Chedlin Sageese finished sixth missing the national standard time by .01 with a 6.88 clocking.
Leading the jumpers was Denroc Dixon taking second to a Husker athlete leaping a national standard 7.26. Leon Boyd also claimed his national spot finishing just two spots below Dixon flying 7.10m as he also has a triple jump entry from last week’s 15.44m distance. Boyd didn’t compete in Saturday’s triple jump but Adama Mbye gave the Cougars two entries for nationals going 14.76m to finish in fourth place.
Barton’s Donald Daley and Ricky Nelson both already have secured their national spot in the weight throw and both again reached national standards finishing seventh and eleventh with throws of 16.73m and 15.45m respectively. The case was the same for Steven Crooks in Saturday’s shot put as Crooks put up another standard throw finishing fifth at 15.47m.
