Garden City sets new personal-best marks at NJCAA Indoor Nationals
Pittsburg, KS-The Broncbusters wrapped up the 2022 indoor season at the NJCAA Championships at Pittsburg State University.
Day one
Debonaire Williams and Cameron Collins both competed in the heptathlon. Each posted a personal best in the shot put; Williams throwing 37'3.25" and Collins 37'1.75". They both placed in the top 15.
The men's distance medley relay team of Dennis Mutai, Amari Hampton, Isaiah Armstrong, and Jose "Froy" Ruiz got off to a great start, and despite a fumble with the handoff, they finished 15th with a time of 10:46.09.
Valentine Lagat carried the momentum as she competed in the 5000-meter run. Lagat scored the first set of team points for the Broncbusters, placing 7th with a time of 18:32.20. Her performance not only set a personal best but also broke her own school record as well as earned her USTFCCCA Honors.
Kelvin Cheruiyot followed up Lagat's performance with a brilliant run in the 5000-meters. He placed second in his heat with a time of 14:48.59, placing him 10th overall in the event. His performance was a personal best and set a new school record.
Meantime, Fabian Nava ended the day with a jump of 6.70 meters in the long jump and placed 21st, finishing higher than what he was seeded going into the competition.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Diondra Wilborn came up just short of making the finals, placing 12th with a time of 9.00.
Jereun Wagner had an impressive showing in the 200-meter dash. Coming in seeded 32nd in the event, he won his heat with a time of 21.48. Unfortunately, he didn't make the finals with his 10th-place overall finish, but he set a huge personal best and broke the school record in the event.
Lagat came back in the evening to compete in the 3000-meter run. She ran a tactical race to place 12th with a new personal best time of 10:48.36.
Dennis Mutai and Kelvin Cheruiyot ended the night for the Broncbusters with a stellar performance in the 3000-meter run. Mutai battled in the front of the pack for much of the race. With 300 meters left to go, he was in a dead sprint going for the win but ended up finishing 3rd with a time of 8:23.46. His performance ended with NJCAA All-American Honors as well a new personal best while breaking his own school record in the event. Cheruiyot's performance was good for a 15th place finish and a personal best time of 8:38.48.
Day Two
Debonaire Williams and Cameron Collins returned to complete day two of the heptathlon, each ending the competition with personal best times in the 1000-meter run (Williams- 2:55.29, Collins- 3:09.52). Williams ended up in 10th place with 4507 points, and Collins placed 15th with 3978 points.
Shareen Cheruiyot was sensational in the mile. She won her heat with a personal best time of 5:20.08 and placed 11th overall.
Elsewhere, Mutai returned to action in the mile winning his heat with a time of 4:13.09; which placed him 7th overall in the event. His performance was a new personal best, broke his own school record, and earned him USTFCCCA All-American honors.
The women's 4x400 meter relay team of Diondra Wilborn, Erica Davis, McKenna Jagels, and Cheruiyot capped off the Broncbusters showing at nationals, running a season best time of 4:11.64, placing 12th in the event.