Charlie Thomas Invitational Recap

COLLEGE STATION— The South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams competed in their second indoor competition this weekend at the Charlie Thomas Invitational at Texas A&M University.

Competing against elite division one schools from across the country, the men's team finished fourth overall, just behind Texas A&M, Clemson and Baylor University. The Lady Texans finished 11th overall, with Texas A&M, Arkansas and the University of Clemson taking the top three spots.

On the men's side, Okeen Williams placed eighth overall in the men's 60 meters, with a final time of 7.01. Williams also placed 23rd overall for South Plains in the men's 200 meters, with a finishing time of 22.09. In the men's 400 meters, Dedrian Windham took ninth for the Texans with a time of 48.36.

Hassan Abdi impressed once again in the men's 3000 meters, as his final time of 8:21.11 was good enough for fourth place. Abdi would then go on to take the top spot in the men's 5000 meters, as his final time of 14:49.67 put him ahead of Clemson's Clayton Wilson and Rice University's Marco Ruiz. Nicholas Rotich also placed in the top 15 in the 5000 meters, as his final time of 15:28.72 landed him in the 12th spot for South Plains.

In the men's 60 hurdles competition, the Texans' Robert Dunning took second overall with a finishing time of 7.92, just behind Baylor's top finisher Bryce Grace. South Plains would go on to finish seventh overall in the men's 4x400 relay, as DeVante Lacy, Okeen Williams Robert Downs Jr and Dadrian Windham had a final time of 3:13.12.

The Texan's distance medley relay team, comprised of Henry Ngetich, Lacy, Downs Jr. and Kelvin Keter placed sixth overall with a final time of 10:24.96. In the men's high jump competition, Kwaume McGee placed ninth overall with a distance of 6' 4.75".

Justin Scott went on to take seventh place for the Texans in the men's pole vault, with a final score of 18' 1.5". In the men's long jump, Fabian Edoki and Saahir Bethea placed third and fourth overall, with final distances of 24' 5", and 23' 11.75", respectively. In the men's triple jump, Fletcher Sherrard placed fourth for the Texans with a distance of 46' 2.5". Finally, in the men's heptathlon competition, Gabe Moore took seventh overall, with a final point total of 4,905 for the Texans.

On the women's side, the Lady Texans has two top 25 finishers in the 200 meters. Mauricia Prieto and Aallyah Telesford placed 17th and 23rd overall, with final times of 24.62 and 24.84, respectively. In the women's 400 meters, Deja Harrison placed 27th overall with a final time of 57.47. In the women's 800 meters, the Lady Texans' Latriceia Smith finished 24th with a finishing time of 2:17.72.

In the women's 3000 meters, Kassidi Jones took 21st with a finishing time of 11:54.60 for South Plains. In the women's 5000 meters, Poro Gahekave and Jones placed 13th and 14th overall, with final times of 19:49.14, and 20:26.73, respectively.

The Lady Texans' 4x400 relay team, comprised of Medinah Spencer, Amberlynn Lewis-Walter, Saqukine Cameron and Deja Harrison finished 17th overall, with a final time of 3:59.32. In the women's high jump competition, Anyi Garcias-Solis placed 12th overall for South Plains, with a final distance of 5' 3".

In the women's pole vault competition, Morgan Hartsell took the 12th spot with a final score of 11' 11.25". in the women's long jump competition, Felicia Frimpong placed seventh overall for the Lady Texans with a final distance of 18' 1.75". Frimpong would then go on to finish ninth overall in the women's triple jump, with a final distance of 38' 2".

Finally, in the women's pentathlon competition, South Plains' Ciearah Hairston placed seventh overall with a final score of 3,424 for the Lady Texans.

After another impressive outing over the weekend, the South Plains College men's and women's track and field teams will be back on the road next weekend, when they travel to the University of Arkansas for the Tyson Invitational, beginning on Friday, February 12.