South Plains track & field dominates Masked Rider Open

LUBBOCK—With a little more than a week remaining until the NJCAA Outdoor national championship meet on the campus of South Plains College in Levelland, the South Plains track and field teams competed in the 2016 Masked Rider Open at Texas Tech University over the weekend.

The Texans were led by Amarillo native and 5000-meter standout Hassan Abdi, who went on to run a time of 15:25.29 en route to a first place finish Friday afternoon. Okeen Williams looked to be in championship form in the 400 hurdles, running a final time of 51.44, good enough for first place overall.

Kelvin Keter continued his dominance in the men's 3000 steeplechase, finishing first overall after running a final time of 9:26.41, while the Texans' Nicholas Rotich took second in the competition with a final time of 9:44.58. Adrian Williams was once again a step above the competition in the men's javelin, as his final throw of 209' 7" took the top spot for South Plains.

The Lady Texans also proved to be in prime position for another national crown, racking up four first place finishes at the meet. Latriceia Smith ran a 2:16.33 in the women's 800 meters, good enough for a first place finish for the Lady Texans. In the women's 400 hurdles, Medinah Spencer went on to take first overall after posting a final time of 1:01.92.

The Lady Texans' 4x100 relay team comprised of Smith, Shirley Vunatup, Alexis Hyshaw and Kadrienne Sanders also took the top spot after posting a finishing time of 48.88. Kionna Bradshaw continues to be a major threat for South Plains in the shot put competition, as her final throw of 44' 11.5" took first overall.

With the regular season now complete, South Plains will be looking to make national collegiate history come May 17, as the Texans are looking for their 10th consecutive national Outdoor crown. The Lady Texans will also be looking to defend their national crown which they captured as season ago, with both teams looking for yet another sweep on their home turf.