South Plains dazzles at Charlie Thomas Invitational in College Station on Saturday

COLLEGE STATION—After a strong outing in their first Indoor meet of the season on Jan. 14 at the University of Oklahoma, the South Plains College Texans and Lady Texans track and field teams impressed once again on Saturday at the Charlie Thomas Invitational at Texas A&M University.

Just two meets into the season, South Plains has set a combined 57 national qualifying marks, 23 coming in Aggie land. The Texans took third overall with 72 team points, trailing only UCLA and Texas A&M.

The Texans' Jordan Atkinson ran a 48.12 in the men's 400 meters, good enough for ninth, while Omero Rodriguez and Felix Kosgei placed 13th and 14th in the men's mile run with times of 4:19.30 and 4:19.38, respectively. South Plains placed three runners inside the top 10 in the men's 5000 meters as Jose Silva, Deric Martinez and Connor Hughes placed seventh, eighth and ninth with their final times of 15:17.84, 15:31.93 and 15:40.72.

Robert Dunning dazzled in the men's 60 hurdles with a time of 8.02, followed by fellow Texan William Watson's time of 8.17, good enough for third. South Plains went on to take fifth overall in the men's 4x400 relay, as Rayan Holmes, Junior Charles, Montel Hood and Okeen Williams combined for a final time of 3:10.11

In the men's distance medley relay, the Texans placed sixth overall after Omero Rodriguez, Nicholas Rotich, Kosgei and Hood finished with a time of 10:27.11. Kwaume McGee leaped 6' 11" in the men's high jump competition, placing second overall for South Plains. Laquan Nairn set a new meet record in the men's long jump after soaring 25' 1.75". Saahir Bethea wasn't far behind with his final mark of 24' 0.75", good enough for second place. Bethea would then go on to take first in the triple jump competition with a final distance of 46' 11.5".

On the women's side, Safia Bright ran a 7.57 in the women's 60 meters and took seventh overall for the Lady Texans. Latriceia Smith went on to place 13th in the women's 800 meters with a time of 2:20.96, while Seselia Dala earned a top 20 performance with her final time of 5:09.90, placing 19th overall.

Leslie Romero took 14th for South Plains in the women's 3000 meters with a final time of 10:31.50. The Lady Texans' 4x400 relay team comprised of Bright, Mauricia Prieto, Natassha McDonald and Agnes Abrocquah earned a top 10 finish with their final time of 3:45.75, good enough for eighth. In the women's distance medley relay, Poro Gahekave, McDonald, Smith and Dala earned a seventh place finish and final time of 12:18.42.

Naomi Kerari and Boslboro Mosongo tied for eighth in the women's high jump with their final marks of 5' 0.25", while Felicia Frimpong earned fourth-place honors in the long jump with a final mark of 19' 9". Also worthy of mention in the long jump are Lady Texans Melody Korie and Cha'kaylin Gilbert, who finished sixth and 10th overall with jumps of 18' 5" and 17' 4", respectively. Gilbert would also place in the top 10 in the triple jump, as her mark of 36' 8.25" was good enough for ninth place overall, helping the Lady Texans earn an eighth-place finish on Saturday.

After another fantastic showing, South Plains will be back on the road next weekend when they travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 10-11.