Cougars earn eight top ten finishes at Sevigne Invite, grab two titles at Beile Classic

The Barton Community College men's track and field team headed to Nebraska this past weekend splitting the No. 2 ranked Cougar squad sending one group to Lincoln for the 42nd annual Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational while a smaller contingent headed across state to Crete for the Fred Beile Classic hosted by Doane College.  

Taking on NCAA Power-5 conference schools including the likes of No. 11 Kansas, No. 13 Stanford, and No. 16 Texas, the Cougars took some of the nation's best coming away with eight in the top ten with multiple personal bests and high national performances.

Chedlin Sagesse continued to show he is one of the top 60m sprinters in the nation edging out the University of Texas' Senoj-Jay Givans at the line in 6.705 to Givans' 6.708 to take the title.  Earlier in the day Sagesse was slightly slower than Givans but recrorded a school seventh best and the NJCAA's second best time in the year of 6.68.  McKinely West and Christian Lyon gave the Cougars two more in the top ten placing ninth and tenth with West clocking a 6.83 while Lyon joined four of his teammates in the nation top sixteen chart with a personal best 6.84.

Samson Colebrooke cracked the top ten of the 200m matching his personal best 21.54 to finish eighth while Sagesse and Lyon would also both grab a national qualifying spot with personal bests with Sagesse timing a 21.63 for thirteenth just ahead of West at 21.65 while Lyon crossed in 21.79 in finishing twentieth.

Kemarni Mighty continues his improvement in the 400m climbing into the nation's top fifteen with a personal best 48.47 in finishing ninth.  Javon Patterson also put in a strong Cougar performance with a 600m ninth place in a personal best 1:20.82 to pop into the nation's top ten qualifying list.

In the jumps Denroc Dixon leaped his way to a fifth place in the long jump at 7.22m (23-08.25) while Alvin McCray finished tenth in the triple jump at 13.89m (45-07.00).

Stevon Crooks took tenth in the shop put at 16.43m (53-11.00) while Sanjae Lawrence's 16.02m (52-06.75) was good for twelfth in the twenty-eight man field.

Finishing as the top community college relay team at the event, the 4x400m tandem of West, Colbrooke, Deandre Jobe, and Mighty placed seventh overall at 3:14.12.

Across the state in Crete, the Cougars won two events with Adam Levarity taking the 400m in 51.15 and Louis Rivers capturing the 60m hurdles in 8.30.  Jose Yanes fell just one second shy of the 5000m title crossing in a personal best 16:01.06 while Terence Ware clocked the 60m preliminary round second best time of 6.92 before a 7.02 final sprint finished in fourth place. 

Barton will next head to Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the Tyson Invitational held February 10-11.

Complete Frank Sevigne results     Complete Fred Beile results