The Barton Community College track and field team won a combined thirteen events Thursday at the Alex Francis Classic hosted by Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas.
Moved up a day due to forecasted Friday conditions, the weather wasn't much pleasurable on race day as the field battled mid-40 temperatures and 15-20mph sustained winds.
Behind seven individual titles and four runner-up placings in eleven events they competed in, the Cougar men compiled 154 points to narrowly edge out Fort Hays' 153.25 for the Classic bragging rights. The Barton women, who also competed in eleven of the meet's nineteen events, won five events in finishing third with 98.75 points as Fort Hays and Nebraska-Kearney battled for the top spot piling up 173 and 171.50 points respectively.
The lone double winner of the day was freshman standout Yoveinny Mota in taking both the 100m events. Leading a Barton 1-2-6 finish in the hurdles, Mota clocked a 13.56 to just miss her program fourth best time by .12 seconds. Janeia Wren placed runner-up in 14.62 while Arianna Hayde place sixth in 16.03.
Following the hurdle race and awaiting the conclusion of Azan Sargusingh's 400m title in 58.35 seconds, Mota stepped back on the track in distancing the 100m field by .31 seconds with an event winning 11.88.
Along with Mota and Sargusingh's titles, the women were equally strong in the 200m as the Cougars placed four in the top ten led by T'Nia Riley's title winning 25.37 clocking. Nijah Roberson's 25.65 earned the third spot with Sargusingh in fifth at 25.77 and Maurina Prieto ninth at 26.64.
The other women's title came in the discus throw as Barton's lone entry of Fiona Richards bettered the field by six feet in a 45.88m (150-06) throw.
On the men's side it was the 4x400m relay team of Deondre Spruill, Tyreke Wilson, Dartez Hamlin, and Drew Blake winning the first of Barton's track events on the day for a 42.35 time in edging out Fort Hays' tandem by .37 seconds.
The Cougars first title on the day came in the field events in the 1-2 discus throw finish from Phillipe Barnett and Kevin Nedrick as the duo flirted with their personal bests. Barnett won the event with a 52.27m (172-06) throw as Nedrick finished comfortably in second with a 51.38m (168-07) throw.
Barnett would later also compete in the hammer throw, placing seventh with a 46.61m (152-11) as fellow freshman Alencar Pereira won the event by nearly twenty-eight feet with a 65.69m (215-06) throw to land just one inch from his school record mark.
Simultaneously the men's long jump crew didn't win the event but placed three in the top five with Tahj Whitfield in third (7.05m, 23-01.75), Timothy Wilson fourth (6.93m, 22-09.00), and Tyrone Treadwell in fifth (6.76m, 22-02.25). Later in the day Treadwell and Wilson returned to the runway for the triple jump with Treadwell leaping to the title by over a foot in a winning 13.98m (45-10.50) mark in the sand but Wilson fouled on his three attempts.
Wilson picked up his second gold medal of the day by winning the 100m in a virtual tie with Hamlin as less than a tenth of a second separated the two in clocking a 10.43. Spruill placed sixth at 11.05 while Blake placed eighth in the twenty-one man field with an 11.19.
Kenroy Williams led four Cougars of the top six in the 400m, winning the event in 48.68 with Adriano Gumbs the nearest competitor in crossing the line in 50.44. Tyler Allen placed fourth in 51.19 with Ajani McPherson's line crossing of 51.67 finishing sixth of the seventeen event entries.
The Cougar men won both of the hurdle events with Deshaun Jones winning the 400m in 56.48 with Stephon Torrence's time of 14.27 edging out Jones' 14.51 in the 110m variety.
Barton's next meet will be in Canyon, Texas, for the two-day 8th Annual West Texas A&M Classic and Multi beginning next Friday, April 5.
Complete Alex Francis Classic results