All around it was the best performance of the 2017 season as the Barton Community College men's track and field team put on a show in Canyon, Texas this weekend in capturing the 6th Annual West Texas A&M Classic.  Barton won eight events in the two day competition within its twenty-five Top-8 placings against the mostly four-year competition, compiling 176 points to edge host and NCAA Division II No. 17 ranked WTAMU's 169.  The Cougars also had twenty-three performances that exceeded the national qualifying standard with twenty personal best efforts including jumping into the school record book in three events highlighted by the shattering of the discus mark by Ricky Nelson.

Nelson not only broke the school record, he did it twice by surpassing the mark on his second 57.12m throw before the Illinois sophomore's fifth attempt exceeded Max Alonso's 2010 throw by 1.72m in landing at 58.15m which is also the top effort in the NJCAA.  Nelson also won his second event, marking the nation's fifth best hammer throw with a new personal best 54.04m.

Freshman Sanjae Lawrence, who already had the school's fifth best shot put mark, replaced his best effort with a 17.45m to sit atop the national charts.  Stevon Crooks didn't exceed his personal best but still exceeded national standards with a 15.67m mark. 

The Barton relay teams also put on a show winning both the 4x100m and 4x400m relay events.  In the short relay Samson Colebrooke, McKinely West, Chedlin Sagesse, and Christian Lyon recorded a school tenth best and nation's second best 39.59 time.  The Cougars entered two squads in the 4x400m taking not only the title but a third place as both exceeded the national qualifying time.  The "A Team" (Michale Reyes, Colebrooke, Lyon, and Deandre Jobe) took the title in 3:12.62 while the second wave of Brandon Felix, Marquise Hill, Adam Levarity, and Kevin Turner finished in the third spot at 3:15.61.

The Cougars took first and second in three other events coming in the 200m, 110m hurdles, and in the long jump.  Four Cougars finished in the Top-8 of the 200m with national qualifying standards, with four of the five Barton entries exceeding personal bests. West led the group with a 20.49 to edge out Colebrooke's 20.80.  Lyon took fourth at 20.95, Sagesse's 21.03 fell just shy of his personal best in taking sixth place, while Ware recorded a new personal best at 21.77.

Denroc Dixon led a 1-2-4 Barton finish in the long jump leaping a personal best 7.67m with Bradley Fleurinord finishing runner-up at 7.55m as both exceeded the national qualifying standard.  Alfredo Smith added his mark to the top of his personal chart with a 7.12m jump to finish fourth.

Hurdles were also a strong event for Barton as Jermaine Jones, Jr. won the 110m hurdles in 14.39 with Turner also eclipsing the national standard with a personal best 14.56 to finish runner-up.  Reyes blew away his 400m hurdle personal best by over a second in finishing third in 53.36 with Hill's best 54.38 in sixth and Felix in seventh with a new best effort at 54.76 as the trio each eclipsed the national qualifying standard. 

Other top results:

100m - Sagesse 2nd place (NQ 10.55), Ware 5th (PR 10.67)
400m - Mighty 1st (PR/NQ 47.41), Jobe 4th (PR/NQ 48.21)
High Jump – Alvin McCray 4th (Outdoor PR 2.01m)

Complete results from the 6th Annual West Texas A&M Classic and Multis can be found here

The Cougars' next meet is much closer to home as Barton travels to Wichita on Friday for the two day KT Woodman Classic at Cessna Stadium.