Results
TOPEKA, Kan. – In their final meet ahead of the 2024 NJCAA Region VI Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Cloud County Community College men's track and field team was led by a pair of meet-record performances by
Kamogelo Thipe and
Awakhiwe Ndlovu while putting up some big marks at the 2024 Washburn University Ichabod Invitational inside the Washburn University Indoor Athletic Facility in Topeka, Kansas.
No team scores were kept for the two-day meet, which featured a mix of NCAA Division I, II, NAIA, and NJCAA schools competing.
Both meet records came in Friday action for CCCC as Thipe posted a time of 1:10.92 in the 600-yard run that converts to a 600-meter time of 1:19.43 for the eighth-fastest time in the NJCAA this season. Ndlovu posted an event win and meet-record mark in the triple jump with a leap of 15.05 meters (49 ft. – 4.5 in.) to best a 28-competitor field and record the sixth-best jump in the NJCAA this season. Other top performances on Friday included a fifth-place finish from the distance medley relay team of
Felix Surtan,
Alan Garcia,
Andres Young, and
Ethan Ochana following a time of 11:11.48 while
Trey Collins (1.90 meters, 6 ft. – 2.75 in.) and
Arne Roehl (1.85 meters, 6 ft. – 0.75 in.) finished in fourth and seventh in the high jump to give CCCC two top-eight finishers in the event.
Saturday featured a pair of top-eight finishes in events by T-Bird athletes with the 4x400 meter relay team of
Oageng Mdlela,
Ishmael Acheampong,
Kevin Brooks, and
Ifeanyichukwu Aninze running a time of 3:19.93 to take third while
Siyabonga Mokgothu ran an 800 meters time of 1:54.92 to take sixth place. CCCC also managed to get top-15 finishes in the 60-meter hurdles by
Brandon Hutchinson (8.38 seconds) and long jump from Mdlela (6.79 meters, 22 ft. – 3.5 in.) to add their high marks on final day action.
What's Next?
After having a streak of four consecutive NJCAA Region VI Indoor Track and Field Championships snapped last season, Cloud County will look to regain the top spot on the podium when the 2024 rendition of the event takes place beginning on Saturday, February 17th from the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas. Last year's Region VI Championship meet saw the top three teams in the event separated by a total of three points as the T-Birds were beaten by Region VI Champion Fort Scott by 0.5 points in the team scoring after finishing runner-up to the Greyhounds in the 4x400 meter relay by 33 hundredths of a second. Action will begin on the 17th and carry over into the 18th when a team title will be awarded in the final meet before the 2024 NJCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships for Cloud County.
