LEVELLAND, TX – Indian Hills returned to the top ten at the NJCAA Outdoor National Track & Field Meet this week as the Warriors had all three relays and three individuals place at the event.
The tenth-place finish was only surpassed by the Warriors' ninth place standing in 2019 when IHCC had the services of Indian Hills legend Kenny Bednarek.
Perhaps the highlight of the meet came on day one when the Warrior 4x800 unit of Nick O'Connor, Jackson Burnett, Jerry Harper, and Justin Swann took second place in 7:43.74 in a three-way finish between IHCC, Cloud County and South Plains that came down to a lean at the tape.
"Justin did a great job of waiting to make his move," said IHCC Head Coach Brent Ewing. "He passed the South Plains runner in the final meters but unfortunately the Cloud runner was able to counter his move and cross the line first. It was an incredible effort by our guys. That was the closest we got to stacking the relay all year due to injuries. It was great to see us break the school record by 20 seconds and finish national runner up. Finishing that high in relay events means so much more to me than individual events because it takes a team to make it happen."
The Warriors highly-ranked 4x100 quartet of Kalen Walker, Damoy Allen, Isiah Thomas, and Aurel Tchanbi struggled in the Tuesday prelims, running 40.84 in the cool and windy conditions, but did qualify for the finals, earning lane one on Thursday's showdown.
"We didn't have the greatest lane draw. Being in lane one is arguably the worst lane," Ewing said. "Ideally, you want to be in the middle somewhere. We needed an event to step up to help make up for not getting anyone into the 400 meter final."
Ewing got what he had hoped for as the Warriors overcame the lane one disadvantage and finished third, setting the school record in the process, with a 39.78 clocking.
"They ran a perfect race. Aurel had an amazing anchor leg, picking off multiple people," Ewing said. "That created a lot of momentum on our final day of competition. That relay is one of the most impressive accomplishments in our program history. To run that fast with four freshmen is unheard of."
Tchanbi capped his freshman campaign with a fifth-place finish in the 200 meters, running 20.79 in the prelims and 20.97 in the finals, which is second only to the aforementioned Bednarek.
"Aurel had been dealing with a groin injury the second half of the season," Ewing admitted. "We weren't able to do much training with him the last few weeks. It was a situation where we were trying to do just enough but not too much to bother it. His goal going into this year was to run 20.7 on the 200 meters, and he did just that in the prelims. Tchanbi finishes his freshman season as a three time All-American."
The Warriors landed two men on the stand in the 800 meters as Swann and Jackson Burnett finished in third and fifth, respectively to earn All-American status.
"Getting two guys into the 800-meter final really helped us ensure we finish in the top ten," Ewing explained. "Justin and Jackson have been great training partners for each other all year. They finished their Indian Hills career on a great note. Swann ran a near perfect race, very similar to indoor nationals when he placed third. Jackson had a heck of a meet running 1:52 in the 4x800 relay and then back to back 1:52s in the prelims and finals of the 800. He's one of the hardest working athletes I've coached. He's very deserving of all the accolades that come his way."
The final event of the meet was set up for fireworks as the third-ranked Warrior 4x400 saw IHCC run right at their ranking in the prelims as they had the third fastest time coming in the final. Ewing challenged his quartet to go for the title, but it didn't materialize.
"Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it happen in the 4x400," Ewing admitted. "The relay finished fifth overall, which was a four-place improvement from the indoor national meet. That relay ran 3:10 or faster four times this year. Prior to this year, 3:14 was our school record. That's an incredible achievement. Kendrick Winfield gave us two amazing relay splits going 46.0 in the prelims and 45.9 in the finals."
Even though they didn't reach All-American status, Ewing noted a pair of distance specialist for their efforts at the National Meet.
"Nick O'Connor ran a gutsy steeplechase, just falling one spot short of earning All-American accolades," Ewing said. "O'Connor was the fastest runner in the slower of the two heats. He took the lead from the get go and won by quite a bit. I'm very confident that if he were in the faster heat, he could have placed top eight overall.
"Ethan Mesenbrink also battled through some tough conditions on day one to finish 16th in the 10k. He doubled back on the final day to place 16th as well. I was very happy to see Ethan get a chance to compete at the national meet. He's an incredibly hard worker who deserved the opportunity."
The accomplishment comes after the most unusual year for IHCC Head Coach Brent Ewing and his student-athletes, and the national finish allowed the Warrior headman to reflect back on how far they have come.
"Our guys were so resilient this year. I am proud of everything that they have accomplished. They went through a lot of ups and downs but never got discouraged and never lost sight of their goals," Ewing said. "They exceeded my expectations in many ways. I never imagined our freshman group would be this talented. I knew we were going to be good but I didn't expect them to improve as much as they did. That's a testament to their belief in our program. They bought in 100 percent.
"We asked a lot of them and challenged them in many ways. They only got a 10-day Christmas break in order for them to come back and quarantine before starting their indoor season. Several days they were outside running in the cold because there was no other option. Or they would be in the advanced technology center doing night practices in the hallways. What they did wasn't pretty, but it was necessary and they understood that. At the end of the day, that is the Indian Hills way. We're resourceful, we work hard and we always find a way to make things work. I just can't express enough how proud I am to be their coach. Each year our goal is to take things up a notch. We definitely did that this year. Prior to this year, we had 28 All-Americans in program history between the men and women's programs. After this meet, we finished with a total of 42 All-Americans between the 2021 indoor and outdoor seasons. That tells me we're doing something right. This group rewrote our record books. I'm very confident we will be back better than ever next year."
Team Standings
1. Barton County 101
1. South Plains 101
3. Cloud County 96
4. Iowa Central 78
5. Coffeyville 48
6. Iowa Western 39
6. New Mexico JC 39
8. NW Kansas 36
8. Paradise Valley 36
10. Indian Hills 32
4x100 Relay (Kalen Walker, Damoy Allen, Isiah Thomas, Aurel Tchanbi) - 40.84 prelims, 39.78 final, 3rd place, school record.
4x400 Relay (Elijah Berry, Damoy Allen, Nathan Simons, Kendrick Winfield) - 3:09.45 prelims, 3:10.20 finals, 5th place.
4x800 Relay (Nick O'Connor, Jackson Burnett, Jerry Harper, Justin Swann) - 7:43.74, 2nd place, school record.
800m – Justin Swann 3rd (1:51.25), Jackson Burnett 5th (1:52.25)
200m – Aurel Tchanbi 20.79 prelims, 20.97 finals, 5th; Damoy Allen, 21.26, 17th; Kalen Walker, 21.52, 22nd
Men's 100m – Aurel Tchanbi, 10.49, 14th; Isiah Thomas, 10.56, 18th; Damoy Allen, 10.59, 20th.
Men's 400m - Kendrick Winfield, 48.49, 9th; Nathan Simons, 48.82, 15th; Elijah Berry, 50.81, 31st
Men's steeplechase - Nick O'Connor, 9:57.48, 9th
Men's 5,000m - Nick O'Connor, 16:26.84, 24th; Ethan Mesenbrink, 16:16.62, 21st
Men's 10k - Ethan Mesenbrink, 34:09.40, 16th
https://www.tfrrs.org/results/70012/NJCAA_Division_I_Outdoor_Track_&_Field_Championships/