Pittsburg, KS – The Indian Hills Men's Track & Field team placed 10th overall at the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Indoor National Championships over the weekend, earning two individual runner-up performances.
The Warriors scored 26 team points to place 10th overall after a ninth-place showing at last year's meet. Indian Hills was led by a second-place individual finish from sophomore Aurel Tchanbi (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire/College Heleis) in the men's 200-meter dash and a second-place finish from Rivaldo Marshall (Kingston, Jamaica / Calabar) in the men's 800-meter run. The Warriors were just 13 points behind the fourth-place finisher in a tightly contested national meet.
After electrifying the Robert W. Plaster Center on Friday in the 200-meter dash prelims with a personal best time of 20.98, Tchanbi followed-up in the finals on Saturday with a 20.94 to place second overall in the event and earn All-American honors. The mark was second only to Warrior alum and Olympic silver medalist Kenny Bednarek who set the mark at the same facility and same meet in 2019.
Tchanbi's remarkable weekend also included an All-American showing in the men's 60-meter dash with a fifth-place time of 6.70, tying his school record which was set in the prelim round on Friday.
At the national meet, Tchanbi was also recognized as the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) Midwest Regional Athlete of the Year for his performances throughout the season.
Marshall set a new school record in the men's 800-meter dash to place second overall and earn All-American honors. Marshall's time of 1:51.30 was just .45 seconds off the first-place finisher.
On the opening day of action, the men's Distance Medley Relay earned All-American honors with a school record time of 10:07.58, nearly 10 seconds better than the previous school mark. The time was good enough for sixth overall at the meet as the quartet consisted of Nick O'Connor (Tiffin, IA/Clear Creek Amana), Jerry Harper (Rantoul, IL/Rantoul), Dorian Craven (Dallas, TX/Duncanville), and Brady Millikin (Hedrick, IA/Pekin).
Woyn Chatman (Little Rock, AR/Little Rock Central) placed fifth overall in the men's 400-meter dash with a time of 47.41 to earn All-American honors for the Warriors.
JC Ramirez (Odessa, TX/Odessa) put together an impressive showing at the men's triple with a personal best mark of 14.45-meters to place sixth overall, good enough for All-American status.
The men's 4x800-meter relay squad suffered a fall on the third leg of the event but still managed a spot on the All-American podium, finishing with a time of 7:51.85 to place seventh overall.
Kendrick Winfield (Louisville, KY/Louisville Male) joined Tchanbi on the All-American podium in the men's 200-meter dash event with a sixth-place time of 21.46.
Despite being disqualified due to a technicality, the men's 4x400-meter relay squad unofficially broke a school record with a time of 3:12.91, which would have been good enough for fifth overall. The quartet consisted of Justin Walden (Miami, FL/North Miami) Chatman, Tchanbi, and Winfield.
NATIONAL RUNNER-UP! @IHCCrunning sophomore, @AurelTchanbi added the second runner-up finish on the men's side today at the @NJCAA Indoor Championships in Pittsburg, KS as the Warrior sprinter blazed to a 20.94 time in the 200m... one tenth of a second off 1st place. pic.twitter.com/okJt5emUhP
— IHCC Athletics (@IHCCAthletics) March 5, 2022
