Wichita, KS – The Indian Hills Men's Track & Field team placed third overall at the Friends University Spring Open on Saturday, finishing with a team total of 86 points in the 26-team event.
Sophomore JC Ramirez (Odessa, TX/Odessa) took home first-place in the men's triple jump with a mark of 14.15-meters. Robin Meredith (Springfield, IL/Springfield Southeast) placed third overall in the event with a mark of 13.58-meters.
The men's 100-meter dash event featured a number of impressive performances from Warrior student-athletes. Aurel Tchanbi (Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire/College Heleis), the reigning Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week, recorded the No. 1 wind legal time in school history to place second overall in the event with a time of 10.27. Tchanbi's time is currently the No. 3 mark in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) this year.
Tchanbi was joined by teammate Isiah Thomas (Milwaukee, WI/Destiny) who placed third overall with a time of 10.39. Thomas' personal best mark is the No. 3 time in school history and qualifies the sophomore for the national championship in May. Thomas also placed sixth overall in the men's 200-meter dash with a time of 21.64.
The Warriors boasted a pair of first-place relay teams in both the men's 4x100-meter and 4x400-meter events. The 4x100 squad of Justin Walden (Miami, FL/North Miami), Kendrick Winfield), Thomas, and Tchanbi ran a season best 40.15, the No. 3 ranked time in the NJCAA this season. The 4x400 relay squad also ran the best time of the season behind the efforts of Walden, Sydney Peal (Crofton, MD/Bullis), Dorian Craven (Dallas, TX/Duncanville), and Winfield with a mark of 3:10.20, the fourth-fastest time in the NJCA this year.
Peal also had a strong showing in the men's 400-mter dash for the Warriors, scoring three team points while placing sixth overall with a personal best time of 48.12. The mark qualifies Peal for the national championship in May.
Isaac Bryant (Grinnell, IA/Grinnell-Newburg) placed third overall in the men's 5,000-meter run with a time of 15:35.04 while teammate Chris Metz (Freeport, IL/Freeport) placed sixth overall with a time of 15:51.86.
Damien Lewis (Brenham, TX/Brenham) set a new Indian Hills school record in the men's 400-meter hurdle event with a time of 55.33, breaking the previous mark by half a second.
Four Warriors broke 2:00 in the men's 800-meter event as Roneldo Rock (St. Joseph, Barbados/Grantley Adams Memorial) led the charge with a season best 1:55.40. Nick O'Connor (Tiffin, IA/Clear Creek Amana) set a personal best at 1:56.56 while Keegan Simms (Miami, FL/Miami Southridge) crossed the line at 1:56.58 and Jorge Becerra (Lawrenceville, GA/Mountain) recorded a personal best time at 1:59.38.
O'Connor and teammate Brady Millikin (Hedrick, IA/Pekin) placed sixth and seventh overall, respectively in the men's 1,500-meter run. O'Connor crossed the line at 4:05.43 while Millikin clocked in at 4:06.07, both top-five times in Indian Hills history.
The Warriors now head to the KT Woodman Classic April 8-9 in Wichita, KS at Cessna Stadium.
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— Indian Hills XC/TF (@IHCCrunning) April 2, 2022
Damien Lewis runs 55.33 in the 400h, to break the school record by a half second! pic.twitter.com/gvv0CQJVfx
