Men's Track & Field

WARRIORS PLACE 7TH, EARN 7 ALL-AMERICANS

WARRIORS PLACE 7TH, EARN 7 ALL-AMERICANS
Posted: Mar 06, 2023

Topeka, KS – The Indian Hills Men's Indoor Track & Field squad made history at the 2023 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Indoor Track & Field National Championship as the Warriors placed seventh overall, tied for the best finish in school history.

Indian Hills earned seven NJCAA All-American honors, including two relay honors, the second-most All-American awards in a single national championship for the program. The Warriors also saw just its second indoor individual national champion in school history as Rivaldo Marshall (Kingston, Jamaica/Calabar) won the 800-meter title.

READ MORE: MARSHALL WINS 800M NATIONAL TITLE

The team scored 39 total points at the national championship to finish tied for seventh with Colby Community College (KS). The Warriors were the third-highest program from the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC), joining third-place Iowa Western Community College and fourth-place Iowa Central Community College. South Plains College (TX) and New Mexico Junior College tied for the team title.

The Warriors saw two relay school records fall to aid in the All-American haul. The men's 4x800-meter relay, consisting of Cole Reinders (Sarnia, Ontario/St. Patrick's Catholic), Roneldo Rock (St. Joseph, Barbados/Grantley Adams Memorial), Jorge Becerra (Lawrenceville, GA/Mountain View), and Mohammed Al-Yafaee (Doha, Qatar/Aspire Academy), placed third overall in the event with a school record time of 7:39.74, a new program best. The quartet topped the previous school record by 10 seconds.

The men's 4x400-meter relay squad closed out the national championship in one of the most electrifying events of the weekend. The group of Woyn Chatman (Little Rock, AR/Little Rock Central), Tyrice Taylor (Linstead, Jamaica/Linstead), Chris Johnson (Houston, TX/Cypress Park), and Marshall brought home a third-place finish with a time of 3:07.64, five seconds better than the previous school mark.

The Warrior quartet was one of five programs to break the previous facility mark at Washburn University as the 4x400 squad finished just .71 seconds outside of first-place South Plains, but nearly four seconds ahead of fourth-place Barton Community College (KS).

Along with his All-American honor in the 4x400, Taylor joined Marshall in the 800m with another All-American effort. Taylor placed third overall in the event with a time of 1:51.27 to score six team points for the Warriors. 2023 marked the first time in school history that the Warriors earned two All-American honors in the 800m indoor nationals.

Chatman's All-American performance in the relay was paired with an individual All-American honor after the sophomore placed fifth overall in the men's 400-meter dash with a personal best time of 47.19. Joining Chatman on the podium was Chris Giles (Columbia, MO/Rock Bridge) who placed fourth overall to earn All-American status with a time of 47.18.

Chatman's All-American honor in the 400m is the second of his career after placing 5th overall with a time of 47.41 in 2022.

Troy Johnson (Lancaster, PA/J.P. McCaskey) earned All-American honors in the long jump on Friday, the first in program history for Indian Hills. Johnson jumped to a school record 7.33 meters to place seventh overall, the best finish in school history.