Pittsburg, KS –The Indian Hills Men's Track & Field team made its first appearance on the track as the No. 1 team in the nation on Saturday where the Warriors competed at the Wendy's Pitt State Invitational in Pittsburg, KS at the Robert W. Plaster Center.
For the second consecutive week, the men's 4x400-meter relay squad starred on the track for the Warriors. The quartet of Jah'Vauni Wheeler (Atlanta, GA/Heritage), Terrick Johnson (Memphis, TN/Whitehaven), Xavier Thomas (Evansville, IN/FJ Reitz), and Chris Johnson (Houston, TX/Cypress Park) produced a meet record and the current No. 1 time in the nation with a mark of 3:08.69 to take top honors. Johnson's final leg clocked in at 46.7 seconds to put the group atop the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) leaderboard. The group has now won back-to-back 4x400m relay events.
Along with Terrick Johnson's effort in the relay, the freshman produced a dominant performance in the men's 600-yard run. Johnson clocked a time of 1:09.50, the second-fastest time in the nation this year only to teammate Tyrice Taylor's (Linstead, Jamaica/Vere Technical) time of 1:09.34. The two marks rank 1-2 in school history. Johnson won the event in Pittsburg by .66 seconds.
Freshman Brandon Ford (Perth, Western Australia/Duncraig) boke the Indian Hills 3,000-meter run school record for the second consecutive week, this time shattering his previous time set last week in Iowa City. On Saturday, Fordran to a time of 8:35.61, nearly 12 seconds better than last week's mark.
Keveroy Venson (Linstead, Jamaica/Calabar), the reigning Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Athlete of the Week, cruised to the men's 800-meter run title with ease, clocking in at 1:51.92, more than a full second ahead of the second-place finisher.
Triston Miller's (Columbus Junction, IA/Columbus Junction) freshman campaign continued to flourish as the multi-event athlete captured the high jump title on Saturday with a mark of 2.06 meters, the second-best mark in school history. Miller, the school record holder in the men's 60-meter hurdles, also placed third in the event on Saturday with a time of 7.93.
Prior to the 4x400 relay, Chris Johnson starred in the men's 400-meter dash event with a time of 47.47 to place second overall for the Warriors. Johnson has now placed in the top-five in the 400m in each of the last three events this season, including last week's first-place showing.
The Warriors also saw personal best performances in the 400m from freshman Cyrus Ways (Ponte Vedra, FL/Nease) with a time of 48.90 and freshman Jeremy Bachus (Solon, IA/Solon) with a time of 50.56.
Freshman Anthony Ward (Madison, WI/Madison Memorial) posted a personal best mark in the men's triple jump with a national qualifying distance of 14.68. Wards' mark was good enough for fifth overall out of 24 competitors and now ranks second in school history.
The Warriors, ranked No. 1 in the latest United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) national poll, return to action February 3 at the Iowa State Classic in Ames, IA.
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TERRICK JOHNSON❗️
— Indian Hills XC/TF (@IHCCrunning) January 27, 2024
1️⃣:0️⃣9️⃣.5️⃣0️⃣ - 600y
*MEET RECORD*
#2 in NJCAA behind teammate Tyrice Taylor pic.twitter.com/M54eoyagOO
