COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – In a season filled with record-setting performances, this weekend's Regional XI Outdoor Championships might have been the best one yet by the Indian Hills Men's Track & Field squad.
And if you ask IHCC Head Coach Brent Ewing, there would be no argument about it.
"That was hands down the most impressive meet I've ever been a part of at Indian Hills," Ewing said. "I've never had so much fun coaching in my life. These guys just keep setting the bar higher and higher. We have a fearless group of young men. They're not afraid to work and they are completely bought into this program."
That buy in resulted in the Warriors notching the highest regional finish in program history as Indian Hills finished third behind Iowa Central and Iowa Western in the seven-team standings. Included in that finish were three first place finishes among the 21-event slate, six runner-up showings and four third places. Additionally, the Warriors set four new school records.
"What is most impressive is our depth. We're not just having success and riding on the coattails of a few athletes. It is a true team effort," Ewing added. "Our relays just dominated the meet."
IHCC's took home gold in both the 4x400 and 4x100 relays as the Warriors scorched the track in both events in capturing Region XI titles while setting new IHCC standards. The 4x400 unit of Elijah Berry, Damoy Allen, Nathan Simons and Kendrick Winfield sprinted to a 3:08.63 clocking to win the event by over six seconds. Their effort currently stands as the third fastest time in the NJCAA this season.
"Anytime I challenge these relays, they take things to another level. It's really astonishing," said Ewing. "Before this year, our school record was 3:14.23. You just don't see drops in time like that. It all comes down to these kid's attitudes and competitiveness. I could ask anyone to step into that relay and I knew they'll do their job."
Equally as impressive was the Warrior 4x100. The IHCC quartet needed a late replacement for usual anchor Aurel Tchanbi, who was experiencing some muscle tightness, and Ewing called on Justin Walden to fill in. The foursome of Kalen Walker, Allen, Isiah Thomas, and Walden responded with a sub-40 second clocking of 39.90 to set the school record, win the regional title and place the Warrior relay in the 4th slot nationally thus far this season.
"We had zero practice with Justin being anchor leg. We literally had to wing it and trust ourselves," Ewing said of his 4x100. "Those are stories you just can't make up. All of our guys have that 'next man up' mentality. They're ready to compete when called upon. That performance was one of the craziest things I have ever witnessed."
IHCC will enter the national meet on May 11-13 in Levelland, Texas with top-four rankings in all three of the men's relays, including the 4x800.
"All of our relays have an extreme level of confidence right now," Ewing noted. "I would be scared to compete against them."
The Warriors other first-place finish came from Justin Swann in the 800 meters. The Georgia native's 1:51.23 time in the half-mile event netted the freshman a Region XI title and the school record.
"Justin is a smooth runner. I wasn't surprised at all to see him run a two second personal best and school record." Ewing said. "What really stood out to me about his performance was that fact that it came after his worst race of the year at Drake. Drake just wasn't his day. He showed so much maturity and resilience to not let his performance at Drake dictate how he was going to compete at regionals. He executed the race flawlessly. There's no doubt that he'll be going into nationals feeling more confident than ever."
Ewing also noted that Tchanbi, despite having to bow out of the 4x100 relay, also had a bounce-back performance after a disappointing showing at the Drake Relays. Tchanbi took second place in the 200 meters and reached a personal goal of running sub-21 seconds in the process with a blazing time of 20.94.
"Aurel was really disappointed about his outcome at Drake. We both know he was capable of doing better," Ewing said. "Aurel learned from it, let it motivate him, and bounced back. Breaking 21 seconds is next level. That was his goal since the day he stepped foot on campus."
While IHCC didn't win the 400-meter event, it took home second, third, fourth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth place to show incredible depth at the quarter-mile distance. Winfield highlighted the stable of Warrior 400-meter standouts with his runner-up finish of 46.97 seconds.
"The 400 was a real eye opener for me," Ewing said. "I knew that group was capable of running much faster than they had. Unfortunately, we just haven't had great conditions this spring to display our fitness. All of those guys made the most of the hot temperatures at regionals. This was their last chance to qualify for nationals and they didn't flinch one bit. Kendrick Winfield dropped from 48.3 to 46.9. Nathan Simons dropped from 48.5 to 47.5 and Elijah Berry dropped from 48.2 to 47.6. I'm so proud of that group."
Ewing went on to praise IHCC's top three finishers in the 400. "Kendrick has transformed from a walk on sprinter to one of the best in the NJCAA. He's a special talent. Nathan is just an absolute grinder. I couldn't think of a better sophomore leader than him. We were so fortunate to have him here for two years. Elijah took a big step forward and showed us that he is a major threat as well."
Sophmore Jackson Burnett continued his record-setting sophomore campaign with another lowering of his school record time in the 1500 meters. Burnett took second in the event with a time of 3:55.32. Freshman Nick O'Connor wasn't far behind in third place with a 4:01.73 performance.
"Jackson and Nick had career bests in the 1500," Ewing added. "Burnett broke his school record and O'Connor ran the second fastest time in program history out of the slow heat."
The IHCC distance specialists also helped the Warriors to their third-place team standing as Colten Glosser and Chris Metz collected second and third-place finishes in the 10,000 meters, respectively.
"Glosser and Metz scored big points for us," Ewing said. "This was the most points we've scored in the 1,500 meters through the 10k at regionals since the program has started."
After a handful of Warriors travel to Mankato, Minnesota to take part in the Minnesota State-Mankato Maverick Classic this Saturday, the team will turn its focus to the NJCAA Outdoor National Championships.
"Our guys are going into nationals with more confidence than they've ever had," Ewing said. "They're healthy for the most part and are starting to feel the effects of us tapering their training. I anticipate we will see some incredible performances at nationals."
Team Standings
Iowa Central 258.5
Iowa Western 250.5
Indian Hills 139
Hawkeye 99
NIACC 39
Southwestern 10
Southeastern 7
IHCC Top performers
Isiah Thomas - 100m (10.64), 2nd
Kalen Walker - 100m (10.81), 5th
Aurel Tchanbi - 200m (20.94), 2nd, 2nd fastest in IHCC history
Kendrick Winfield - 200m (21.20), 3rd, 3rd fastest in IHCC history
Isiah Thomas - 200m (21.33), 4th
Kalen Walker - 200m (21.35), 5th
Ashton Sanders - 200m (21.41), 7th
Damoy Allen - 200m (21.47), 8th
Justin Walden - 200m (21.59), 11th
Nathan Simons - 200m (21.67), 12th
Kendrick Winfield - 400m (46.97), 2nd, 2nd fastest in IHCC history
Nathan Simons - 400m (47.45), 3rd
Elijah Berry – 400m (47.64), 4th
Justin Walden - 400m (49.04), 7th
Dorian Craven - 400m (49.46), 8th
Jerry Harper - 400m (49.61), 9th
Zack Nelson - 400m (49.76), 10th
Justin Swann - 800m (1:51.23), 1st, school record
Jackson Burnett - 800m (1:56.96), 7th
Jackson Burnett- 1500m (3:55.32), 2nd, school record
Nick O'Connor- 1500m (4:01.73), 3rd, 2nd fastest in IHCC history
Ethan Mesenbrink- 5000m (16:03.00), 4th
Isaac Bryant - 5000m (16:36.72), 7th
Chris Metz - 5000m (16:45.03), 8th
Colten Glosser - 10,000m (36:05.01), 2nd, 5th fastest in school history
Chris Metz - 10,000m (36:58.42), 3rd
Chris Hudnall- 110h (15.63), 6th
Jaxson Sharp - 110h (16.30), 8th
J.C. Ramirez - triple jump (13.47m), 7th
Robin Meredith - triple jump (13.33m), 8th
Jaxson Sharp - javelin (45.89m), 2nd
•4x100 relay - (Kalen Walker, Damoy Allen, Isiah Thomas, Justin Walden) 39.99, 1st, school record #4 in NJCAA
•4x400 relay - (Elijah Berry, Damoy Allen, Nathan Simons, Kendrick Winfield) 3:08.63, 1st, school record, #3 in NJCAA
Complete results: https://results.blacksquirreltiming.com/meets/8198