Mesa Track & Field soars in Day One of action at NJCAA Outdoor Championship

Thursday May 16, 2024 - 9:00 p.m. | Dylan DeVlieger

T-Bird Track & Field competed in Day One of the 2024 NJCAA Outdoor National Championship on Thursday.

Lady T-Birds:

The Lady T-Birds earned 9.5 points in day one of action and sit in 9th place in the field, just half a point out of 8th place and 3.5 out of 5th place.

Maliyah Ross had a busy day as she competed in the Heptathlon 100m hurdles, 200m, high jump, & shot put. In the 100m hurdles Ross finished in 9th (15.77), in the 200m she came in 13th (27.10), in the high jump she finished 7th (1.53m), and in the shot put she ended the event in 4th (10.36m). Ross is in 8th place in the Heptathlon with 2655 points going into Day Two of competition. 

Anna Harmon ran in the 10k earning All-American honors as she finished 5th with a time of 37:02.95. Maleah Tucker became an All-American in the hammer throw as she finished 6th (48.82), teammate SeiOriana Glass finished in 22nd place (39.80m).

Raely Paler captured All-American honors as she finished 8th in the pole vault event (3.27m). The 4x800m relay team earned All-American honors as Maliyah Ross, Reanna Campbell, Kendra Guest, & Taylor Jacobs finished in 7th place (9:33.83).

Men T-Birds:

The T-Birds men are in 9th place in the field as they earned 7 points in the first day of competition, they trail 8th place Cloud County CC by a single point and are nine points behind 5th place New Mexico JC. 

Javier Garcia finished 13th in the 10k coming in with a time of 31:47.03. Austin John finished 20th in the hammer throw (45.26m). Jeremiah Reed earned All-American honors in the long jump event finishing 8th (7.26m).

The T-Birds 4x800m relay team of Samuel Green, Austin Rueff, Greyson Akers, & Ernest Green earned All-American honors finishing in 3rd place with a time of 7:36.15.

Bradley Runge and Myles Larsen competed in the following Decathlon events:

100m - Runge - 9th place (11.24), Larsen - 11th place (11.34)

400m - Runge - 15th place (59.70), Larsen - 4th place (50.64)

High Jump - Runge - 14th place (1.62m), Larsen - 12th place (1.68m)

Long Jump - Runge - 11th place (6.03m), Larsen - 6th place (6.47m)

Shot Put - Runge - 3rd place (11.52m), Larsen - 8th place (10.54m)

Going into Day Two of action Larsen sits in 8th place in the Decathlon with 3308 points while Runge is in 15th place with 2881 points. 

Keep up to date with the live results by clicking here.

All photos are credited to the NJCAA and coach Pinnick.