Three T-Birds hit qualifying marks at Aztec Invitational
Tucson, Ariz. - The track and field team traveled to Tucson, Ariz. on Saturday to compete in the Chapman Pima Aztec Invitational, where three T-Birds hit qualifying marks for the NJCAA Division I Outdoor Championships. On the track, Ellis Collins qualified in the 1500 with a time of 4:58.58. This is Collins' second event she has qualified for this season. On the field, Lofton Thomas and Janie Tenney hit qualifying marks in the men's and women's pole vault, with Thomas vaulting a height of 4.45 meters and Tenney vaulting a height of 3.35 meters. This brings the season total to four MCC athletes qualifying in five events.
Other top marks on the men's team were Andrew McCumber placing second in the 800 (1:59.6) and first in the 1500 (4:04.74), just missing the 1500 qualifying time of 4:02.66; Malik Chandler placing second in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.15; Desmond Lott (44.73 m) and Noah Miller (42.25 m) placing first and second in the discus throw; along with Gevon Grims placing third in the long jump with a jump of 6.61 meters.
As for the women, Ciara Bardwell-Jones won the 400 for the second meet in a row with a time of 1:02.97. Mary Siml placed fourth in both the 1500 (5:02.87) and the 800 (2:27.39), and just missed the 1500 qualifying time of 4:59.29. Julianna Perez placed fourth in the discus throw with a throw of 35.54 meters. Sisters Kaprice (33.86 m) and Kassidy Faraci (33.72 m) went 1-2 in the javelin throw for the second straight meet as well.
Up next for the T-Birds, they travel to Glendale Community College on Saturday, March 20th to compete in the Glendale Outdoor Invitational.