Women Seventh; Men 16th as Outdoor Nationals Wraps Up

Levelland, Texas - The Mesa track & field team wrapped up their 2021 season with the third and final day of competition at the NJCAA Outdoor Championships. The women's team finished seventh in the team standings with 44 points, while the men's team finished 16th with 15.83 points. Four athletes garnered All-American honors on the day, with each of them placing within the top five of their respective events.

Julianna Perez started off the day with a tremendous performance in the women's discus throw, as she threw a new personal best mark of 44.31 meters (145 feet, 4 inches) and placed fourth in the event. Desmond Lott earned All-American honors (fifth place) after throwing a personal best mark of 51.03 meters (167 feet, 5 inches) in the men's discus. This was both Perez's and Lott's first time earning All-American in their collegiate careers.

Jacob Samford earned All-American honors after an impressive showing in the men's 400 meter final. Samford ran a personal best time of 47.08 seconds and placed third overall in an event where he was ranked 23rd coming into the meet.

Ellis Collins helped solidify the women's team placing at number seven with her All-American performance (fourth place) in the women's 5000 meter final and running a new personal best (18:26.40) along the way. Mary Siml also ran in the race and finished 10th with a time of 19:10.71.

The women's team edged out Central Arizona College by three points to be the highest ranked ACCAC & Region I team in this year's final standings. The South Plains College women's team are the national champions with 110.33 points, while New Mexico JC are the national runner-ups with 108 points. For the men's team title, South Plains College and Barton County CC are co-national champions, as both teams finished the meet tied at 101 points.

2021 NJCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Final Results