Allen County Community College’s track athletes began competing in the 2011 NJCAA National Outdoor Track and Field Championship Meet today. The national junior college track athletes converged on Hutchinson’s Gowans Stadium for the three-day event.
The combined events began Thursday. The open events started this morning at 10 o’clock. More field events and finals of the running events are Saturday starting at 9 a.m.
Admission to the track meet is $5 for adults and $4 for students, K-8.
There are 11 men and one woman competing from ACCC. J’Vente Deveaux competes in the only field event — the men’s triple jump — for the Red Devils. Kyran Stewart, Trent Huling and Chris Henry all qualified for the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.
DeMario Johnson and Brandon Miller are competing in the 400-meter dash. Miller, John Thurston, Bryant Terry and Darrlyn Bennett make up the ACCC 4×400-meter relay team.
Olnel Virgil is competing in the 110-meter high hurdles. Jean Frenot is entered in the 400-meter hurdles.
Audre’Ahna Harris is the lone ACCC woman at the national meet. She is running the 100-meter hurdles.
Johnson earned All-Jayhawk Eastern Division conference honors at the recent 2011 Region VI/Jayhawk Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championship track meet. Johnson finished third in the 400-meter dash in 47.30 seconds but he was the Jayhawk East 400-meter champion as the highest placing runner from the East.
Huling was ninth in the race overall in 48.90 seconds, placing fourth in Jayhawk East. Bennett was 10th overall and fifth in the East at 48.89 seconds.
Deveaux is the Jayhawk Eastern Division triple jump champion and named to the All-Jayhawk East first-team. He was second in Region VI in the event at 51 feet, 11 inches. Keith Bateman was 13th overall with a leap of 42’9”, which was sixth in Jayhawk East.
The ACCC men’s 4×400-meter team ran second overall and first in Jayhawk East standing, earning All-Jayhawk East honors. The 4×100-meter relay team also is a Jayhawk East champion, taking third overall in 41.10 seconds. The 4×800-meter relay team placed seventh overall, third in the Jayhawk East, in 8 minutes, 40.17 seconds.
Johnson was eighth in the 100-meter dash final and fourth in the Jayhawk East in 10.47 seconds. Huling finished eighth in the 200-meter dash in 21.34 seconds and was fourth in the East.
Frenot was sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in 56.17 seconds, which was third in the East. Thurston was 10th in the race in 57.76 seconds and fifth in the East. Jesse Jenkins took 17th in the 800-meter race in 1:59.79, which was fifth in the East. Solomon Aberra was 28th in the 800, 2:30.59, and 21st in the 1500-meter run in 4:30.99.
Travis Kyte placed 17th in the 5,000-meter run in 18:45.05. Virgil was disqualified in the 110-meter hurdle final for running around a hurdle.
In the long jump, Deveaux finished ninth, 23’13⁄4”, overall while Abraham Walker was 11th, 22’53⁄4”, and Brandon Smith in 17th, 20’10”. That was fifth, sixth and seventh in the Jayhawk East.
Zach Baldwin was 10th in the high jump, clearing the bar at 6’11⁄4”, which was fifth in the East.
Julian Christian was 18th in the discus with a throw of 119’9”, which was 10th in the East. Travis Venniro was 14th in the shot put with a toss of 41’31⁄4” and DeAndre Speed took 21st at 31’8”.
Harris had the top performance for the ACCC women at the region/conference meet. Harris was sixth in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:13.09, which was fourth in the Jayhawk East. She made the finals of the 100-meter hurdles but did not finish the race.
Rackell Goldson took 11th in the long jump with a leap of 15’101⁄4”, which was fifth in the East. She was 11th overall in the triple jump at 32’7” and seventh in the East. Bridget Sears was 19th in the shot put at 31’ 1⁄2”.
Nakita Casey and Kasie House competed in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes for the women. Henry and Baldwin competed in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes for the men.
ACCC’s top track athletes at nationals
