Cloud County Women's Track Team Captures Third-Place Team Finish at 2022 NJCAA Championships

Cloud County Women's Track Team Captures Third-Place Team Finish at 2022 NJCAA Championships
Cloud County Women's Track Team Captures Third-Place Team Finish at 2022 NJCAA Championships

Adding two more individual national champions to go along with three additional top-three finishers on days two and three of the 2022 NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, the Cloud County Community College women's track and field team walked away with more hardware by finishing third to cap off a memorable 2022 track season at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Scoring a total of 49 total points to more than double their three-day total and finish with 92 total points, the T-Birds would trail only National Runner-Up New Mexico Junior College (98 points) and National Champion Iowa Western who would win their second-straight NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship after scoring 117 total points. Just two points back of CCCC would be fourth place and Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference foe Barton with 90 points while South Plains College would be a distant fifth with 70 total points to round out the top-five.

Recapping Friday's action for CCCC, the T-Birds would add 16 points to their day one total of 27 points by getting a third-place finish from Ludjenie Mondesir (11:32.49) and fifth-place finish from Melody Ochana (11:46.49) in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The remaining six points scored on Friday would come in the completion of the multi-event heptathlon as Vanessa Mercera would take third by scoring a total of 4,498 points as part of second-place finishes in the high jump (1.55 meters, 5 ft. – 1 in.) and 800 meters (2:26.36) in the event. Other key action for Cloud County on Friday would see qualifying times run by both Pamela Milano (sixth, 2:16.51) and Passion Crews (ninth, 2:16.74) in the 800 meters as well as the 4x400 meter relay team (Leonie BeuIsila Apkup, Mercera, and Vimbayi Maisvorewa) with a fourth-place time of 3:44.20.

Highlighting the final day of action for the T-Birds with National Titles would be sophomore Hollie Stewart in the javelin (41.81 meters, 137 ft. – 2 in.) along with freshman Maisvorewa in the 400 meters (54.18 seconds). Adding a National Runner-Up performance in her first appearance at the NJCAA Track Championships would be freshman Jessi Brummett finishing just behind Stewart in the javelin with a throw of 39.19 meters (128 ft. – 7 in.) while seeing Faithlyn Irving earn a fourth-place finish in the triple jump (12.16 meters, 39 ft. – 10.75 in.) and a fifth-place finish from Milano in the 800 meters. Also adding fifth-place finishes on Saturday would be the 4x100 meter relay team (Miracle Thompson, Beu, Apkup, and Maisvorewa, 46.44 seconds) and the 4x400 meter relay team (Beu, Apkup, Mercera, and Maisvorewa, 3:47.37). The final three points scored by the T-Birds on Saturday would come from the second top-eight finish of the weekend for freshman Lucy Ndungu following a sixth-place finish in the 5,000 meters (18:33.12).

With the third-place team finish, Cloud County has now finished in third place at three of the past four NJCAA Track and Field Championships held (Indoor and Outdoor) while finishing no worse than seventh in every National Championship meet held dating back to 2019. For the 2022 indoor and outdoor season, the T-Birds would sweep both the NJCAA Region VI Indoor and Outdoor Track and Field titles while seeing each of the third-place finishes on the national stage come behind Iowa Western and New Mexico Junior College.