CCCC track competes in Lincoln
LINCOLN, Neb. — Following two national qualifying marks and five top-10 finishes on the opening day of their 2023 indoor season, the Cloud County Community College men's track and field team would add three more national qualifying marks and eight additional top-10 finishes to close out the two-day University of Nebraska Graduate Classic in the Bob Devaney Sports Center Saturday.
There were 24 collegiate teams along with unattached athletes from various organizations competing over the weekend, with college teams representing NCAA Division I, II, III, the NAIA, and the NJCAA. Cloud County would be one of seven schools from the NJCAA to compete in the meet, along with Barton, Colby, Cowley, Hawkeye Community College, Iowa Western, and Pratt.
Friday Recap:
Both national qualifying marks for the T-Birds on their opening day of the season would come in field events with sophomores Mohamed Ahmed (weight throw) and Ben Okraska (pole vault) earning top-eight finishes while hitting the national standard with relative ease. Ahmed would finish third in the weight throw following a throw of 65-2 1/4 to lead all NJCAA athletes in the event by nearly 10 feet while Okraska would clear 14 -9 to become one of four athletes to qualify for the national championship meet on the season.
In addition to the national qualifying marks on day one, Cloud County would see the long jump produce a pair of top-10 finishes with Lubo Zlatev (21-11 3/4) and Oageng Mdlela (21-10 l3/4) placing eighth and ninth among a 28 competitor field. The lone other top-10 finish for the T-Birds on Friday would come courtesy of Alphonse Igish in the 60-meter qualifying round following a time of 6.97 seconds to finish ninth.
Saturday Recap:
Utilizing the momentum from Friday's action to continue a strong opening weekend, Cloud County would have a pair of national qualifying marks in the 800 meters come from Raziel Patton (1:54.34) and Quwayne Reid (1:56.06) as the pair would finish sixth and eighth in the event. Also putting down a national qualifying time on the track would be Hassan Abidi in the 600 meters with a time of 1:21.29 accounting for a fourth-place finish and the 11th-fastest time in the NJCAA this season. CCCC would also see a top-10 finish in the 600 meters come from Jonathan Dende (10th) following a time of 1:23.95 while the 4x400 meter relay team of Dende, Abidi, Daniel Siaffa, and Igish would finish eighth with a time of 3:23.64.
In field events, the triple jump would account for Cloud County's remaining three top-10 finishes as Mdlela, Awakhiwe Ndlovu, and Brandon Hutchinson would all have high finishes in their first time competing in the event at the collegiate level. Mdlela would record a mark of 46-5 ¼ to take fourth and just three inches shy of a national qualifying mark while Ndlovu (45-9 3/4) and Hutchinson (45-1/4) finished in fifth and ninth, respectively.