Gannon Cornley II
Student Sports Media
The NJCAA Indoor National Championships were held at Pittsburg State on Friday, March 3, and on Saturday, March 4. Overall, the Butler men finished in fourth with 53 points. The women finished in 18th with 14 points. Iowa Central won the men’s side and New Mexico won the women’s.
Fresh off winning a second consecutive Regional Championship, the men’s and women’s track team came into Nationals with high hopes and confidence. On the women’s side, the 4×800 meter relay got things going for the women. Jade Searles, Roshea Burrell, Jeanna Baker and Conangela Senior placed forth with a time of 9:40.38 seconds. Valeriya Kostiuk ended her great season indoor season finishing fifth in the high jump, jumping 1.71 meters (5 feet, 6 inches).
The men got things rolling, winning the Silver and Bronze in the 60 meter dash. Sophomore Andre Ewers finished second with a time of 6.65 seconds just beating out teammate Travis Collins who finished in 6.69 seconds. Ewers carried his success over to the 200 meter dash, placing third with a time of 21.11 seconds.
Quintaveon Poole placed third in the 400 meter dash running a time of 46.54 seconds. Akeem Sirleaf, James Hambrick, Andre Ewers and Poole once again proved how good they are, finishing third in the 4×400 meter relay with a time of 3:11.54 seconds. In the 4×800 meter relay, the team of Derrick Reid, Joel Santiago, Jake Taylor and Boniface Kiptoo took Silver running a time of 7:47.01 seconds.
“I’m very proud of our men and women,” Head Coach Ryan Turner said. “They represented Butler with great honor at the National meet, and we’re excited to get outdoor season started!”
The Grizzlies’ first outdoor meet was held on Thursday, March 9, for the Butch Reynolds Invite in El Dorado.
