Iowa Central and Iowa Western Repeat at Outdoor Regional
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa - The Region XI Championship trophies are staying put, as Iowa Central's Men claimed another title and continued the streak that dates back to 2009. Meanwhile, the Iowa Western Women proved they didn't just perform well during the indoor season as the NJCAA National Champions came back and claimed the outdoor title for a second consecutive year after their win in 2019. With the 2020 outdoor season being canceled the Reiver women have the trophy for the second time in as many championship meets.
On the men's side, it was tight at the top as Iowa Central picked up the victory with 258.5 total points, but an upset was looming close behind them. Iowa Western registered 250.5 points throughout the course of the meet. Indian Hills was the only other team competing with more than 100 points as the Warriors tallied 139 total.
For Indian Hills, the team picked up three wins, dominating the relay events as they won both the 4x100 and 4x400. They got an individual champion when Justin Swann won the 800-meter with a time of 1:51.23.
Iowa Western's men picked up six victories in the scored events, mostly coming in distance races and jumping events.
Yonas Mogos won both the 1500-meter and 5000-meter with times of 3:54.96 and 15:54.81. Wimachmoor Gilo quite literally ran away from the competition in the 10,000 with his winning time of 35:32.23. Michael Buchanan claimed the win with a leap of 7.7m (25 ft 3.25 in) in the long jump and teammate Kenyon Johnson took care of business in the triple jump with his distance of 14.54m (47 ft 8 in).
In the field, Iowa Western earned their last victory of the weekend with Tucker Day and his javelin throw that traveled 48.08m (157 ft 9 in).
The Region XI champs, Iowa Central added 10 wins to their total after Aries Scott won the decathlon last weekend.
The Tritons earned a win at every distance of 800 meters or less in some way. Jerome Jessup got things started with a 10.54 finish in the 100-meter and a 20.81 in the 200 meter. Jaheem Hayles continued his impressive run as a hurdler and picked up the 110-meter finals victory in 13.65 seconds. Lee Eppie won the open 400-meter in 46.74 seconds.
Then the relay team got involved and won the 4x800 with an impressive time of 7:46.63. An astonishing 13 seconds ahead of second place. Kelvin Bungei showed it doesn't matter if he competes indoors or out, he is a forced to be reckoned with in the distance events. He won the 3000-meter steeple with a time of 9:20.85.
In the field events the Tritons fared just as well, James MacKey Jr. won the discus with a 52.79m (173 ft 2 in) throw. Then William Richardson showcased his power with a hammer throw that traveled 47.5m (155 ft 10 in). The final two winners came in the events where the men get to fly higher than anyone else. Scott, coming off the decathlon win grabbed the high jump championship with a leap of 1.95m (6 ft 4.75 in). Then pole vaulter Nicola Paletti hit 3.68m (12 ft 0.75 in) to cap a great meet for Iowa Central.
The women's results weren't quite as close as Iowa Western tallied 292 and Iowa Central earned the runner up position with 172 team points. The race for second was much closer than the fight for the number one spot, as Indian Hills gave a solid effort but fell short and finished with 129 team points.
The champion Reivers were victorious in 13 different events, dominating the events from the start to the finish.
The 4x100 team took the top spot in the only Relay win for Iowa Western. Tirecia Walcott had the best time in the 100-meter, finishing the race in 11.61 seconds. Then in the 200 and 400, Nickisha Pryce did what she has done all season. Pryce finished the races in 23.33 and 53.41 seconds.
Dyandra Gray ran the 400-meter hurdles in a very impressive 1:02.06 for a sweep of the 400-meter events. Shariden Richardson capped the impressive sprints and middle distances for Iowa Western when she won the 800m in 2:17.45 seconds.
Once the distance events came around, Faith Linga showed up and just kept winning. All year it hasn't mattered if it's cross country or track, indoor or outdoor, she is a terrific distance runner. She proved that again picking up wins in the 1500 and 10,000 with times of 4:45.67 and 37:00.18.
The field events proved to be just as good for the Reivers as the events on the track. Alliyah McNeil won the high jump, Victory George won both the long and triple jump, and Blayne Lachance and teammate Morgan Harwin were the two to clear the 1.73m mark in the pole vault so they were the co-champions.
Next up for the athletes that qualified, the NJCAA Championships will be held in Hobbs, New Mexico May 16-18. There is plenty of excitement going on around the ICCAC and plenty of storylines to look out for. How many national champions will be from Iowa schools? Can Iowa Western complete the sweep and take both the indoor and outdoor titles? Everyone will have to wait and see when the competition gets underway two weeks from now.