T-Bird (W-T&F) Qualify 6, NMJC (M-T&F) Qualifies 7 in Levelland
The Thunderbird men's and women's track & field team competed on Friday, Feb. 7 at the South Plains College West Texas Shootout in Levelland, Texas.
The meet was the first outdoor competition the Thunderbirds attended in 2025. The T-Birds are still in the indoor season but a restriction on entrants for certain indoor meets has made competition on the outdoor track a necessity.
The NMJC women finished the weekend with six new national qualifiers and two improved qualifiers.
The field athletes excelled on Friday at South Plains. Kavel Ritchie qualified nationally in the long jump with a 5.74m leap. She backed that performance up with an improved qualifying mark in the triple jump with a 11.67m leap. Ritchie is No. 5 in the long jump and No. 7 in the triple jump for the NJCAA.
Sofia Mosquera Rodriquez triple jumped her way to a .40m improvement in the event on Friday. The freshman glided 12.11m to move into No. 3 in the NJCAA for the triple.
Amari Pratt nationally qualified in the 60m and the 200m. Pratt ran a 7.56 in the 60m to move into the No. 12 spot in the NJCAA and then finished the 200m in 24.58 to rank No. 13 in JUCO.
Sprinter Nalicia Glen met the national standard in the 60m with a time of 7.68. The time is No. 26 in the NJCAA. The pair of Emilly Silva and Tyfane Martins earned a national standard in the 1000m. Silva finished in 3:04.34 to move into the NJCAA No. 10 slot and Martins crossed the line in 3:08.47 to hold the No. 21 rank in the NJCAA.
Now moving over to the men's side.
The NMJC men finished the meet with seven new national qualifiers.
Jonathan Da Silva cleared 4.33m to nationally qualify for the pole vault on Friday. The freshman moved to No. 12 in the NJCAA for the event.
Freshman Raheim Scott nationally qualified in both the 200m and 400m. Scott ran a 47.63 in the 400m to rank No. 13 in the NJCAA. He recorded a time of 21.48 in the 200m which is No. 19 in JUCO.
Timothey Tuna was the other T-Bird to meet the national qualifying standard in two events this weekend. Tuna finished the 60m in 6.78 to move into the NJCAA No. 22 spot for the event. The freshman ran a 21.36 in the 200m to rank No. 11 in the NJCAA.
Shamarie Roberts was the second national qualifier in the 200m as he crossed the finish line in 21.47. Roberts is No. 17 in the NJCAA for the event. Cyprien Bille exceeded the national standard in the 1000m with a finish of 2:30.99. Bille moves into the No. 26 spot in the NJCAA for the event.
The T-Birds will compete next in the Jarvis Scott Open Feb. 14-15 in Lubbock, Texas at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center.