MEET RECAP: 2021 NJCAA Indoor T&F Championships

Champions were crowned on Saturday at the 2021 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, held inside the Robert W. Plaster Center in Pittsburg, Kansas.
South Plains (Texas) won its first men’s team title since 2018, while Iowa Western CC captured its first women’s crown in program history.
Keep reading to find out how both teams won their championships.

Men’s Recap

Nothing could stop South Plains College on Day 2.
The top-ranked Texans put up 87 points on Saturday, which would have put them in a fourth-place tie, if you didn’t count their 51 points from Day 1. All told, SPC amassed 138 points for the second largest team total since 2014 and a 35-point margin of victory over runner-up Iowa Central CC.
Where did the Texans get their points on the final day? We’re glad you asked, because SPC left no stone unturned with four individual titles (600, 800, 1000, mile), four runner-up finishes (400, 600, 4×400, 4×800) and a slew of other top-8 efforts. It could be said that Romaine Beckford and the Texans’ high jumpers got the ball rolling on Day 1, though, with 21 points in that event (Beckford won the individual title, while teammates James Hampton and Nelvin Appiah-Konadu took third and fourth, respectively).
Iowa Central CC, led by Dashinelle Dyer and Jaheem Hayles on the final day, ended up second, right ahead of third-place Cloud County CC (The Tritons scored 93 points, while the T-Birds totaled 91.5). Dyer and Hayles combined for 26 points with Dyer scoring 16 of those himself with a victory in the 60 and a runner-up finish in the 60H, an event in which Hayles won.
Barton County CC finished fourth as a team, followed by New Mexico JC.

Women’s Recap

It came down to 4×400 relay – the final event of the meet.
Iowa Western CC, seeking its first title in program history, held a four-point lead in the team standings over South Plains College, 107-103. All the Reivers had to do was finish at least third – which is where they were seeded entering the meet – and they’d capture at least a share of the title, if the Lady Texans’ fourth-seeded quartet found a way to exceed expectations and win.
With Nickisha Pryce on the anchor, Iowa Western CC was in great hands. After all, Pryce had won the 400 earlier in the afternoon and finished runner-up in the 200. The Reivers got the baton to Pryce right where they wanted and their star did the rest, bringing home the event title – and national title – as she crossed the finish line first in 3:44.75, the day’s best mark.
Faith Linga gave Iowa Western CC a huge boost just one event earlier when she finished fourth in the 1000. Linga, who had already won the mile, 3000 and 5000, put the Reivers up for good with those five points – not to mention well in contention with those other 30.
SPC took runner-up honors behind Iowa Western CC with 108 points thanks to a pair of titles from 60-200 doubler Rosemary Chukuwuma. Those weren’t the only event crowns of the meet for the Lady Texans as they also won the 4×800 relay and the triple jump.
Cloud County CC ended up third with 101 points, followed by Barton County CC in fourth (93) and Iowa Central CC in fifth (70).