T-Bird Men’s T&F Gears Up for 2024 Indoor Nationals
The road to Gainesville, Fla., has finally arrived and the Thunderbirds are more than prepared for the NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on March 1-2 at the Alachua Sports and Events Center.
The T-Birds have 20 athletes and two relay teams competing on Friday and Saturday.
The below finishes are adjusted for altitude and are not raw times. Another caveat for Thunderbirds fans to know is that NMJC is only able to enter three athletes per event.
The 2023 indoor 60m and 200m national champion Tapiwanashe (Carlie) Makarawu looks to repeat this year. The sophomore sprinter is currently ranked No. 5 in the 60m with a time of 6.67 and No. 1 in the 200m with a NJCAA national record of 20.29 (20.36 ADJ). Makarawu now sits third in the world this year for the 200m and will look to improve on his time come Saturday afternoon.
Makarawu was also the second leg on the runner-up 4x400m squad in 2023. Depending on workload, Makarawu will be slotted to race in the final event of the weekend Saturday afternoon. The Harare, Zimbabwe native holds the school record in all three events he is competing in this week.
Kimarlie Stewart is competing at the indoor national championships for the first time. The sophomore sprinter qualified for the 200m and 60m. Stewart will race in only one event in Gainesville, Fla., and it's the 60m where he is No. 16 in the NJCAA with a time of 6.76.
Aymane El Haddaoui will race in the 400m and the 4x400m this week. The Sale Rabat, Morocco native is No. 5 in the NJCAA with a 47.30 finish in the 400m.
The 400m indoor national champion will defend his crown against his year in Gainesville. Takudzwa (Donald) Chiyangwa has the second-best time in the NJCAA at 46.21. The sophomore sprinter will also compete on the 4x400m relay team for the Thunderbirds where he anchored the squad to a runner-up finish last year at nationals in Kansas. Chiyangwa is the school record holder in the 400m and 4x400m.
Dyimond Walker is No. 5 in the NJCAA in the 600m with a 600y converted time of 1:18.57. The Kansas City, Missouri native finished in fifth place last year in the event at indoor nationals. Walker will likely be a member of the mile relay squad and was the third leg on last year's school record runner-up finish in Kansas (3:07.26).
TK Pahuwa is the third member to race in the 400m. Pahuwa comes into nationals with a time of 47.76 (NJCAA No. 14). Pahuwa is also a member of the mile relay team and will compete in the final race at the meet depending on race load management.
Distance runner Alex Keter will have the largest workload of any T-Bird on the track this weekend. Keter was a national qualifier in the 800m, 1000m, mile, and DMR. Keter ran a 1:52.88 (NJCAA No. 13), a 2:28.44 in the 1000m (NJCAA No. 9), and a 4:14.84 in the mile which ranks No. 27 nationally. This will be Keter's first indoor nationals after he missed last season due to a fracture he sustained during the 2022 cross country season.
Cyprien Bille will race in the 1000m and the DMR at nationals. The freshman distance runner is ranked No. 30 in the 1000m with a 2:31.80 finish and will be the third leg on the 4000m DMR.
Distance runner Brian Cheruiyot will compete in the 1000m and on the first leg of the DMR. Cheruiyot is ranked No. 31 in the 1000m with a time of 2:32.00.
German Vega and Tomas Vega will have the most miles completed by an athlete by the end of the meet Saturday. The brothers will race in the 5000m and the 3000m finals on Friday and in the mile on Saturday. German was an two-time All-American last year at indoor nationals finishing in seventh place in the 3000m and sixth place in the 5000m. Tomas came in third place in the 2023 5000m race at indoor nationals in Kansas.
German is No. 12 in the mile (4:09.03), No. 7 in the 3000m (8:13.99), and No. 4 in the 5000m (14:01.21). Tomas is currently No. 15 in the mile (4:09.92), No. 6 in the 3000m (8:12.95), and No. 3 in the 5000m (13:59.91).
Distance runner Wilson Navarrete will be the third runner to compete in the 3000m behind German Vega and Tomas Vega. Navarrete is No. 27 in the NJCAA for the event with a finish of 8:34.08.
Amir Williams will hit the track for one event this week. The freshman hurdler ran a 7.93 earlier this year to rank No. 3 in the NJCAA for the 60mH.
Braden Shaw comes in as the No. 16 ranked pole vaulter in the competition on Friday with a mark of 4.29. The Thunderbirds won this event last year at indoor nationals with Dalton Smith.
Khybah Dawson enters the long jump on Friday as the No. 1 jumper with a leap of 7.71m. Dawson is looking for redemption this year as he was injured in his first jump at nationals in Kansas last year. The Thunderbirds won the event last year at indoor nationals with Kelsey Daniel.
Johnathon Rodgers will compete in triple jump. The freshman jumper is No. 4 in the NJCAA with a leap of 15.18m. The Thunderbirds won the event last year at indoor nationals with Kelsey Daniel.
Joao Dalandrea will be the only thrower for NMJC on the men's side. Dalandrea is competing in the weight throw and is ranked No. 14 in the event with a toss of 15.83m.
The T-Birds will compete in two relays in Gainesville. The first squad will compete in the distance medley relay and are ranked No. 16 in the event with a time of 10:23.08. In the second relay, the Thunderbirds rank No. 1 in the NJCAA in the 4x400m relay with a time of 3:07.80.
There will be three white card entries from NMJC. The white card is essentially a wild card selection for an athlete who did not qualify for nationals and each team receives three entries to use. Hurdler Jahvel Granville will compete in the 60mH. Granville place seventh at last year's indoor nationals in Kansas. Sprinter Ezekiel Newton will run in the 60m and sprinter Chevoney Reid will be the second leg of the 4000m DMR.
The meet on Day 1 will start with the pole vault at 11:30 a.m. EST and end with the 1000m at 8:10 p.m. EST. Day 2 starts with the high jump at 10:45 a.m. EST and ends with 4x400m relay at 4:10 p.m. EST. For the full schedule click here, for live results click here, and for the livestream of the events click here.
