Thunderbird (M-Track) Breaks 3 School Records to Start Outdoor Season

The NMJC men's track and field team started the outdoor season March 21-22 at the ACU Wes Kittley Invite in Abilene, Texas.

NMJC ended the weekend with three new school records and 10 national qualifiers.

A trio of field athletes headlined the top performers list this week in Abilene.

LeBron James demolished the school record to nationally qualify in the javelin after competing in his first meet since joining the Thunderbirds in the fall.

James bettered the school record in the javelin by 9.06m with a toss of 65.31m (NJCAA No. 1). The previous record holder was Oscar Campos who set the mark with a throw of 56.25m in 2021.

Sophomore thrower Joao Dalandrea broke his discus school record he set in 2024 by 1m this weekend. Dalandrea launched the discus 53.50m to nationally qualify as the No. 2 man in JUCO. The Brazilian also reached the national standard in the hammer throw with a mark of 51.42m (NJCAA No. 5).

Freshman Josh Sweetnam broke the shot put school record by 1.06m with a throw of 17.59m at the Wes Kittley Invite. The national qualifying mark broke Djimon Gumbs 16.53m record he set in 2021.

Thrower Abdelkader Gardam qualified for nationals in the discus throwing 50.97m to rank No. 4 in the NJCAA.

Romain Toth competed in the 400mH for his first event of the outdoor season. Toth ran a 54.25 to nationally qualify as the No. 5 junior college athlete in the race. Hurdler Ralfs Zazerskis crossed the line in 14.26 to meet the national standard in the 110mH. Zazerskis time is No. 6 in JUCO. 

Johnathon Bai was the only 200m runner to nationally qualify in the event this weekend as he crossed the finish line in 21.08. NMJC did have faster times, but they were not wind legal which is 4 mps or lower. Bai is No. 8 in the NJCAA for the outdoor 200m. 

​NMJC was able to qualify two relay squads this week in Abilene. 

The 4x100m relay team of Shamarie Roberts, Bovel McPherson, Timothey Tuna, David Nyamufarira flew down the track for a 40.14 national qualifying time to rank No. 2 in the NJCAA.

The mile relay squad of Benjamin Nsiah, Raheim Scott, Chevoney Reid, Bovel McPherson is No. 2 in the NJCAA with a national standard of 3:11.08.

NMJC is currently ranked No. 2 in the USTFCCCA Men's Program of the Year Standings with just the outdoor season left to calculate the winner. The team with the lowest total points wins the award.

The T-Birds compete next at two meets simultaneously. NMJC will go to the Texas Relays and Texas State March 27-29 in Austin and San Marcos, Texas.