NMJC (M-Track) Adds 7 New Qualifiers & Sets 3 New Records
The NMJC men's track & field team competed in two separate meets March 27-29 at the Clyde Littlefield Texas Relays in Austin, Texas and the Bobcat Invitational in San Marcos, Texas.
NMJC finished the weekend with seven new national qualifiers, three new school records, and two improved qualifiers.
The story of the weekend was javelin thrower LeBron James. The freshman went viral online for his NBA basketball namesake just before he was set to throw at Texas Relays. James was posted on ESPN's Instagram at 2:30 p.m. CDT and subsequently had an 1:30 to gather himself before he competed. The post on ESPN has 304k and the original post on the NMJC athletics page has 109k likes.
James did not disappoint, throwing a school record 73.86m in his final attempt of the weekend. The improved qualifying throw moves him to No. 1 in the NJCAA by 8.12m and is No. 3 all-time for the javelin at the junior college level. The Trinidad & Tobago native bested his previous school record by a whopping 8.55m.
James was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for his stellar performance at the Texas Relays. He is the eighth Thunderbird male athlete to receive the honor.
David Nyamufarira had a great performance in the 100m this weekend as he qualified for nationals. The freshman breezed to a 10.17 in the 100m to slot himself in the No. 1 spot in the NJCAA for the event. The reigning indoor high jump national champion Mawali Osunniyi nationally qualified for outdoors with a 2.02m clearance. The jump is No. 5 in the NJCAA for the event.
Frenchman Alexandre Fablet was a national qualifier in the 1500m with a 3:58.04 to rank No. 14 in the NJCAA for the event.
The 4x800m squad of Adolf Kauba, Erwan Darrieulat, Cyprien Bille, and Alexandre Fablet took down the school record in the race by 11 seconds with a time of 7:37.76 (NJCAA No. 3). The previous 4x800m record of 7:48.76 was set in 2024 by Keter, Walker, Bille, and T. Vega.
The T-Birds were improved qualifiers in the 4x400m with Bovel McPherson, Chevoney Reid, Shamarie Roberts, and Benjamin Nsiah leading the squad to a 3:08.02 finish (NJCAA No. 2).
Moving over to Bobcat competitors in San Marcos, Texas.
Samuel Ospina nationally qualified in the pole vault at the Bobcat Invitational with an outdoor school record 5.31m clearance. The Colombian broke Dalton Smith's outdoor pole vault record of 4.98m which Smith set in 2023.
Timothey Tuna sprinted to a 10.31 finish in the 100m to nationally qualify in the race. Tuna ranks No. 7 in the NJCAA for the event. Mohammed Mrahi was a first-time national qualifier in the 5000m. The sophomore finished the race in 15:02.84 to sit No. 2 in the NJCAA.
NMJC is ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA for the outdoor season according to the new rankings released by the USTFCCCA.
The Thunderbirds compete next at the Masked Rider Open in Lubbock, Texas April 3. The meet was moved to one day due to the weather forecast.