Nyamufarira Earns National Athlete of the Week Following Jo Meaker Classic, T-Bird (M-Track) Jumps to No. 1

The NMJC men's track & field team had a plethora of athletes qualify nationally at the Jo Meaker Classic & Multi April 10-12 in Canyon, Texas.

The Thunderbirds finished the weekend with three school records, six improved qualifiers, and 14 new national qualifiers.

David Nyamufarira blew away the competition this week at the Jo Meaker Classic & Multi with his school-record 10.02 finish in the 100m. The time ties former NMJC Olympian Carlie Makarawu's 10.02 he set in 2024. The finish is No. 1 in the NJCAA, No. 3 all-time for Zimbabwe, and No. 4 all-time for the NJCAA.

Nyamufarira was named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for his performance at the Jo Meaker Classic. He is the ninth Thunderbird male athlete to receive the honor. 

Jonathan Da Silva broke the decathlon school record scoring 6776 points in Canyon, Texas. The score bests Oscar Campos' 6329 points from 2021. Da Silva is ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA for the event.

Mawali Osunniyi broke his own outdoor high jump school record he set in his last meet by .08m with a leap of 2.15m. Osunniyi remains first in the NJCAA for the event.  

The T-Birds had five athletes nationally qualify in the 200m this week. Bovel McPherson ran a 20.44 in the 200m to breach the standard and rank No. 2 in the NJCAA for the event. Benjamin Nsiah also qualified for nationals with his 20.69 in the 200m (NJCAA No. 7). Timothey Tuna came across the line in 20.75 to set the new Papua New Guinea national record in the 200m which ranks him as the No. 10 runner in the NJCAA.  

Chevoney Reid ran a 21 flat to come in at No. 24 in the NJCAA for the 200m. Shamarie Roberts was the last 200m runner to nationally qualify. The sophomore sprinter ran a 21.05 and is No. 25 in JUCO. Roberts also ran in the 100m where he finished in 10.30 to qualify nationally (NJCAA No. 10).

Ezekiel Newton ran a 10.34 in the 100m as a national qualifier to rank No. 15 in JUCO. Emmanuel Anais also reached the national standard in the 100m with a 10.38 finish (NJCAA No. 18). 

The 10,000m national qualifiers featured Brian Cheruiyot and Emmanuel Kimaiyo. Cheruiyot finished the race in 31:32.33 to nab the No. 10 spot in the NJCAA. Emmanuel Kimaiyo finished the 10,000m with a time of 31:55.97 to rank No. 13 in the event.  

Freshman Mohammed Mrahi finished the steeplechase in 9:33.95 to hold the No. 14 spot in JUCO. Alexandre Fablet crossed the national standard threshold in the 5000m with his time of 14:50.56 (NJCAA No. 28).

Moving over to the field side, Johnathon Rodgers nearly broke the school record in the long jump with his leap of 7.83m. The jump was just .01m off the school record set by Khybah Dawson in 2023 and is No. 2 in the NJCAA. Ilias Arifi scored 6550 points in the decathlon to move to No. 2 in the school record book and No. 3 in the NJCAA for this season.  

Sophomore Joao Dalandrea was an improved qualifier in the hammer throw by 2.29m this week with his toss of 53.71m (NJCAA No. 5).

The 4x100m relay squad of Ezekiel Newton, Chevoney Reid, Timothey Tuna, and David Nyamufarira ran an improved qualifying time of 39.62 to sit at No. 3 in the NJCAA.

The mile relay team of Benjamin Nsiah, Raheim Scott, Shamarie Roberts, and Bovel McPherson improved on their national standard in the 4x400m with a time of 3:07.25 (NJCAA No. 3).

NMJC leaps to No. 1 in the NJCAA for the outdoor season according to the Checkpoint 3 rankings released by the USTFCCCA.

The Thunderbirds next meet is the Michael Johnson Invite in Waco, Texas April 18-19.