Santos Shatters NJCAA Heptathlon Record at UNM

Luiz Santos broke the NJCAA national record in the heptathlon when the T-Bird men's track & field team competed at the UNM Collegiate Classic Feb. 6-7 in Albuquerque, NM.

Santos set the NJCAA record in the heptathlon with a score of 5506. The freshman broke Denim Rogers of Garden City CC 5465 record set in 2018. He also broke the school record of 5054 set by Ilias Arifi in 2025. Santos was named USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for his performance. 

The men finished the meet with seven new national qualifying standards and five improved qualifiers this weekend. 

David Nyamufarira exceeded expectations this weekend improving on his national standard in the 60m and 200m. The sophomore sprinter ran a 6.61 in the 60m to take the top spot in the NJCAA for the event. He followed up that performance with a 21.01 in the 200m to slide into the No. 2 spot in the NJCAA. He improved in the 200m by .34 seconds on Saturday.  

Alexandre Fablet and Killian LeBourhis both met the national standard in the mile at UNM. Fablet recorded a 4:15.70 to rank No. 11 in the NJCAA. LeBourhis was ever so slightly behind Fablet in the mile with a 4:15.93 to come in at No. 12 in the NJCAA.   

Freshman Girts Senkevics national qualified for the 60mH with a time of 8.12 to put him in the No. 13 spot in the NJCAA for the event.

Rayen Chiha reached the national standard in his third event with the 600m. The freshman ran a 1:19.88 in the race to rank No. 17 in the NJCAA. Adolf Kauba also met the standard with a 1:20.52 in the 600m. 

Aaron Jerry was the final national qualifier for the T-Birds on the track with his 48.00 in the 400m.

Now over to the field side.

Sophomore Samuel Ospina improved on his previous national standard by .27m to record a 5.30m clearance. The vault breaks his own indoor school record he set in 2025 at 5.12m. The 5.30m clearance is No. 2 in the NJCAA.  

Pavashe Muzokomba improved on his national standard in the long jump by .10m with his leap of 7.50m. The jump is currently No. 5 in the NJCAA for the event.  

Javar Thomas crossed the national mark in the long jump with a leap of 7.30m. The jump is No. 11 in the NJCAA for the event. Thomas also improved on his triple jump national standard with a 14.98m leap. The mark is .24m clear of his previous best and is No. 5 in the NJCAA for the event. 

The Thunderbirds move up to No. 2 in the USTFCCCA Track & Field Men's Indoor Rating Index.

The T-Birds next meet is Feb. 13-14 in Lubbock, Texas at the Jarvis Scott Invite.