T-Bird (M-T&F) Ends 2026 Indoor Season as National Runner-up
The NMJC men's track & field team finished national runner-up to Barton Community College on Saturday, March 7 at the 2026 NJCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships in Topeka, Kan.
The T-Birds also finished runner-up at indoor nationals in 2024 and 2025.
The T-Birds finished Day 2 with three individual national champions, eight more individual All-Americans and two relay All-American teams.
Barton won the team national title with a score of 75 points. The Thunderbirds came one point shy of the Cougars with a team total of 74 points. Iowa Central CC placed third with a team score of 72.
"Our men fought hard for the championship," NMJC men's track & field head coach Terry VanLaningham said. "Unfortunately, and disappointingly, we came up just short. I know they will collectively learn from this outcome and move forward with the goal of finishing on top this outdoor season. I was proud of how they conducted themselves and represented our department, college, and community in a first-class manner through the meet."
NMJC ended the meet with four individual national champions, three relay All-American squads, and 10 individual All-Americans.
Sophomore sprinter David Nyamufarira won the 60m national title in back-to-back years with a time of 6.61 to put 10 points on the board for the team total. The finish was .001 seconds faster than Hinds CC's Jayval Wright. A Zimbabwean T-Bird has now won the 60m dash in four consecutive years (Carlie Makarawu 2023-24/David Nyamufarira 2025-26). Nyamufarira finishes his indoor career as a 3-time individual All-American, two-time individual national champion, and one time relay All-American.
NJCAA national record holder Luiz Santos capped off an incredible season with a heptathlon national title Saturday morning. The freshman All-American finished with 5444 points to crush the competition by 453 points and add 10 points to the team total.
Benjamin Nsiah won the 400m national title with his career-best time of 46.19. The finish scored 10 points for the team total. The sophomore All-American has come a long way since a year ago when he finished ninth in the 400m final and was one spot shy of All-American status.
NMJC finished the meet with Bastien Cadeot (LJ), Luiz Santos (HP), David Nyamufarira (60m), and Benjamin Nsiah (400m) all crowned national champions.
"Our national champions lead the way by being examples of how to work consistently and partner with the coaches on a daily/weekly basis," Coach VanLaningham said. "I am proud of David Nyamufarira who defended his 60m championship from 2025 and Benjamin Nsiah for improving from ninth to first in the 400m. Freshmen Luiz Santos heptathlon and Bastien Cadeot long jump champions are very talented. However, it is their work ethic and competitive nature that really shows up at the meets. Their futures are certainly promising! I am hopeful the men will step up to the challenge of following their lead into the upcoming outdoor season!"
Carlos Brown finished third in the photo-finish 60m final with a career-best 6.62. The All-American scored six points for the T-Birds with the placement.
Samalie Farrington was the third T-Bird in the 60 final. The freshman sprinter recorded a 6.68 finish to place seventh, scoring two points and earning All-American honors.
Elmehdi Bouchouata, fresh off his 1000m prelim school record of 2:25.38, was seventh in the 1000m final with a time of 2:27.06. The run scored two points and gave him All-American recognition.
Romain Toth gave it his all in the 800m final, flipping over the finish line to place eighth with a time of 1:52.88. The All-American finish earned the T-Birds one point.
Alexandre Fablet was the final individual All-American for NMJC on Saturday. The sophomore distance runner placed eighth in the 3000m with a time of 8:18.88 to grab a point.
The 4x800m relay team of Erwan Darrieulat, Rayen Chiha, Adolf Kauba, and Romain Toth started Saturday with a bang finishing national runner-up with a school record time of 7:29.73. The T-Bird squad picked up eight points with the All-American finish.
The mile relay squad of Aaron Jerry, Johnathon Bai, David Nyamufarira and Benjamin Nsiah saw NMJC finish seventh with a time of 3:10.16 scoring two points in the final race of the meet.
The USTFCCCA Regional Awards were announced on Saturday with the T-Birds bringing home two trophies. Heptathlete Luiz Santos was named Men's West Region Field Athlete of the Year and head coach Terry VanLaningham earned Men's West Region Coach of the Year.
For the final results click here. For Day 1 Recap click here.
