LeBron James Breaks National Record on Day 1 of the NJCAA Outdoor T&F Championships

The NMJC men's track & field team finished Day 1 of the 2026 NJCAA Outdoor T&F Championships with seven individual All-Americans, one individual national champion, and one relay All-American squad on Thursday, May 14 in Hobbs, NM.

The Thunderbirds are currently in second place with 41 points and are behind first place South Plains who has 43 points. Iowa Western and Iowa Central are in a tie for third place with 18 points. 

The story of the day was sophomore LeBron James winning his second straight javelin national title. James, donning signatures on his uniform from all his teammates, set the NJCAA national record on Thursday with an official steel measured tape throw of 77.91m. He beat the previous record (76.29m) set by South Plains Markim Felix in 2018. The finish on his home track earned the team their first 10 points of the championship. 

Pavashe Muzokomba finished national runner-up in the long jump with a leap of 7.74m. The freshman earned All-American honors with the performance and added eight points to the team's total. 

Samuel Ospina was the national runner-up in the pole vault Thursday afternoon with a clearance of 5.01m adding another eight points. The sophomore ends his career as a four-time All-American and two-time national champion.

Samuel Puustinen came in third place in the hammer throw with a mark of 59.72m. The thrower earned six points and his first NJCAA All-American distinction. 

The 4x800m relay squad of Romain Toth, Elmehdi Bouchouata, Rayane Courtois, and Rayen Chiha placed fourth in the race with a time of 7:23.79. The team picked up five points with the All-American performance. 

Emmanuel Kimaiyo raced well in the 10,000m with his sixth-place finish. The sophomore recorded a 32:07.04 in the race to earn All-American status and three points. Addiso Boitew was an All-American in the same race earning a valuable point to the team's total. He finished in eighth place with a time of 32:24.50. 

The Thunderbirds are in second place with 41 points headed into Day 2 action.

Day 2 starts at 9 a.m. MDT and ends at 6:15 p.m. MDT. Day 3 will start at 10 a.m. MDT and finishes at 6:15 p.m. MDT.

For the full schedule click here, for live results click here, and for the livestream of the events click here.