Thunderbird (W-T&F) Wins 3rd Outdoor National Title in 4 Years
The NMJC women's track & field team won the 2026 NJCAA DI Women's Outdoor T&F Championships on Saturday, May 16 in Hobbs, NM.
The Thunderbirds won the team national title by a mere .5 point over Iowa Western CC. The Thunderbirds scored 107.5 points, Iowa Western CC was runner-up with 107 points, and Barton County was third with 78 points.
"We began setting the vision for winning double team titles at home during our preseason camp in January," NMJC women's track head coach Kathleen Raske said. "We had several newcomers for spring semester, so building the team chemistry and culture was imperative for us as a program if we were to achieve this historic goal. To actually attain this was almost surreal with all the drama at the end of the meet, but we couldn't be happier for our athletes and for our college to bring those team titles home and defend our house! It was an extraordinary moment of pure joy and celebration when we received the final result! A memory I know each of us will never ever forget!"
The championship came down to the final race of the evening in the mile relay. The Thunderbirds trailed Iowa Western CC by 2.5 points before the race. The T-Birds relay squad of Charissa December, Tuwana McLean, Motlatsi Rante, and Gabriela Anahi Suarez came in fourth place with a time of 3:40.89. Iowa Western CC finished in seventh place with a time of 3:52.13 to score two points which gave NMJC a .5 advantage and the national title.
"We always emphasize how important it is for EVERYONE to fight for every point and that means finishing each race/attempt with everything they have within themselves and never take anything for granted," Coach Raske said. "It is never over until it is over! It takes an entire TEAM to add up total team points to win a team title and even .5 of a point could come from anywhere. I told our women's 4x4 they needed to be top 3 and that would probably clinch it for us. They ran a SB and improved their time from prelims and gave it their all. I was so proud of how they fought."
"It was a 3 day battle with us closing in each day to cut down Iowa Western's lead," Coach Raske said. "We had to make up 25 points on paper before the meet started, and our women knew what they had to do. One by one they competed hard for it, and it took a total team effort! I'm so proud of how they stepped up!"
NMJC has won the outdoor national championship three out of the last four years. The last time NMJC hosted the NJCAA DI Women's Outdoor T&F Championships they won as well. The T-Birds swept the men's and women's titles in 2023 just like this year. The T-Birds have won the women's outdoor title in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2023, 2024, and 2026.
The Thunderbirds ended Saturday's meet with 10 new individual All-Americans and two relay All-American squads. NMJC finished the meet with 18 individual All-Americans, three relay All-American squads, one individual national champion, and one relay national champion squad.
The T-Birds individual national champion was Tiana Petrova in the high jump, and the relay national champion squad was the 4x800m consisting of Lindsey Lopes, Nour Bouzidi, Yididiya Bifa, and Amal Kachouri.
"Tiana Petrova's performance in the high jump was clutch," Coach Raske said. "I was so incredibly happy for her to win on her home track and give the team another spark as it made a big difference in points for us specifically against Iowa Western!"
"Coach Becker was so confident and did a great job coaching those women to a national title and more importantly starting our team out with our first win in on the first day of the championship. They started the FIRE for the entire women's team, and it was awesome!"
Gabriela Anahi Suarez had herself a day earning four All-American medals in the 200m, 400m, 4x100m relay, and mile relay.
"I cannot say enough about Gabriela Suarez's outstanding performances the entire three days," Coach Raske said. "She had run a total of seven races and most impressive was her efforts on the final day in four events in tough conditions with the heat and the winds. She ran a new school record and an Ecuador National record that she had been chasing for years. She is a special athlete to coach and to watch compete. You can see her HUGE heart throughout it all and she inspired everyone, including me."
The freshman recorded a 53.46 in the 400m on Saturday to earn a national runner-up and post eight points to the team score. Suarez ran 22.50 all-conditions school record to add eight points to the team score.
Yididiya Bifa was the national runner-up in the 1500m with a time of 4:34.99. She earned All-American status and added eight points to the team score. Bifa also raced in the 5000m finishing in third for another six points and her third All-American medal of the weekend. Bifa ends her Thunderbird career as a seven-time All-American.
"We were so blessed to have Yididiya Bifa transfer to our team this year," Coach Raske said. "She made an easy transition and worked hard and stayed healthy and a healthy and happy Yididiya is a powerful force! After the incredible showing at the indoor championships, she continued to show her talent, competitiveness and poise throughout the outdoor championship. She was as crucial to our team this season as anyone, and we could have not done it without her. She is a great teammate and leader and will be hard to replace!"
The 4x100m relay team of Felicia Awudi, Nalicia Glen, Tuwana McLean, and Gabriela Anahi Suarez ran a 45.97 to finish in third place. The All-American finish earned the team six points.
Discus thrower Gabriella Tcheukam finished in third place with a throw of 47.45m. The freshman earned her first All-American distinction and added six points to the team score.
Charissa December finished Saturday strong as an All-American in the 400mH and the 100mH. The freshman ran a 1:00.09 in the 400mH to finish in third place. December recorded an eighth-place finish in the 100mH with a 13.72. She earned six points in the 400mH and one point in the 100mH.
Lindsey Lopes had a fantastic finish in the 800m after ending her first lap in eighth place. The sophomore turned it on in the final lap moving up from eighth to fifth place with a finish of 2:16.75. The All-American time secured the T-Birds four points in the race.
Ines Mrabet placed sixth overall in the 5000m with a time of 18:20.41. She earned her second outdoor All-American medal with the finish and added three points to the team total.
Athilia Pryce came in seventh place in the discus with a throw of 43.65m. The sophomore scored two points in the event and ends her Thunderbird career as a six-time All-American.
The USTFCCCA Regional Awards were announced on Saturday. Coach Kathleen Raske was named the Women's West Region Coach of the Year and Coach Jeff Becker was named Women's West Region Assistant Coach of the Year. Gabriela Anahi Suarez earned Women West Region Track Athlete of the Year.
The T-Birds ended the track & field season with an indoor national runner-up finish and an outdoor national championship.
"Winning at home is extra special and was something we worked hard towards over the last nine months," Coach Raske said. "I thank God for it to come to fruition. Overall, I'm so proud of the fight in our athlete's and how both men's and women's team came together as ONE team ONE program to WIN!"
"I want to thank the entire NMJC campus, community, officials, volunteers and especially outdoing Athletic Director Deron Clark for all the support and hard work to make this event such a success. Our team was especially happy to bring home the titles for COACH CLARK!!!! We will miss him greatly!"