Cougars look to regain spot as King of the NJCAA Track Mountain
 For several years Barton Community College was the team to beat when it came to the NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. While still annually one of the top teams the past few years, the Cougar men are primed to make a run for that top spot once again. Barton is armed with a pair of 2008 Olympians as well as one of the fastest sprinters in the world this year. That trio, along with some quality depth, should give Barton its best chance to win the NJCAA title since its run of 7 straight titles ended in 2005. The Barton women had its title run of 6 snapped in 2006. The Cougar women are headlined by 2-time defending champion Jasmine Simmons. Simmons will return to defend her titles in the long jump and triple jump.
The event will take place at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson this year and is the closest venue the Cougars have been to home in 9 years. That will give Barton fans their best chance to see the Cougar athletes in action for that same time frame as well, including two Olympians and a possible 3rd in the future. The meet will start Thursday with a limited number of events and pick up Friday with several of the preliminaries on the track and some finals in the field. Saturday will be a full day of finals on the track with more field events as well.
Men
The men’s side shapes up to be a 2-team race according to qualifying times for those entered. The Cougars and defending champion South Plains (Texas) would be neck and neck if the meet scored out like the qualifying times. South Plains has won the past 2 titles. Central Arizona won the title in 2005, ending Barton’s run. Central Arizona also won in 2006 and tied with South Plains in 2007 for the title.
Sprints
 Barton should do well in the sprints and could sweep the 3 events. The Cougars will be favored or among the favorites all 3 as Alonso Edward and Tabarie Henry look to lead a sweep. Edward will go in as the favorite in the 100m and 200m. Edward comes in with the fastest times in both events with a 9.97 in the 100m and a 20.40 in the 200m. Ryan Bailey of Rend Lake (Ill) has clocked a 10.06 and 20.71 for the next best times.
Edward’s 9.97 was aided by a 2.3 wind (2.0 is legal limit), but his 10.19 at the Region VI meet recently is among the Top 30 in the world this year. The Cougars hope to get some points from Justin Anderson in the 100m as well. In the 200m, Edward’s time of 20.40 was wind legal (1.7) and is currently the 14th fastest in the world. Anderson will also look to add points for Barton in the 200m.
In the 400m, Henry does not bring the fastest time in but is close to it. Henry has clocked the oval in 45.09 at the Texas Invitational this year, 2nd behind South Plains’ Latroy Williams at 45.01. Those are the only two times under 46.00. Williams’ time is the 7th fastest in the world and Henry ranks 12th. Henry made the semifinals of the 400m during the 2008 Olympics running for the Virgin Islands. Last year Henry took 2nd in a great battle with South Plains’ Renny Quow. Quow made the Olympics Finals last summer for Trinidad & Tobago, placing 7th.
Middle Distance/Distance
Any points from the Cougars in the middle distance races would be a bonus in their quest for the title. Barton has a chance to score in both – especially the 800m. Terry Charles has run a 1:52.23 this year – the 10th best time in the NJCAA. Jabar Rolle is also among the top 15. South Plains could score 20 or more points in the 800m. Dean Gonsalves will run both the 800m and 1500m. Barton will not run anyone 5000m 10,000m.
Hurdles
 The Cougars bring one of the top hurdlers in the world into the 110m high hurdles in 2008 Olympian Ryan Brathwaite. The Barton sophomore has clocked a 13.32 wind legal effort this year for the 8th fastest in the world to date. Brathwaite will be the clear-cut favorite with the Cougars’ Malcolm Anderson also looking to score big points. Anderson is just shy of the 2nd fastest time in the NJCAA as Barton will hope for a 1-2 finish. Brathwaite is the defending champion in the event.
The Cougars hope to score points in the 400m hurdles as well. Zac Carson and Jeremy Wesley will bring the 8th and 9th fastest times in with hopes of moving up to score some crucial points for the Cougars. With South Plains’ Bryce Brown the top time by far in the event, any points Barton gets to counter that could be big.
Relays
Barton has a very good shot at winning two of the three relays and an outside shot at a sweep. The Cougars have the 2nd best time in both the 4x800m and the 4x400m. The Cougars bring the 5th best time in the 4x100m.
Jumps
The Cougars will likely get points from the vertical jumps and could score big in the long jump. Barton’s Jarrod Hutchen and Akeem Holmes come in with the 2nd and 3rd longest jumps in the NJCAA. Hutchen (26-0.75) is one of just 2 jumpers to break the 26-foot. Jeff Henderson of Hinds (Miss) has jumped 26-10 and would be among the top 10 but it was wind-aided (6.0). Holmes’ 25-7.25 is the 3rd best effort this year in the NJCAA. He was 3rd last year the NJCAA Championships. Richard McCoy will join them in the long jump, looking to close in on 25-feet and points for Barton His jump of 24-7.25 is the 12th best in the NJCAA this year.
In the triple jump, Barton will hope to squeeze out some points as well. Floyd Ross brings a lead of 49-11.25 into the meet, which is the 7th best effort. Fred Brown is just outside the top 10 with a 49-0.75.
Throws
This is another big area for the Cougars in their quest for the NJCAA title. Barton looks to score big points in 3 of the 4 events. Max Alonso brings the best efforts to the meet in both the shot put (56-2) and discus (180-0). His discus best is nearly 15 feet more than the 2nd best effort of 165-2, held by teammate Avery Griffen. Adrian Little has the 4th best effort in the shot at 53-3. Tommy Mauldin will also throw the discus for the Cougars.
Women
 The women have a tougher challenge in front of them. South Plains comes in as the heavy favorite to win the meet with Central Arizona the 2nd choice. Barton would take a distant but solid 3rd if the scoring played out like the marks coming in. If South Plains were to win the title it would be the school’s 1st. The Texans have been among the top teams for the past several years but Central Arizona has won the last 3 titles since ending Barton’s run in 2006.
Sprints
The Cougars should score points in the sprints but not in massive amounts. Shaycoya Myers currently has the 4th best time in the 100m with her 11.62 she ran earlier this year. The top time coming in is an 11.39. Myers will be joined in the 100m by Sierra Chambers who has the 11th best time of 11.96 but is within .05 of the 8th best and points. Chambers will also run in the 200m where she has recorded the 12th best time in 24.41.
Middle Distance/Distance
Shelly Rolle provides the Cougars with a solid chance for points in the 800m with her 2:14.62 which is in the top 5 this year at the NJCAA level. Simone Buford will join her in the race. Buford has run a 2:20.51 this year. The Cougars don’t have any runners above 800m in the meet.
Hurdles
The hurdles should be a big event for Barton with a chance for a pair of gold medals. The 110m hurdles looks to be a battle with Barton’s April Williams and Natasha Ruddock of Essex (NJ) for the gold. Ruddock has run a 13.30 this year while Williams has clocked a 13.34. Tiana Davis will join Williams in the race. She currently has the 4th best time of the year.
Andrea Southerland will enter the 400m hurdles as the favorite in the race by more than a full second. Southerland is the only NJCAA runner to break the 1-minute mark this year with her time of 59.43 at the Texas Relays. She was 2nd last year to teammate Tayanna Simnpson. Kierre Beckless of Central Arizona is next at 1:01.12. Alex Webster will also run for the Cougars in the meet and could get points as well. Her time of 1:05.61 is the 12th best this season.
Relays
Barton should score points in all 3 relays with a good shot at winning the 4x400m. The Cougars will bring the 2nd fastest time to the meet in the 4x400m in 3:42.27 just off the top time of 3:41.43 held by South Plains. Barton also has the 2nd fastest time in the 4x800m but is a full 6 seconds behind the time of Central Arizona. In the 4x100m, Barton has the 5th fastest time this year.
 Jumps
As the defending champion and with the best marks so far this year, Simmons is the clear favorite in both the long jump and triple jump. But she may get challenged hard in the long jump by Sasha-Kay Matthias of Essex. Simmons long jump of the year was her 20-2.5 she jumped at the Region VI Championships just more than a week ago. Matthias has also topped the 20-foot mark with her 20-0.5. Davis, who jumps in addition to her hurdle race, has the 10th best distance of 19-0.
In the triple jump, Simmons jump of 43-7 is nearly 3 feet longer than the next best this year turned in by Kristen Osborn of Rend Lake. Davis has the 12th best distant at 38-1.25.
Throws
The Cougars probably won’t score many points in the throws but anything they can get will be helpful. Rachel Belisle will bring the 3rd longest javelin throw of the season into that event with her toss of 134-5. Jenna Stremel will also throw in the event. Barton could also get points from the discus where Katie Gerhardt will bring the 6th best throw to the meet at 147-8. She will be joined by Emily Nnokwam and Stremel. All 3 have top 20 throws with Nnokwam the 10th best effort.
Nnokwam will also compete in the shot put for the Cougars and Gerhardt, Belisle and Nnokwam will all throw the hammer. Gerhardt has the 12th best hammer throw and Belisle the 15th best so far this year.
Results
Live Results can be found during the meet at http://www.hutchcc.edu/dragons/redsite/2009%20NJCAA%20Track%20Meet/Home.htm
Next
May 21-23 – NJCAA Outdoor Championships (at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson)
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