28 West Texas A&M Track & Field athletes qualify for NCAA D II National Championships

AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — The West Texas A&M University Track and Field team will enter the NCAA Division II National Championships meet with 28 athletes after 14 Buffs and 14 Lady Buffs qualified.

The meet will be held from May 23 through May 25 at the Welch Stadium in Emporia, Kansas.

The release stated that a total of 754 student-athletes achieved a “provisional standard” set for each event to qualify for the championships, 377 men and 377 women.

Last week, was a pivotal meet for the Buffs and Lady Buffs as the Lone Star Conference Track and Field Championship was the last chance to qualify.

Sophomore long Jumper Kailee Benton said, “I just wanted to be on the medal stand it would have been nice to win it all but you know a medal is nice but you know, it’s never good enough until you either get first or you’re exceeding all your goals.”

Both WT teams enter the meet ranked top five nationally with experienced athletes. WT will have 14 men across 12 events and 14 women across 10 events competing in the championships giving them both a good shot at winning the national title.

Graduate Student Florance Uwajeneza runs the 10K and 5K for the Lady Buffs said, “This isn’t my first time, this is my last time so as always we will have some visions for what we’re doing for the team. You know, we all want to win, this title is really big for us, especially WT, all we want to do is just show up and do are best.”

The following WT men’s track and field qualifiers include:

• Isaac Botsio and Jerry Jakpa qualified in the 100m and will be part of the Buffs’ 4×100 relay team.
• Jeremiah Lauzon will compete in the 200m and the 4×100 relay.
• William Amponsah leads the nation in the 10,000m and also qualified in the 5,000m.
• Harry Louradour is set to compete alongside Amponsah in the 5,000m event, marking his comeback to the national stage
• Hamdi Ali is competing in the high jump for the third consecutive year.
• Joseph Oreva is a top contender in the long jump, making his first outdoor championship appearance.
• Luke Holcombe is the sole thrower representing the Buffs, with previous experience in both indoor and outdoor championships.
• Senior Gerard Bryant and sophomore Romet Vahter qualified in the decathlon, having competed in the indoor championships as well.
• Freshmen Jace Lynch will compete in the 4×100 and freshman Manuel Cuesta triple jump both are making their first appearances.
• Mid-distance runners Aziz Mohammed and Prince Mcabelo , fresh off successful indoor and LSC outdoor championships, are competing for the first time in outdoor nationals.

Junior Shot Put Thrower Luke Holcombe enters this meet with experience on his side but also understands previous throws are irrelevant when May 25 arrives.

“I just know what to expect. I know that personally, I belong there. So mentally, the mental game is there just knowing that I belong there with those top 16 guys in the nation and D two is just that’s the best thing about being experienced there. You know, everyone’s got different abilities. So it doesn’t matter how far you threw previously it matters how far you throw may 25.”

The following WT women’s track and field qualifiers include:

• Laiten Greeson is competing in the heptathlon and the 100m hurdles.
• Freshman Deborah Acheampong and graduate student Corrssia Perry are competing in three events each, the most by any WT athlete.
• First-time outdoor national championship appearances for Kailee Benton , Sarah Koomson , Amari Weatherford , Sherifatu Sheriff , Joy Udo-Gabriel , and Blessing Akintoye . Udo-Gabriel and Akintoye have previous indoor championship experience.
• Florance Uwajeneza leads the distance squad in the 5,000m and 10,000m, also leading the nation in the latter.
• Betty Bajika is making her debut appearance in the outdoor championships in the 1500m.
• The Lady Buffs qualified both the 4×100 and 4×400 relays.
• Veterans DeOndra Green and Jordan Brown are returning as legs for the relays with Green on the 4×100 and Brown on the 4×400.
• Miriam Zanovello is the sole triple jump contender for the Lady Buffs but she’s been here before and will make her last appearance at the biggest stage before graduation

Despite the big stage set for former Randall Lady Raider Kailee Benton her preparation for this national championship meet is normal.

Sophomore Benton will compete in the long jump for WT, “Coming to practice every day not changing anything that I would regularly do if it was just a meet here. It is the national meet, so it is a bigger stage a bigger audience, but I just want to keep everything normal and keep doing what I’ve been doing just to do the best I can.”

Veteran Uwajeneza’s gives her advice to the team before the meet, “Be yourself, don’t compare yourself to anybody. I don’t think you should be comparing to other athletes, everybody has their own journey. Trust yourself, trust the process. Everything’s about process. Nothing comes easy in your way. You have to work for it and trust the process and be yourself.”

To watch athletes compete at the NCAA Division II National Championships, it will be livestreamed on the NCAA website.

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