Knocking on the door of the Sun Belt Conference indoor championships, Western’s track team took part in a three-way split over the weekend to fine-tune for a strong finish.
Junior Janet Jesang set an NCAA automatic standard in the 5,000-meter run at the Husky Classic in Seattle, marking the fifth best time in the country.
“It’s an outstanding feat by an outstanding talent,” head coach Erik Jenkins said. “She was running essentially against an Olympian.”
Jesang’s 16-minutes, 4.78- second run rewrote Western and Sun Belt Conference record books and automatically qualified her for nationals.
Also looking to qualify for nationals, the men’s 4×400 relay team set another fast time at Grand Valley State last Saturday. Joining relay-standard junior Terrill McCombs were seniors Alexander Larin, Romaine McKay and Steve Wilson.
The group clocked in at 3:11.3, good enough for runner-up honors at the meet and third all-time at Western.
“We have individuals that can run very fast, but we have to be at the point where we can put a cohesive unit together,” Jenkins said.
Part of finding a good combination was the addition of senior Romaine McKay to the relay squad. McKay was injured last fall and made his return at Grand Valley.
“I was very excited,” McKay said of his return. “I saw the team hadn’t run the times they were capable of and I thought I would be a good asset.”
Freshman Sharika Smith leapt 19-feet 6-inches to win the women’s long jump, and men’s senior Mandhla Mgijima jumped a personal-best and winning 24-5.50 to complete a Western sweep.
Senior Alecia Brown won the invitational section of the 400-meters with a time of 55.73 and freshman Monique Harris was the top collegiate finisher in the 55-meters at MTSU.
The Lady Toppers also swept the top three spots of the 200-meters. Senior Valerie Brown crossed the line first in 24.29, followed closely by teammates junior Miaie Williams and Smith.
Freshman Hendrik Themas tied the school’s indoor pole vault record with a 15-7 and junior Brian Soverns threw 59-feet, 8.25-inches to set a new Western record for the second week in a row.
The men’s and women’s tracks teams take next weekend off before heading to Jonesboro, Ark., for the Sun Belt Conference Indoor Championships.
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