Track & Field 2/13/2022 9:15:00 AM Cameron Brennan

Eastern New Mexico track & field concluded its regular season of meets at the Texas Tech Shoot Out on Saturday afternoon at the Sports Performance Center. A handful of athletes set personal bests, while some entered the ENMU program record books.

On Friday, Savannah Romero posted a personal best in the 400 meter dash, clocking a time of 1:04.56. In the 800, Malethabo Seema crossed the line at 2:16.99 and finishing 13^th overall. So far this season, M. Seema has the second fastest time by any Lone Star Conference (LSC) student athlete.

Aminata Kenyawani impressed in the 5000-meter run. Kenyawani recorded a time of 18.38.97, placing 2^nd in the event. When accounting for altitude, the time read 18.24.25, which is the 6^th fastest time this season in the LSC. Dorcas Kosgei also had a great performance in the 5000, with a time of 19:09.22 crossing the line in fifth place (18:54.10, adjusting for altitude).

Japhet Toroitich took part in the 400-meter dash (B Section) and turned in a 7^th place finish with a time of 49.53. Toroitich’s time landed in the top five for program records, and is 8^th around the conference. Kelvin Kipkemboi made a mark in the 5000-meter run crossing the line in second place with a time of 15:29.85. Kipkemboi’s time landed him 2^nd in the all-time record books, after adjusting for altitude with a time of 15:17.62.

The next day, a handful of Eastern athletes impressed on the final day of competition. Lethabo Seema produced their best time in the mile, clocking 5:16.40 and finishing 10^th overall. When considering the altitude, the adjusted time stands at 5:12.40 landing in the program record books (4th), and 6^th among all LSC runners.

Kenyawani and Marta Pascoa also showed strong times in the mile, with marks of 5:19.56 (13^th) and 5:20.26 (14^th), respectively. Kenyawani hit a seasons best time, and Pascoa registered a new PR. Adjusted for altitude, Kenyawani’s time stood at 5:15.85 and Pascoa’s time read 5:16.85. Tamia Smith rounded out the day with a season best throw of 12.43 m (40′ 9.5″) in the shot put.

FROM THE SOURCE

“We had a pretty solid meet this weekend. We love going to (Texas) Tech, it’s a fast track and we get to step up to some quality Div. I competition,” said Head Track & Field Coach Jeff Kavalunas. “Our 5,000-meter runners and milers were pretty hot with almost everyone having a personal best or season best. In the field events, Tamia (Smith) started finding her form in the shot put getting back to over 40 ft”.

Eastern now rest and wait for the 2022 Lone Star Conference Indoor Track & Field Championships, which will take place from Feb. 25-26. The championships will be held at the Sports Performance Center on the campus of Texas Tech, in Lubbock, Texas.