JUCO track: IHCC men wrap up historic season
May 22—WEST MONROE, La. — The Indian Hills men's track and field squad took home a fifth-place finish at the 2024 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championship, the program's best finish of all-time at the outdoor championships.
As a program, the Warriors captured one individual national championship and one relay national title. Indian Hills took home three national runner-up performances and 12 total All-American efforts.
Sophomore Tyrice Taylor made history once again for the Warriors after capturing the 800-meter national championship for the second consecutive season. Taylor posted a time of 1:47.97 to edge the top runners in the nation and earn a spot atop the podium. Taylor becomes the first Warrior in school history to bring home a national championship in two consecutive years, and just the second two-time national champion of all-time at Indian Hills.
Taylor's title added to a lengthy list of 800-meter feats for the Warriors in recent memory. The Warriors have now captured four 800-meter national titles and eight top-three finishes over the last three seasons between the indoor and outdoor championships.
The Warriors' second national championship came on the legs of the men's 4x800 relay squad. The quartet of Cole Reinders, Mohammed Al-Yafaee, Keveroy Venson and Tray'Quan Francis secured the title with a time of 7:29.6, shattering the previous Indian Hills school record by nearly 10 seconds. The Warriors' mark also ranks as the eighth-fastest time in NJCAA history after beating the second-place squad by more than a full second.
Traunard Folson once again starred in the sprints events for the Warriors, earning two national runner-up finishes to cap an illustrious career at Indian Hills. In a highly competitive 100-meter dash field, Folson took second with a time of 10.07, just .03 seconds off the national championship time, upping his 11th-place finish from a year ago. Folson added a runner-up finish in the men's 200-meter dash with a time of 20.47 seconds.
Tate Joens, the two-time Iowa Community College Athletic Conference (ICCAC) Field Athlete of the Year, took home a second-place finish in the men's hammer throw with a mark of 56.34 meters. The freshman also posted top-10 finishes in both the men's shot put with a personal best mark and the men's discus event for the Warriors.
Joens becomes a three-time All-American in his inaugural campaign at Indian Hills while posting five top-10 finishes at national championship events.
The Warriors saw two more relay groups take home All-American honors at Brown Stadium as the men's 4x400-meter relay squad posted a runner-up finish while the men's 4x100-meter relay squad took home a third-place showing.
The 4x400-meter relay squad comprised of Jah'Vauni Wheeler, Taylor, Terrick Johnson and Chris Johnson posted a finals time of 3:06.11, less than half-a-second off the national championship time. The Warriors have now captured back-to-back runner-up finishes in the 4x400 after both Taylor and Chris Johnson helped lead the group at the 2023 outdoor national championship.
The 4x100 squad relied on the efforts of Stephen Brown, Folson, Amos Oruamabo and Michael Blank to earn a third-place finish. The quartet, who owns the current school record set earlier this year, posted a time of 40.02 seconds.
Folson leaves Indian Hills as a six-time All-American and a three-time school record holder while Chris Johnson departs with five All-American honors and four relay school records.
Venson earned a third-place spot on the podium in the men's 1,500-meter run. Venson earned his third All-American honor this year after posting a time of 3:52.31.
Triston Miller earned All-American status in the men's high jump, the freshman's fourth All-American honor in his rookie campaign at Indian Hills. The freshman jumped to a mark of 2.02 meters, a new personal-best for Miller.
Cyrus Ways earned a spot on the podium as an All-American in the men's 400-meter hurdles event. Ways, who was an All-American in the indoor season in the 60-meter hurdles, posted a time of 53.43 seconds in West Monroe to finish sixth overall for the Warriors.
Along with his All-American effort in the 4x400 relay, Wheeler was also named an All-American in the men's 400-meter dash. Wheeler ran to a personal best time of 46.44 seconds to place seventh overall.
Freshman Brandon Ford ran the second-fastest 10,000-meter run in school history to capture All-American honors. In his first 10,000 event of the season, Ford posted a time of 30:26.64 to place eighth overall. Ford also posted a 14th-place finish in the men's 5,000-meter event.
The Warriors cap a record-breaking season that saw both the indoor and outdoor squads post their best all-time finishes at the national championships after the indoor squad brought home the 2024 national title.
