Tucson, AZ – The Pima Community College men’s and women’s track & field teams competed at the NJCAA Indoor National Championships on Friday and Saturday at the Texas Tech Sports Performance Center.
Sophomore distance runner Collin Dylla (Ironwood Ridge HS) took first place and earned 10 points for the Aztecs after he won the national championship in the 1,000-meter race. He was in sixth place heading into the final 400 meters of the race and took the lead at the 800-meter mark. He finished with a time of 2 minutes, 30.18 seconds.
“Collin put together the perfect (indoor) season. He qualified for four events and predicted he would win the 1,000 meters,” Pima head coach Greg Wenneborg said. “Collin’s focus and determination were lazar sharp all season long.”
Dylla finished 12th in the 800 meters at last year’s Indoor Championships and was sixth in the 800 meters at the Outdoor Championships.
“He decided he would make it a goal to win this year and he has progressed ever since,” Wenneborg added.
Dylla is the second distance runner to win a national title since Wenneborg became coach at Pima. Aurora Trujillo won the steeplechase in 2009.
Freshman Cameron Crandall (Canyon del Oro HS) took 5th place in the high jump with a mark of 6-feet, 10.75-inches. He earned four points for the Aztecs.
In women’s competition, sophomore Megan Schiffmacher (Cactus HS) tied for 5th place in the high jump as she finished with a mark of 5-feet, 5.25-inches (1.66 meters) earning the Aztecs 3.5 points. Freshman Anahiramar Lopez (Tucson HS) tied for 7th place with a mark of 5-5.25 (1.66 meters).
Them en’s team finished in 17th place out of 39 teams with 14 points. The women’s team tied for 21st place out of 38 teams with five points.
The Aztecs begin the Outdoor season at the Willie Williams Invitational hosted by the University of Arizona on Mar. 16-17 at Roy P. Drachman Stadium. Competition begins on Friday, Mar. 16 at 4:00 p.m. and continues on Saturday, Mar. 17 at 10:00 a.m.
