Aztecs Men’s Track & Field Snag First Region I Team Championship in 38 Years

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(Tucson, AZ)  The Pima Community College men’s track & field team claimed its first NJCAA Region I Championship crown since 1983.

The Aztecs finished with a total of 224 points beating out Central Arizona College (200) by 24 points. Mesa Community college finished third with 166 while Paradise Valley Community College had 151. Glendale Community College rounded out the field with 72.

The Aztecs claimed five individual Region I championships. Sophomore Mikhail Browne won his second championship after taking first in the Triple Jump with a mark of 14.71 meters (48-feet, 3-inches). He took home the Long Jump title on Tuesday.

Freshman Cody Rennaker (Youngker HS) took first place in the High Jump as a best-jump of 1.93 meters (6-4). Pima head coach Chad Harrison said this was the first time in his 13 years at Pima that the men and women have swept the jumps at Regionals.

Sophomore Donovan Henderson took second place in the Triple Jump with a mark of 14.69 meters (48-2). Freshman Ali Mohamed (Desert View HS) was second in the High Jump at 1.88 meters (6-2).

Freshman Reise Way (Buena HS) took third place in both hurdle events. He finished the 110 meter hurdles with a time of 14.80 and closed out the 400 meter hurdles at 54.26.

The 4×100 relay team of Browne, freshman Octavius Thomas (Tucson Magnet HS), Henderson and Way placed third with a time of 42.24.

Coach’s Quote: “The biggest thing on the men’s side was they never really lost any position in points. They put up a unified front and got points in unexpected areas,” Pima track & field coach Chad Harrison said. “The sprints really brought it and we knew if they scored anything, they’d give us the advantage. The jumps kept us consistent, the distance runners are always phenomenal and kept chipping away at Central’s lead. The biggest coaching decision was putting four guys in the Decathlon; had we not, I don’t think we would have won. The throwers kept us in the fight with their consistent performances.”

Other Pima finishes and points scored at Thursday’s Region I Championships:

Connor Ivie (Basha HS) – 4^th in Triple Jump (13.64 meters) 5 points

Reece Gardner (Marana HS) – 4^th in High Jump (1.83 meters) 5 points

Adrian Watson (Cienega HS) – 4^th in 400 meters (49.25) 5 points; 6^th in 400 meter hurdles (54.26) 3 points

Octavius Thomas (Tucson Magnet HS) – 4^th in 100 meters (11.20) 5 points

Reece Gardner (Marana HS), Adrian Watson (Cienega HS), Zach Zobak, Andre Maytorena (Nogales HS) – 4^th in 4×400 meter relay (3:23.73) 5 points

Ali Mohamed (Desert View HS) – 5^th in Triple Jump (13.36 meters)

Gabriel Puelo – 5^th in 1,500 meters (4:03.92) 6 points

James Pruitt (Ironwood Ridge HS) – 6^th in High Jump (1.78 meters) 3 points; 7^th in 110 meter hurdles (16.47) 2 points

Caleb Rayman (Cienega HS) – 6^th in 1,500 meters (4:04.05) 5 points

Avery Dylla (Ironwood Ridge HS) – 7^th in 1,500 meters (4:04.16) 4 points

Camron Thomas (Shadow Mountain HS) – 7^th in 400 meters (51.04) 2 points; 8^th in 200 meters (22.93) 1 point

Andre Maytorena (Nogales HS) – 8^th in 400 meters (51.89) 1 point

Micah Lewis (Cholla HS) – 8^th in Shot Put (11.40 meters) 1 point

Adrian Teso (Benson HS) – 8^th in Discus (33.57 meters) 1 point

Zach Zobak – 8^th in 800 meters (2:00.34) 1 point

Brendan Torres (Empire HS) – 10^th in 1,500 meters (4:16.38) 1 point

Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez