(Tucson, AZ) The Pima Community College men’s track & field team finished up the 2022 season on Saturday at the NJCAA Division I National Championships on Saturday in Hutchinson, KS.
The Aztecs finished tied for 17th place with a total of 18 team points.
Sophomore Donovan Henderson earned third place and NJCAA All-American honors with a jump of 15.35 meters (50-feet, 4.50-inches) on his fifth attempt. It was a personal-record for him but he fell a little less than two inches short of the Pima school record. He also earned six team points for the Aztecs.
“I’m honored to receive this title two years in a row. Last year I got fifth so it’s better to get that third or better result this year,” Henderson said. “All the training I had to put in for everything. I missed a lot of the preseason because of health issues so being able to come back and fight for this third position is really humbling to experience.
“The first jump of the day was 14.50 (meters). That one gave me some confidence because the first jump you got to get the jitters out. Once I got that out, I was like ‘I know I’m going to go off today because nobody is doing anything crazy. I’m going to show out. I’m going to be the person that’s doing something crazy.’ Once I got to that 15.35 (meters), it was like, ‘what else can I do, I know I can go more.’ I wanted to be able to compete with everybody. I wanted to show them what I could do.”
Sophomore Joshua Bowen took home NJCAA All-American honors after he placed fifth in the Javelin with a throw of 53.91 meters (176-10) on his second throw. He earned four team points for the Aztecs.
The Aztecs finished with three NJCAA All-Americans:
Reece Gardner (Marana HS) – 2nd in Pole Vault 4.81 meters (15-9.25)
Donovan Henderson – 3rd in Triple Jump 15.35 meters (50-4.50)
Joshua Bowen – 5th in Javelin 53.91 meters (176-10).
Other Pima finishes:
Mikhail Browne – 14th in Triple Jump 14.37 meters (47-1.75).
Press Release courtesy of Pima Athletics – Raymond Suarez
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