PITTSBURG, Kan. – NIACC’s Wal Khat made history Saturday afternoon.
Khat became the first-ever NIACC male athlete to claim a national track and field title as won the 800-meter run in a time of 1 minute, 51.78 seconds at the NJCAA national indoor championships.
Monroe College’s Kaqique Oliver was second in 1:52.05.
Khat also broke his own school record of 1:53.06 in Saturday’s final.
The individual national title by Khat was the seventh championship by a NIACC track and field athlete – the first six were claimed by female athletes.
The last individual national title by a NIACC athlete was in 2014 when Sharon Totako won the javelin at the national outdoor meet.
The NIACC men placed 10th in the 4×800-meter relay in a time of 8:21.71. The Trojans ran Blake Keller, Samuel Dean, Canyon Kuhlmann and David Carter.
The NIACC women were also 10th in the 4×800 (10:00.26). The Lady Trojans ran Keisha Gonzague, Cailey Weaver, Amy Fullerton and Kendra Schmidt.