HOBBS, N.M. – The NIACC men’s track and field team will compete in four events and the women’s team will compete in three events at the NJCAA Division I championships Thursday through Saturday at the Ross Black Field of Champions on the New Mexico Junior College campus.
NIACC freshman Josiah Kliment will run the 400-meter hurdles prelimiaries at 7:15 p.m. (CDT) Thursday.
NIACC freshman Fabian Steene will compete in the high jump at 10 a.m. (CDT) Friday.
NIACC freshman Bryson Canton will run in the 1,500 preliminaries at 12:15 p.m. (CDT) Friday. The Trojans’ 4×400-meter relay team of Jacob Vais, Bruce Huggins, Canton and Hugo Massa will run in the preliminaries at 4:25 p.m. (CDT) Friday.
Kliment, who prepped at Northwood-Kensett, owns the NIACC school record in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 55.46 at the NJCAA Region 11 championships on May 7 in Council Bluffs. Kliment broke his old school mark of 55.52 set at the Jim Duncan Invitational on April 14.
Steene, who is from Gothenburg, Sweden, owns NIACC’s indoor (6 feet, 6 3/4 inches) and outdoor (6-7 3/4) high jump records. Steene set the outdoor school high jump mark at the Grand View Viking Relays on April 28.
Steeen earned USTFCCCA All-American honors in the high jump with a sixth-place finish at the NJCAA national indoor track and field championships in March with a jump of 6-6 1/4.
Canton, who prepped at Cedar Rapids Prairie, has a personal best time of 4 minutes, 6.72 seconds in the 1,500. The 4:06.72 ranks sixth on NIACC’s all-time 1,500 list.
NIACC’s fastest time in the 4,×400 this season is 3:26.58 at the regional meet where the Trojans also ran Vais, Huggins, Canton and Massa and placed fourth.
For the NIACC women’s team, sophomore Madelyn Wilson will compete in the hammer at noon (CDT) on Thursday.
NIACC freshman Tara Backhaus will run the 100-meter hurdles prelimiaries at 12:45 p.m. (CDT) Friday. The Trojans’ sophomore Jordan Swenson will compete in the high jump at 1 p.m. (CDT) Friday.
Wilson, who prepped at Waterloo West, owns a personal best toss of 117 feet, 5 inches in the hammer, which placed her ninth at the NJCAA Region 11 championships.
Wilson improved her toss each time out during her sophomore season in the hammer.
Wilson threw 103-11 at the Grand View Viking Relays (3-25-23), threw 116-5 at Mount Mercy’s DeBacker Invitational (4-21-23) and then threw 117-5 at the regional meet (5-7-23). The 117-5 is tied for the 10th best hammer throw in school history.
Backhaus, who prepped at Mason City High, clocked a personal best time of 16.75 in the 100 hurdles at the Grand View Viking Relays in April. The 16.75 is tied for fourth on the school’s all-time 100-meter hurdles list.
Swenson, who prepped at West Fork, will be competing in her second national meet in the high jump. She placed 13th at the 2022 national indoor meet with a leap of 5-1 1/4.
Swenson owns a personal best outdoor leap of 5-2 1/2 at the 2023 regional meet where she placed third. The 5-2 1/2 is tied for fifth on the school’s all-time outdoor high jump list.