Johnson County Community College
Press Release
College Information and Publications
913-469-8500
Julie Haas, Director, ext. 3120
Peggy Graham, Writer, ext. 3425
Tyler Cundith, Sports Information Director, ext. 3122
Track teams post top-10 finishes at outdoor nationals
OVERLAND PARK, KS -- The Johnson County Community College men’s and women’s track and field teams capped the 2007 season by posting top-10 finishes at the NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Coffeyville, Kan. The men finished fourth overall in the team standings, while the women finished eighth. The fourth-place finish for the men is the best finish by a JCCC team outdoors in team history. Earlier in the season, the men’s team registered the program’s best finish indoors by placing third at indoor nationals. The eighth-place effort by the women is the highest finish in the five-year tenure of head coach Joe Weis.
Individually for the men, the 4x100 relay team raced to a runner-up finish, each earning NJCAA and Coaches All-American. The team of Terrius McMillin, Jamil Benjamin, Terrel Cotton and Dantavius Harmon finished the race in 40.19, just .01 seconds behind the winning team from Hinds Community College. That time set a new school record, breaking the old mark of 40.58 set last year at nationals. This same group posted wins at the Sea Ray Relays, Region VI and East Jayhawk Conference earlier this year.
Benjamin also earned Coaches All-American in the 100-meter dash, placing fifth overall with a time of 10.44. Other Coaches All-American performers were Howard Dixon, Keith Cowart, Dustin Turner, Willy Cochran and Brian Fesler. Dixon placed fifth in the 110-hurdles with a time of 14.60. Cowart ran to a fifth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeple chase, crossing in 9:.43.83. Turner leaped to a fourth-place finish in the long jump with a mark of 23-feet, 8.75 inches. Cochran earned two honors, one in the javelin and one in the decathlon. He placed fifth in the javelin with a throw of 182-feet, and was fourth in the decathlon compiling 6,137 points. That is the fourth highest point total registered in team history. Fesler finished in fifth-place in the decathlon with 5,881 accumulate points.
Other key producing efforts were turned in by Daniel Everhart and Grant Catloth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (7th and 9th respectively), Quinton Byrd, Rufus Triggs, Demetrice Carter and Josh Robinson in the 4x400 relay (5th) and Triggs, James Tong, Nathaniel Williams and Keith Cowart in the 4x800 relay (5th). All these efforts earned NJCAA Coaches All-Ameirca honors.
Trevor Johannsen finished 20th in the 5,000-meter run, but earned NJCAA Coaches All-American by finished among the top six Americans in the race. His time was 17:21.05.
The women’s top performers were Lavina Dent and Jara Cornett. Dent recorded a pair of runner-up finishes, placing second in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdles. She posted a school record time of 14.16 in the 100 hurdles, and crossed in 1:03.25 in the 400 hurdles race, the second-fastest in school history. She is just the second athlete in JCCC history to earn All-American in both hurdle events. Cornett recorded a second-place finish in the javelin with a mark of 142-feet, 7-inches.
Another key performer was Christa Heideman. The team’s MVP earned Coaches All-American in the 1,500-meter run and 5,000-meter run. She placed seventh in the 1,500-meters with a time of 4:53.44, and she was sixth in the 5,000-meters finishing in 19:07.43.
Cambrielle Shaw raced her way into Coaches All-America recognition, placing sixth in the 400-meter dash, finishing in school record time of 56.10.
The 4x400 and 4x800 relays also earned key points for JCCC, each placing fifth overall, while earning NJCAA Coaches All-Ameircan. The 4x400 team consisted of Niki Wright, Anjah Clemons, Dent and Shaw. Comprising the 4x800 team were Jackie Jamison, Wright, Sarah Dupree and Danielle Houltberg. Also earning Coaches All-American was Jackie Jamison in the 1,500-metters, placing 11th overall in a time of 5:05.86.
