Hardware achieved, Barton women's track and field finishes national runner-up; Cougars win three individual titles with nine historic achievements #GoBarton

The Barton Community College women's track and field team performed about as well as they could this past weekend in Lubbock, Texas, exceeding their pre-meet No. 4 ranking resulting in a runner-up finish at the NJCAA Indoor Championships held at Texas Tech University's Sports Performance Center.

Barton qualified twenty entries, recording 19 season/personal best efforts with 15 of those scoring points towards the Cougars' 105 total. Nine points ahead, Iowa Western Community College won the title getting 48 of their 114 points in the distance events as New Mexico Junior College finished nineteen points behind Barton in third place.

Nine of the Cougars' placers were in the top two, with three earning individual national title hardware helping the program to its 12th straight year finishing within the top six teams.

Freshman Alexia Walker's national champion pentathlon title gave the Cougars 10 points from the meet's first event competing in the grueling five events in six hours. Setting personal bests in three of those including a big long jump best to vault from 5th into the lead through four events, Walker protected the crown finishing second in the finale 800m to accumulate a winning 3449 points and just 20 points shy of a program Top-10 all-time performance.

Walker's day wasn't done as three hours later she competed in the high jump, resetting her personal best she reached earlier in the pentathlon by rising to a 1.62m (5-3.75) height placing runner-up.

Celine Riddle also gave the Cougars 18 points across the two days, beginning her national debut Friday soaring to the program's second straight indoor long jump title marking a program 6th best 6.21m (20-4.50) then followed on Saturday with a program 7th best 12.60m (41-4.25) triple jump mark in finishing runner-up.

Barton's third freshman to shine on the national stage was hurdler Asharria Ulett, bettering her preliminary round leading time in the finals to win the title by .20 seconds by clocking an 8.29 moving her up a slot from 3rd fastest all-time. Fellow first-year teammate Ty'yanah Adams additionally made her presence known in 5th place on a program 10th best 8.52 time.

Sprinter Keliza Smith continued her stellar sophomore indoor season with additional record impact performances, earning 16 individual points on runner-up finishes in the 60m, clocking a program 7th fastest time 7.28 in both the prelims and finals, then later clocking a 23.08 200m time ranking second in program history to former Cougar Olympian Veronica Campbell-Brown.

Winning the 400m Region 6 title two weeks ago in a program 3rd fastest 53.77 time, Smith clocked a 52.59 split time anchoring the women's 4x400m relay squad to another 8-point national runner-up finish. The squad of Natasha Fox, Shone Walters, Kialia Claiborne, and Smith already had the program's 10th fastest time but shaved off four seconds to conclude the national meet moving up the chart.

Fellow sophomores Walters and Cedricka Williams also produced good points for the squad, Walters finishing national runner-up in the 800m on a 2:13.68 time while nearly simultaneously, Williams brought in another six points uncorking a 17.68m (58-0.25) throw bettering her program 7th best mark.

Following a couple of weeks of rest and training, the Cougars begin the outdoor season in Fort Worth, Texas, competing in the TCU Alumni Invite March 21-22.

Barton's NJCAA Indoor Championship Results (PR/PB = Personal record/best)
Pentathlon: CHAMPION Alexia Walker (PB 3449 points *Missed Program Top-10 by 20 points)
5th 60m Hurdles (PB 9.07 – 895pts), 3rd High Jump (PB 1.61m – 747pts), 6th Shot Put (9.09m – 470pts), 2nd Long Jump (PB 5.52 – 706pts), 2nd 800m (2:35.07 – 631pts)
Long Jump: 1st Celine Riddle (PB 6.21m, 20-4.50 *Program 6th Best); 3rd Chloe Perryman (SB 6.00m 19-8.25 *Already has Program 9th Best)
Shot Put: 9th Cedricka Williams (PB 13.14m, 43-1.50), 16th Zadie Mackey (11.92m, 39-1.25)
High Jump: Runner-Up Alexia Walker (PB 1.62m, 5-3.75)
Triple Jump: Runner-Up Celine Riddle (PB 12.60m, 41-4.25 *Program 7th Best), 6th Kymia Bridgett (PB 11.90m, 39-0.50)
Weight Throw: 3rd Cedricka Williams (PB 17.68m, 58-0.25 *Solidified her Program 7th Best), 13th Zadie Mackey (PB 14.68m, 48-2.00)
4x800m Relay: 12th 9:59.19 *1st Time in event (Narissa McPherson, Kialia Claiborne, Alissandra Jackson, Alexia Walker)
60m Hurdles: CHAMPION Asharria Ulett (PB 8.29 *Program 3rd Best), 5th Ty'yanah Adams (PB 8.52 *Program 10th Best)
60m: Runner-Up Keliza Smith (PB twice 7.28 *Program 7th Best), 12th Kayda Austin (PB 7.50)
600m: 12th Kialia Claiborne (1:37.48)
400m: 5th Natasha Fox (PB 55.59)
800m: Runner-Up Shone Walters (2:13.68 *Already has Program 10th Best)
200m: Runner-Up Keliza Smith (23.08 *Program 2nd Best), 4th Kayda Austin (PB 23.52 *Program 4th Best)
4x400m Relay: Runner-Up 3:40.50 *SB *Program 6th Best (Natasha Fox, Shone Walters, Kialia Claiborne, Keliza Smith)