Region VI Champions. It’s familiar territory. But it’s been a while.
The Barton women’s track team captured its 26th Region VI Championship Saturday in Garden City. But it was the Cougar’s first since 2009.
The Cougars were dominate in the win, capturing 11 of 22 events and winning the region by 24 points over Coffeyville.
Barton won with 198 points, followed by Coffeyville with 165 then Butler with 110 at Broncbuster Stadium. Rain slowed progress on Friday, making a cold, windy Saturday a very busy day for the meet.
Four Cougars won two individual events on the day. A pair picked up a third gold running on the 4x100m relay.
During a meet full of stars, Ayesha Champagnie picked up the Athlete of the Meet Award. She totaled 36 points for the Cougars. The heptathlon star didn’t compete in that event, instead competing in five individual events – winning a pair and placing in the top six in all five.
The freshman from Jamaica won her two throwing events. Champagnie took first in the javelin and shot put. She won the javelin with a throw of 154-0. She already holds the longest throw of the year at the NJCAA level with a 156-1.
Champagnie led a pair of Cougars placing in the shot put with a first place effort of 46-2.5. Michelle Tomlin was fifth at 43-6.
Champagnie competed in pair of jumping events as well, taking second in the high jump and third in the long jump. Her jump of 5-3.25 actually tied her for second in the high jump while her lead of 18-1.75 was good for third in the long jump.
Tasha Frazier won the long jump – one of her three gold medals at the meet. Frazier jumped 19-2 to win the gold. She has the fourth longest jump in the NJCAA this year at 19-6.25.
Frazier also beat Champagnie in the 100m hurdles, where she ran a 14.13 to win the race. Champagnie was sixth in 14.68. Also placing was Brianna Payne at 14.95. Frazier ran a 13.99 earlier this year for the third fastest time in the NJCAA.
Frazier’s other gold came as a member of the 4x100m relay team. The quartet of Frazier, O’Neisha Glover, Tamara Style, and Sabrina Mason won the event in a time of 46.82.
The relay gold was first of three for Mason as well. The freshman from Jamaica was a Region VI double sprint champion. She won the 100m in a time of 11.99 and the 200m in 24.63. Glover was fourth in the 200m in 23.35 and Danashka Lawrence sixth in 25.51. Glover was seventh in the 100m in 12.24.
Also winning a pair of gold medals was Holly Pierce. Pierce bested the field in the 5000m with a time of 19:25.93 and captured first in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 12:24.14. Mariah Stein also placed in the 5000m, taking seventh in 20:42.34.
Barton’s other two individual titles came in the 400m and the hammer throw.
Chenelle Ricketts led a 1-2 finish in the 400m, winning in 56.94. Brooklyn Polk was second in 57.60.
Tomlin won the hammer throw with a toss of 169-4 – the fourth longest in the NJCAA this year. The freshman from Lincoln, Neb. placed in three events, taking fourth in the discus at 133-6 along with her shot put finish.
Mason just missed a fourth gold medal, running the anchor leg of the 4x400m relay team that finished second. Glover, Widline Lageroy, Polk, and Mason completed the four laps in 3:56.8.
Style was second in the 400m hurdles in 1:04.91 with Payne taking seventh in 1:10.04. Payne also placed in the triple jump with a leap of 37-0.5. Along her 100m hurdles finish, the freshman from Florida placed in three events.
Rounding out Barton’s scoring in the meet was Kailynn Tuey’s fifth place finish in the 10,000m in 43:08.94 and the 4x800m relay team of Emilykate Hopkins-Boyd, Tuey, Stein, and Julee McAtee were sixth in 10:29.12.
Next up for Barton is the NJCAA Championships May 17-19 in Levelland, Texas. The Cougars are currently ranked fifth nationally.