The Barton women’s track history is long and storied. One of, if not the best in the history of the NJCAA. So setting records is not as easy task.
Especially in events that featured future Olympic athletes.
But Ayesha Champagnie did just that this weekend in Nebraska. The freshman from Jamaica put her name on top of the Pentathlon list with a 3787. That mark was good for seventh at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational on the campus of the University of Nebraska.
In the process she not only earned a probable spot in the Pentathlon event at the NJCAA Championships, her high jump mark during the multi-sport event qualified her in that event as well.
In all, Champagnie is now qualified for four individual events as well as most likely the Pentathlon. The top 16 Pentathlon scores qualify so there is not a certain mark. Her 3787 is the best NJCAA score in the nation this year – by more than 300 points.
Her total bests that of Lisa Wright set back in 1996 of 3784.
The first event in the pentathlon was the 60m hurdles – an event Champagnie has already qualified for the National Championships. She took seventh with a time of 8.83 earning her 946 points. Next up was the high jump, where she cleared a qualifying mark with a 5-4.25 for 771 more points.
The third even on the day was the shot put – another event she has qualified and one of her strengths. She won with a distance of 45-10.5 for 793 points. The fourth event was another event she has surpassed the qualifying mark in – the long jump. There she leapt 17-6.75 for 657 points.
The last event of the day in the pentathlon was the 800m, her weakest event. She ran a 2:36.0 for 620 more points and the new record at Barton – by a mere three points.
Elsewhere at the invitational, the Cougars added O’Neisha Glover to the national qualifiers. She became the third Cougar to post a qualifying mark in the 400m with her 58.35. She joins Brooklyn Polk, who had the best time for Barton with a season-best 57.21 and Rian Robinson ran a 57.33. Robinson has the top time this season with a 56.43, the second best in the NJCAA this year.
Tasha Frazier bettered her long jump distance by four inches to 18-5 and ran an 8.57 in the 60m hurdles. Tamara Style ran a 25.07 and Sabrina Mason a 25.17 in the 200m – both bettering their qualifying marks.
Michelle Tomlin – already qualified in the shot and weight throws – finished with a 41-8.75 in the shot and a 48-9 in the weight.
The 4x400m relay team also took seven seconds of its season-best time with a 3:47.87. Robinson, Polk, Glover and Style ran the time for sixth place. It is the second fastest in the NJCAA this year.
Barton is now off for a couple of weeks. The next meet for the Cougars will be the Region VI meet at Pittsburg. The NJCAA Indoor Championships will be March 4-5 in Winston-Salem, N.C.