It is familiar territory. It’s just been a while.
The Barton women’s indoor track captured the Region VI Indoor Championships this past weekend. The championship was the Cougars first since 2009.
Barton finished with 175 points. Coffeyville, the defending region champion, finished with 155. Butler came in third at 116 at the Plaster Center in Pittsburg. Last season Coffeyville won 173-159 over the Cougars.
In the process, Rian Robinson ran the fastest NJCAA time this season in the 400m on her way to the Athlete of Meet award. Robinson also took fourth in the 60m and ran on Barton’s winning 4x400m relay team.
Robinson’s win the 400m was one of seven events the Cougars won. Robinson ran a 54.64 to win the 400m. O’Neisha Glover was second at 56.15 as Barton went 1-2 in the event. The previous best time this year was 55.48 by Christine Moss of New Mexico JC.
Tasha Frazier won a pair of those individual titles. The sophomore won the 60m hurdles in a battle with teammate Ayesha Champagnie. Frazier won the finals in a time of 8.59 to 8.67 for Champagnie. Frazier and Champagnie currently are 2-3 nationally. Olivian Jackson was seventh at 9.28.
Frazier earned her other gold in the field. The sophomore from St. Louis won the long jump in a close battle with Angelica Collins of Coffeyville. Frazier jumped 19-6.25 while Collins finished an inch back at 19-5.25. Champagnie was again on Frazier’s heels with a leap of 18-9.75 for fourth. The 19-6.25 effort is the second best in the nation.
Frazier finished fourth in the triple jump with a leap of 37-2.25 where she already owns the fourth best jump in the country. Danashka Lawrence qualified for the NJCAA Championships with her fifth place jump of 34-11.25. Champagnie placed 4th in the high jump at 5-1.25.
Sabrina Mason won gold in the 200m with a 24.66. Tamara Style was second in 24.85 and Widline Lageroy fifth in 25.38. The 25.38 earned Lageroy a spot at the NJCAA’s.
Asha Douglas captured the mile in 5:26.04. It was the first time this season Douglas ran the mile and earned a spot in the NJCAA Championships with her time. She is now qualified in three events. Holly Pierce was seventh.
Michelle Tomlin captured the shot put for Barton with a toss of 48-1.25. Champagnie took third in the shot with a 44-0. Champagnie, a freshman from Jamaica, is quailed for five individual events as well as owning the top score in the nation in the pentathlon.
The other title came in that 4x400m relay as Barton ran a 3:47.16 to defeat Coffeyville (3:50.71). Lageroy, Robinson, Glover, and Mason made up the quartet that ran the third fastest time in the nation.
Style and Robinson went 3-4 in the 60m. Style ran a 7.77 and Robinson a 7.80. Douglas was third in the 800m (2:21.88) and Lageroy third in the 600m (1:39.95). Lageroy’s time in the 600m qualified her for the NJCAA’s. Douglas was also fourth in the 1000m in 3:15.45.
Also on the track, Holly Pierce and Kaitlynn Tuey took 4th and 8th in the 3000m and the distance medley relay team qualified for the national meet with a 13:12.7.
In the weight throw Tomlin was fourth in 51-1.5.
Brianna Payne competed in the Pentathlon for Barton, taking fourth with a total of 2747.  
Barton’s next meet will be the NJCAA Championships the first weekend of March in Winston-Salem, N.C.