NORMAN, Okla. – Sanjae Lawrence has established himself as one of the top throwers in the NJCAA. The sophomore from Jamaica continued his quest for a pair of NJCAA gold medals at the end of the season by winning two in Oklahoma this past weekend.
Lawrence earned gold in the shot put and discus at the John Jacobs Invitational at the University of Oklahoma.
His effort comprised half of Barton’s individual gold medals to go with a relay gold medal at the event. In addition to Lawrence’s two wins, Christian Lyon won the 100m and Kenroy Williams captured the 400m hurdles. The Barton 4x400m relay team earned gold in the final event of the meet on a wet Saturday in Norman.
Lawrence took first in the shot put, where he set the Barton school record earlier in the season. Lawrence won with a distance of 59-4.25, just off the school mark of 60-4. Teammate Kevin Nedrick was fourth at 56-10.
In the discus, Lawrence won with a throw of 163-7 while Nedrick, a freshman from Jamaica, was close behind again, taking third with a throw of 157-10.
Lawrence and Nedrick own the top two distances in the shot put this year in the NJCAA. Nedrick has a season best of 59-1.5.
In the discus, Lawrence currently has the second best throw in the NJCAA at 176-1. That is second to Josh Boateng of Central Arizona, who has a throw of 184-10. Nedrick has the fourth best effort at 168-5.
In the other throwing event the Cougars entered, Enrique Martinez, the school record holder in the hammer throw, placed second in the event with a throw of 192-7. Graham Sokol was fourth at 174-9 and Trey Lee sixth at 143-7.
The Cougars were dominate in the 100m, going 1-2-3-5 in the event. Lyon won in a time of 10.49. Lyon has the top time in the NJCAA this year. Terence Ware was second in 10.52, Samson Colebrooke third in 10.6 and Demetri Keaton fifth in 10.71. Darrien Wells was third in the 200m in 21.98.
Barton had a strong showing in the hurdles races. Williams won the 400m hurdles in 52.48. Marquise Hill was third in 53.19, Michele Reyes fourth in 53.77 and Brandon Felix seventh in 55.28. In the 110m hurdles, Stephon Torrence was second in 14.85 and Tahj Whitfield fifth at 15.64.
Barton had a pair of second place finishes in the jumps. Travis Hugg was second in the long jump at 22-8.5. Willie Rodgers was second in the high jump with a leap of 6-8.75. Timothy Wilson was eighth at 6-2.75. Wilson was sixth in the triple jump with a leap of 45-3.5 and Alvin McCray seventh at 43.5.75.
The Cougars had a quintet of runners place in the 400m, led by Hilton McClain at 49.05 in third. Kyle Mason was fifth in 49.52, Darrien Wells sixth in 49.8, Kemarni Mighty seventh in 50.44 and Dartez Hamlin eighth in 51.12.
Nathan Hood placed sixth in the 800m in 1:55.73 and Tallan James hit the national qualifying mark in the 1500m with a time of 4:01.18, good for fifth.
The Cougars winning relay came in the 4x400m where Adriano Gumbs, McClain, Hugg, and Williams ran a 3:13.33. The 4x100m team of Colebrooke, Lyon, Keaton, and Ware finished second in 40.36.
Barton’s next scheduled meet will be the Region VI Championships May 3-5 in Hutchinson.