Texans make collegiate history, capture unprecedented 10th Outdoor Title

Published by South Plains SID on May 16th, 2016

LEVELLAND—Collegiate history was on the brink entering the final day.

The South Plains College Texans held a 23-point margin over Iowa Central after day two of the 2016 NJCAA Outdoor Track and Field National Championships at the Texan Track and Field Stadium in Levelland.

For head coach Chris Beene and his veteran squad, the Texans had only one option entering day three — extend their lead, dominate the field and go on to capture their 10th consecutive outdoor national championship.

"It just seems like everywhere I looked, we kept stepping up," Beene said. "We have kids like Hassan Abdi, who literally just ran himself into the ground for us. We had six or seven national champions, and when you start scoring 10 points at a time because you're winning it, the points add up pretty quick."

South Plains began the afternoon with a 2-3-4 finish in the men's 1500 meter run, led by sophomore Kelvin Keter's second place finish and final time of 3:54.32. Hassan Abdi took third with a time of 3:55.15, withNicholas Rotich taking fourth with a 3:55.35.