Thunderbird track and field teams rank top ten nationally
The men’s and women’s track and field teams at Mesa Community College both hold top five spots in the week Two edition of the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association rankings.
Women’s
The women’s team sits at number one in the country in the USTFCCCA National Junior College Athletics Association Division I April 3 rankings, outpacing New Mexico Junior College in second and Pima Community College in third.
MCC won the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference championships, hosted by Paradise Valley Community College on March 29.
| Name(s) | Event | Final Mark |
| Maliyah Ross (So.) | Long jump | 5.75 meters |
| Maleah Tucker (Fr.) | Hammer throw | 46.42 meters |
| Sarah Nipper (Fr.) | Pole vault | 3.6 meters |
| Katherine Lemish (Fr.) | 100 meter hurdles | 14.43 seconds |
| Odelia Lemons (Fr.) | 100 meter | 12.15 seconds |
| Reanna Campbell (So.) | 400 meter | 56.36 seconds |
| Taylor Jacobs (So.) | 800 meter | 1 minute, 7.46 seconds |
| Anna Harmon (So.) | 5000 meter | 18 minutes, 36.10 seconds |
| Katherine Lemish Odelia Lemons Zamirah Parker (So.) Deshay Turner (Fr.) | 4×100 meter relay | 46.83 seconds |
| Deshay Turner Reanna Campbell Diana Ondobo (So.)Taylor Jacobs | 4×400 meter relay | 3 minutes, 48.08 seconds |
The Thunderbirds secured ten different event victories during the ACCAC championships on Friday, March 29.
MCC went undefeated in head-to-head competition, defeating all other opponents at the meet.
MCC defeated Pima 110-75, Central Arizona College 96-90, Glendale Community College 119-46, Paradise Valley 125-20, and Phoenix College 129-11.
The USTFCCCA also released their NJCAA Indoor All-American honors on March 27. The indoor track and field season is played from January to the beginning of March.
| Name | Event(s) |
| Natalie Brzezniak | Pentathlon, 4×800 meter relay |
| Reanna Campbell | 600 meter, 4×800 meter relay |
| Kendra Guest | 4×800 meter relay |
| Taylor Jacobs | 600 meter, 4×400 meter relay |
| Diane Ondobo | 4×400 meter relay |
| Danna Martinez Porras | 4×800 meter relay |
| Maliyah Ross | Pentathlon, 4×800 meter relay |
| Deshay Turner | 4×400 meter relay |
The women’s track and field team athletes were awarded NJCAA All-American honors.
Men’s
The men’s team is ranked ninth in the nation after being ranked third in the initial USTFCCCA preseason rankings.
The Thunderbirds took third place in the ACCAC championships, winning three events.
Sophomore Jeremiah Reed won the long jump with a new personal record at 1.82 meters.
Sophomore Samuel Green won the 800 meter with a time of one minute, 52.76 seconds.
The 4×400 meter relay team made up of freshman Jace McGavock, sophomore Darius Brown, freshman Bradley Runge, and sophomore Ernest Green took first place with a time of 3:15.60.
| Name | Event |
| Greyson Akers | 4×800 meter relay |
| Samuel Van Alstine | 4×800 meter relay |
| Jalen Bradford | 4×400 meter relay |
| Darius Brown | 4×400 meter relay |
| Ernest Green | 4×800 meter relay |
| Samuel Green | 800 meter |
| Ousman Jagne | 4×400 meter relay |
| Jeremiah Reed | Long jump |
| Jovani Rivera | 4×400 meter relay |
| Austin Rueff | 4×800 meter relay |
| Bradley Runge | Heptathlon |
The men’s track and field team athletes were awarded NJCAA All-American honors.
Both track and field teams will compete again at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California on April 11.
