MCC Track begins indoor season

Birmingham, AL – MCC kicked off their 2020 indoor season this past weekend at the UAB Blazer Invitational and Vulcan Invitational at the Birmingham CrossPlex. The Eagles came out of the gate strong as the men and women's teams saw five national qualifying performances on their opening weekend.

"This was a good opener for us despite a few hiccups when you look at how many freshmen we competed this weekend," said Head Coach Chip Gayden. "We came out focused and executed what we have been working on during our fall training, and it showed with our performances across the board."

The weekend got off to a fast start as Kaylen, and Kyla Johnson both punched their ticket for the NJCAA Indoor National Championships in March with qualifying performances in the 60 meters. Kaylen and Kyla both placed first and second in their semi-final heat with times of 6.81 and 6.82.

On the men's side, Edward Williams Jr. set the tone early with a third-place finish in the men's 60-meter hurdle final with a national qualifying mark of 8.14. Williams, performance in the final improved on his time of 8.33 in the semi-finals.

MCC carried the early momentum and saw Augustus Karweh capture a fourth-place finish in the high jump with a national qualifying mark of 2.01 meters (6'7) in the men's high jump. The 4x400 meter relay team of Tyrese Ivy, Jalen Aibogun, Shermar Taylor, and Grover Winston wrapped up the night with a fourth-place finish with a national qualifying performance with a time of 3:20.31.
MCC wasn't far off from qualifying for several other events on Saturday, as Vincent Taylor posted a third-place finish in the men's triple jump with a mark of 14.23 (46'8.25"). Tony Mack finished just shy of the 1000 meter qualifying mark with a time of 2:36.81. Jalen McCoy posted a PR in the men's 800 meters with a time of 1:59.84. Antonio Bracy barely missed the national qualifying mark in the men's 60 meters with a time of 6.98.

Next up is the Samford Open hosted by Samford University at the Birmingham CrossPlex on January 18.